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Who are you? Who am I? | Week 50

December | Meaning of Life | Week 50 | 12/17/2023
What is the meaning of life? Part 3

The Buddhists and the Christians both speak of a natural state for man, which maximizes life and gives us meaning. The Michelangelo Principle states that Michelangelo could look at an uncarved block of stone and see David. The Christians agree with this - that we are born an uncarved block of stone and we must discover the inner David, through discipline, adherence to rules, struggle and strife. The Buddhists believe we are David, the flawed being, suffering from the attachments to life, and that we must shed our attachments and return to the natural state - the uncarved stone. With such a difference, the Christians would purport that the meaning of life is the struggle to adhere to truth, to carve away the sin, and to live as God intended us, worshiping him and doing his will. The Buddhists would say that the meaning of life is to rid ourselves of possession and return to the nascent state of natural bliss.

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