EXISTENCE

What is existence? Why do we exist at all? this is a puzzle of the Tao.

One may be tempted to say that there is no reason and that we simply are. That is the easy way out. Anyone can come up with such a glib answer because it requires no thinking and no insights.

We must go deeper. Why does anything exist? When we observe nature, we discover all kinds of reasons for things being the way they are - the greenness of plants, the blooming of flowers, the changes in the weather and so on. Even things we do not understand at first gradually become clearer as we learn more.

It must be the same with our existence. Perhaps we do not fully understand it at the moment, but as we learn and grow, the picture should come into focus and the concepts should crystallize. Existence may be a puzzle at the moment, but it will not remain a puzzle forever.

The Tao Today

One possible answer is that we exist to love. Another possibility is that we are in this world to learn and to help one another to learn. The truth may be a combination of the two, and there may be more factors we have not taken into consideration. Reach into your intuition to see if you can develop your own concepts. Why do you exist?

The Tao of Joy Every Day

~ Derek Lin