Why live Zhang Baotong 2016.9.4

There is an old Chinese saying, "It is better to die than to live". We also see www.biquge.info many people in the world who are either dying or terminally ill, but they are still struggling to die and are unwilling to leave. Maybe it's because there are still many things in this world that they can't give up. But the other day, I saw an old Indonesian man named Muba Geso, who had lived to be 145 years old, and he felt that he had lived too long, and sighed, "I really want to die sooner." This seems to be at odds with what we used to think of as "the older you get, the more afraid you are of death." However, the example of Muba Geso sheds new light on this old idea. He wanted to die early because he lived too long, and his 10 siblings and four wives had all passed away, the last of whom died in 1988. All of his children have also died. All that is alive now is his grandson, great-grandson, and great-great-grandson. That is to say, he doesn't even have a close relative and companion around him, he feels very lonely and lonely, and has no love and affection for the world, so he just wants to die early.

In fact, Muba Geso was not the only one who wanted to die early? Didn't Hemingway of the United States, Yasunari Kawabata of Japan, and Chen Bui and Leslie Cheung of China all die by committing suicide early? According to the statistics of the World Health Organization in 2008, the number of suicides in China is as high as 285,000 every year, of which 2.5 million are suicide attempts.

We know that Japan is a world-famous suicide country and has the highest suicide rate in the world. Not to mention the common people, even the number of suicides of writers and artists is eye-popping, such as Kitamura Toya, Kawakami Meizan, Arishima Takero, Akutagawa Ryunosuke, Ikuta Harutsuki, Osamu Dazai, Tanaka Hidemitsu, Hara Minki, Kubo Sakae, Mishima Yukio, Kawabata Yasunari, etc., all ended their lives by suicide. The reason for this should be closely related to the cultural traditions of the country. In Christian culture, suicide is a sign of sin, cowardice, and irresponsibility. In traditional Japanese culture, suicide is an act of responsibility for failure, a form of apology. In the Japanese view, life should be like cherry blossoms, "more beautiful in an instant".

However, in our country, people have a rather negative view of suicide. Buddhism believes that after a person dies by suicide, his bardo body repeats the pain of suicide every 7 days. For this reason, Buddhism lists the top 10 sins for suicides. Master Xingyun said in his teachings: "In Buddhism, suicide is still killing, it is immoral, and Buddhism does not allow people to commit suicide. Because a person's life does not belong to the individual, this flesh and blood body was originally born and raised by the union of parents, and received all kinds of needs from society to thrive and grow. The completion of life is the result of the public karma, and of course it should be repaid to the public, so everyone has the obligation to make their life happier and more meaningful, but they have no right to destroy any life. The most important thing is to be able to live with joy and hope, especially to live with the world, sentient beings, cause and effect, and reason in our hearts. As mentioned earlier, everyone's life is not their own, life is shared by heaven and earth, and they are only qualified to dedicate themselves to the public, and they can only try their best to make life meaningful and valuable, but they do not have the freedom to destroy life. ”

In that case, why do so many people still not want to live?

In fact, no one doesn't want to live. There is no one who does not value their lives. But when life becomes boring, lonely and meaningless, life loses its meaning of existence.

In the world we live in, due to social and self-reasons, we will encounter many disasters and hardships, and we will encounter many grievances and troubles. For example, the tense and fast pace of life, all kinds of pressure from society, rigid and monotonous life mode, family burden, illness and so on, will make some people with fragile temperament pessimistic and hopeless. This gives rise to all sorts of pessimism. As a result, all kinds of pessimistic and desperate thoughts will arise: Why should I still live if I have to die anyway? My dreams have been shattered! What is the meaning of living like this? If a person with such pessimistic emotions cannot be strong and strive to get out of the shadows, over time, it is very easy for him to have the thought of being discouraged and lose his confidence in life.

People who lose faith in life often do not do so because of poverty and calamity, but because of their own pessimism. We saw people who had nothing begging for food and still wanted to live, and we saw that the Red Army was wearing thin clothes, eating or drinking without food or drink when crossing snowy mountains and meadows, and had to brave the enemy's bullets and bullets. Because they have ideals and beliefs in their hearts. Let's look at the celebrities who committed suicide, which one did not want to live because of the hardships of life? but because they lost the motivation and purpose of life.

Life is not just about eating and drinking, but also about glory and wealth. Even if a rich person lives a rich life for a few days, he will be tired of it. Or, some people become bosses of large corporations, worth billions or even tens of billions, and have to go to and from work every day; some people step down from the presidency and earn millions of dollars a year alone, but they still have to become professors, give speeches, and write books. This is because they don't want to live that monotonous life without any new ideas, and they want to make life richer and more fulfilling. This is why some people in their 80s are still learning to draw and play the piano, while others are in their 90s and still writing and learning calligraphy. I was joined by two elderly people who started playing table tennis at the age of 65 and are 75 years old this year. The two of them come to the activity room every afternoon to play, and one of them has a dead wife, but every day they think about how to improve their skills and how to beat others. There are also some old people in their 60s, who play chess in front of the door and downstairs every day, thinking all day long is that you beat me today, I want to go home and think about it, and win you again tomorrow. So, this makes their daily life a new pleasure. Think about it, if the old Indonesian man named Muba Geso also has a group of people playing ball or chess with him every day, will he say that he doesn't want to live anymore? So, if a person wants to live a happy and interesting life, he should have some hobbies, so that he can not only be healthy and optimistic, but also be intimate with some people he likes. And these people are the source of your happiness in life.

In the Dream of Red Mansions, there is a song called "Okay Song": "Everyone in the world knows that the gods are good, but they can't forget their fame! Where will the ancient and the modern meet? A pile of grass is gone." Everyone in the world knows that the gods are good, only gold and silver can't forget! In the end, they only hate to gather much, and when they reach a long time, their eyes are closed. Everyone in the world knows that the gods are good, only the wife can't forget it! Everyone in the world knows that the gods are good, and only the children and grandchildren can't forget it! There are many infatuated parents in ancient times, and they are filial to their children and grandchildren. "After reading this poem, I feel that my life is all about fame and emotion. However, without these false names and false feelings, then what is the meaning of our life in this world?

We need work because of our lives, and work allows us to earn a living and reflect the value of life. Fame and fortune and marrying wives and raising children are also to give our lives purpose and success. Although human life is limited, and the four major things are empty after death, these things can make you feel good while you are alive. Although the old saying goes, "fame and fortune are things outside the body", in reality, everyone rushes to it, lest they take too much. And from the emperor to the common people, since ancient times, to today, almost no one is exempt from vulgarity. Because we regard our wives and children as a part of ourselves, as the continuation of our lives and our hope for the future, we just hate to leave them more money and possessions. In this way, we are living not only for ourselves, but also for our loved ones. Usually, we can see many people saving money, shrinking clothes and dieting, and using the money they save for a lifetime to build a house for their children and marry them. It can be seen that some old people are approaching the end of their lives, but they have to hold on and not hold their breath and not idle their eyes, because they still want to take another look at their children who have not returned. Because family affection has long been closely linked to our loved ones. And the reason why the old Indonesian Muba Geso does not want to live is also because he no longer has relatives who are closely related to his life. He was too lonely to live alone in this world.

Life is only once for everyone, why to live, how to live, here contains many philosophies and true meanings of life. But no matter what, no matter what situation we encounter, we must remember the words of the Buddhist master Xingyun: everyone's life is not their own, life is symbiotic and shared between heaven and earth, and we are only qualified to dedicate ourselves to the public, and we can only try our best to make life meaningful and valuable, but we do not have the freedom to destroy life.