..续本文上一页three major offences

　　against filial piety,

　　and the gravest offence is

　　if one does not produce an heir."

　　In addition, one”s descendants will reap the fruits of whatever deeds one has done, either good or bad. Thus, there is a another saying in Chinese,

　　"A family of accumulated good deeds

　　shall be blessed with abundance.

　　A family of accumulated evil deeds

　　shall suffer misfortune."

　　2. Life is for the country - Some people focus their attentions on their nation and country. The significance of life is to contribute to the enhancement of national pride or development. Extremely patriotic people think that inpiduals belong to the nation, and it is only within the context of the nation that an inpidual”s life has any significance. For these people, the only purpose of life is to implement the country”s goals. This concept stems from the same origin as the concept of the family.

　　In the past, there were tribes who treated the whole tribe as one unit. If an inpidual in the tribe came under duress, it was perceived as a risk to the whole tribe, and hence the whole tribe responded to the threat. Under this concept, those who sacrificed themselves for the sake of the whole tribe were elevated to the level of a God. As the tribes have gradually expanded (or assimilated/conquered other tribes) to form countries in these modern times, so the concept of the tribe has been replaced with the concept of a nation. Thus the significance of life based on the prosperity and strength of a nation is quite different to the Confucian ideal emphasizing nurturing and survival activities for only close relatives.

　　3. Life is for all Mankind - Some people prefer to consider humanity as a whole. The significance of life is on the progress of human society. Only with the progress and civilization of the human race is there a meaning to life. With this aspiration for all human beings, one should strive for the development of all humanity, and work hard for the benefit of the majority.

　　However, to place the significance of life on the family, or nation, or the human race is not one that people like to do willingly. We try to hang on to something because of the fear that our body and mind will degenerate one day. But can we assure that these are the real meanings of life

　　 If the significance of life is on the family, for those who do not have any offspring, does it mean that it is meaningless to live

　　 If the significance of life is on the country, from the perspective of history, there were so many highly prosperous countries and civilizations, but where are they now

　　 They have long vanished and are only regarded as anthropological evidences now! Then, what about living for the advancement of mankind

　　 Human activities rely on the existence of the earth. Although it may still be a very long time to go, it is inevitable that the earth will degenerate one day. What is significance of life when the earth ceases to support the human activities

　　 It seems these three significances of life adopted by most people will eventually become void. Their ideas cannot get away from the ideology mentioned in the Awareness Song.

　　The concept of "a future in the heaven" has been used by most worldly religions, especially religion with God in the Western countries to explain the significance of life. In these religions, the world where we humans now live, is just a illusion. Human beings that live in this world, believe in the God, love the God, and abide by His instructions in order to go to the Heaven in the future. Some religions say, the end of the world is coming, and those who have no faith in the God will be trapped in the hell of eternal suffering; whereas those who believe in the God will get into the heaven and enjoy the eternal bliss. So it would seem, all the fait…

《What is the Significance of Life

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