My Purpose

In my early years I didn’t pay much attention to the idea that I needed an explicit purpose to my life. I was just living life as it came without much reflection. It was pretty obvious what I had to focus on as my life unfolded: I needed to love and support my family and work hard on my career. As the kids grew up and moved away my purpose became much more focused. My purpose in life was to love and support my Loved One, my wife. But when my Loved One died I was devastated and stripped of my life’s purpose. Did I even have a purpose anymore? Having struggled with this lack of purpose, I’ve finally discovered a purpose I am now happy with. To get to where I am today I had to realize that a life’s purpose is not to achieve something but rather to be someone. Achievements may come as a result of being someone, but they are not a goal to be chased after. Being someone is not a passive activity. Your actions and speech define the person you are, and your life view and thoughts drive your actions and speech. I’ve chosen the Buddha’s eightfold path to to guide me in my effort to be the best person I can be. I will never be perfect and I have much to learn but I have become Some One.

My purpose is to be the best person I can be and
the Buddha’s eightfold path is my guide.

By having Right Mindfulness

I will be awakened to the present moment.
I will mindfully employ all the elements of the eightfold path.

By having the Right View

  I will recognize the interbeing of all natural things.
I will recognize what is wholesome and what is unwholesome in me.
I will have love and compassion for all things living. 

By having Right Thinking

I will not think of myself first.
I will have an open mind and be tolerant of others.
I will question whether my perceptions are correct or not.
I will think about what I am doing right now.
I will recognize bad habit energy so it will not cause me problems.
I will have a mindset of love and compassion.
I will seek to learn new things in pursuit of wisdom.

By having Right Speech

I will speak truthfully with words that inspire self-confidence, joy and hope.
I will cultivate loving speech and deep listening in order to bring joy and happiness to others.
If I’m not certain, I will not spread news or criticize things.
I will not speak words that cause division or discord.
I will not embellish or exaggerate to make things seem better or worse than they are.

By having Right Action

I will act out of love to prevent harm and violence towards others and myself.
I will protect the lives of people, animals, and our environment.
I will not kill or allow others to kill or support any act of killing in the world.
I will not steal or possess anything that should belong to others.
I will respect the property of others.
I will practice generosity by sharing time, energy, and material resources with those in need.
I will not engage in sexual relations without love and long-term commitment.
I will cultivate good health, both physical and mental, for myself, my family and community
by practicing mindful eating, drinking and consuming.
I will not ingest alcohol or any other intoxicant or ingest foods that contain toxins.
I will not expose my mind to to items that are toxic to my mindfulness.
I will cooperate with others to achieve these right actions.

By having Right Effort

I will make the effort to carry through with all the elements of the eightfold path.
I will use the right amount of effort to bring interest and joy.
I will recognize that too much effort can be counterproductive.
I will recognize that too little effort will not get the job done.

By having Right Concentration

I will not live my life in distraction and inattention.
I will cultivate a mind that is one-pointed and neither too excited nor too dull.
I will use active concentration to dwell on the present moment and then move on to the next moment.
I will use selective concentration to focus on a selected object (physical or mental) and hold on to that object.
I will not use concentration to run away from something.
I will use my concentration to embrace my suffering in order to eliminate it.

By having Right Livelihood

I will choose a livelihood that is mindful of the elements of the eightfold path.
I will support myself and my family with this livelihood to provide healthcare, food, clothing and lodging.