Introduction
There is often much wisdom to be found in the writings and sayings of ancient philosophers and thinkers. Often, this wisdom can be of great use in one’s life. For example, the following statement belongs to Milarepa, who is one of the most widely known Saints from Tibet:
Life is short, and the time of death is uncertain; so apply yourself to meditation. Avoid doing evil, and acquire merit, to the best of your ability, even at the cost of life itself. In short: Act so that you have no cause to be ashamed of yourselves; and hold fast to this rule. (“Milarepa,” 2014, para. 1)
It should be noted that this quotation, or at least some parts of it, may be rather helpful to a wide array of individuals. This paper provides an overall evaluation of this statement, as well as considers whether the majority of religious persons would agree with the last sentence of this prompt.
Overall Evaluation
On the whole, it should be stressed that in the quoted statement, Milarepa observes that life is short, so it is recommended to engage in meditation (“Milarepa,” 2014). Generally speaking, this advice might be quite useful for individuals who consider themselves followers of religions in which meditation is considered to be a benevolent process that brings numerous benefits. However, it is important to note that meditation might be useful for any people, even those who are not religious, because it may be effectual in reducing stress and soothing nerves (Goyal et al., 2014). Nevertheless, these people might not agree that one should engage in meditation whenever they have free time, or because life is short. When it comes to avoiding engaging in evil acts, as well as to acquiring merit, it might be possible to state that this advice is sound, for evil acts harm not only their victim but also the perpetrator, because the latter may often have to face justice and/or vengeance in the future. On the other hand, acquiring merit is usually beneficent for both the one who engages in acts of merit and for those at whom such acts are aimed.
Would Most Religious People Agree With the Last Sentence of the Quote?
It might be possible to state that the majority of religious individuals would agree with Milarepa’s recommendation to act in a manner which would allow one not to be ashamed of their actions in the future (“Milarepa,” 2014). It is known that most religions have certain ethical codes and norms, i.e. they consider some acts good, and some other acts–evil (Cornille, 2013). These religions usually prescribe doing the good acts and prohibit doing the evil acts. Simultaneously, one should feel ashamed when they have committed an evil act. Therefore, most adherents of religions would probably agree that one should act so as not to be ashamed of oneself. Nevertheless, it should be observed that individuals who are not religious would probably agree with the advice to act so as not to be ashamed of oneself later. If one can predict that if they act in a certain manner, and will be ashamed of themselves for that act later, then it is better not to act in this way. However, it is important to note that sometimes, even though one knows that they will feel ashamed of a certain act in the future, there might be reasons for one to do this act that override this predicted future feeling of shame.
Conclusion
All in all, it should be observed that the said statement of Milarepa provides sound advice that could be highly useful for many individuals (“Milarepa,” 2014). It is important that his advice might help not only Buddhists (such as Milarepa himself) but also persons who follow other religions. In addition, it is paramount to stress that this recommendation might even prove useful to those individuals who do not follow any religion in particular.
References
Cornille, C. (Ed.). (2013). The Wiley-Blackwell companion to inter-religious dialogue. Malden, MA: John Wiley & Sons.
Goyal, M., Singh, S., Sibinga, E. M., Gould, N. F., Rowland-Seymour, A., Sharma, R.,…Haythornthwaite, J. A. (2014). Meditation programs for psychological stress and well-being: A systematic review and meta-analysis. JAMA Internal Medicine, 174(3), 357-368.
Milarepa. (2014). Web.