The Purpose of Life

Human life is precious. Think how many more insects and fish there are than humans. There is no guarantee we will ever be human again. Humans have the opportunity to study and practice dharma, and also enough suffering to understand why it is so important not to keep coming back automatically and habitually. Insects have no such opportunity. Gods have it so good that they forget about the inevitability of change and suffering. Humans are in-between, we have ample opportunities but also are not removed from suffering—so it is very precious to be human.

It’s really amazing that we are human. We could be pigs raised for slaughter, or ants that get stepped on.

Most people waste their lives on distraction and worldly concerns. But in the midst of distraction and concern, there is the opportunity to liberate our mind—totally and completely. And when that happens, we can fully see and enjoy the abundance of opportunities available to us, and then freely move on to pure lands or a more fortunate human rebirth dedicated to serving other sentient beings. Isn’t that amazing?

The biggest “sins” are to waste our lives on mundane concerns, to disturb the minds of others, to harm them or help others cause harm, to lead them into distraction, addiction or other misfortune, and to spread teachings that are false or inappropriate.