Purpose of Life?

Here is a suggestion.

The question posed since a child is "why am I here?". Which is an expression of 2 things.

(1) The sheer amazement and inexplicability of existence (partly conscious awareness and partly that there are things to be aware of at all)

and...

(2) Personal Life is a finite event. What is the balance by which I should judge that life? in other words how do I decide what to do.

A possible answer appeared yesterday. Buddha always turned people with questions like mine away - he had no time for such lines of enquiry. Why? because he would say that they do not aid in the extinction of suffering.

From which I can argue this. A life without suffering is also a life without problems and needing questions. Indeed to question life is maybe to suffering? while the bliss of self knowing and complete satisfaction (freedom from Dhukka) has no question - a bit like the experience of being in profound Love.

So the balance by which we judge life is simply whether it has helped remove suffering or whether it has caused suffering.

It does not matter what we do as long as it does not cause suffering. The search for the "good life" is thus very simple - does it cause suffering, or not?

Isn't that the 8 Fold Noble path? Right action, livelihood, speech, thought, concentration etc.

On the other hand maybe not. Plato would say that the "unexamined life is not worth living", and I certainly remmber as a child the bliss of examination of the worlds wonders - what better way to revel in the joy of existence that to investigate and question it.

Afterall what life has there been unless we have know that life?

So maybe there is some truth in the view that it does not matter what we do as long as we don't cause, and better alleviate sufferings; but I might add that awareness of the mind does bring with it the joy of examination of the world and the wonder at its existence.