When asked what it means to live, there are probably not many people who can give a proper answer. Most of the great novelists, artists, and philosophers who have left their mark on history have never found meaning in life. Some people dismiss the idea of meaning or purpose in life, saying there is no such thing, while others say that we have to live because we were born. That may be true, but that alone will not help us move forward.

To live is to know how to live. How to live means facing life, but it is difficult to do so unless we have a certain understanding of the meaning of life, the purpose of life, and why we are here in this way, even if it is not easy to understand.

It seems that Buddha forbade thinking or discussing existence, probably because life's problems cannot be solved depending on what there are. When faced with someone suffering from being shot with an arrow, no amount of thinking or discussing what arrow it is will solve the problem.

In Buddhism, the issue we should be concerned with is the phenomena around us that are born, die and change. The only issue is not "what is the substance" of the phenomenon, but "how" the phenomenon is (state) and "how" we should be (attitude) toward it. What's important is not "What" but "How."

No matter how fortunate your circumstances are, if you think you are unhappy, you are unhappy. No matter how hard life is, if you think you are happy, then you are happy. Happiness or unhappiness seems to be a matter of our attitude towards circumstances. If we knew that our suffering is merely the result of our beliefs and imagination, life would become a joy.

Buddha's teaching about "how things are" (state) and "how things should be" (attitude) is that "life is suffering (state), so don't worry too much about it (attitude)." States cannot be easily changed, but attitudes can.

If you ask me what it means to live, the answer is clear to me. It is to find the truth. To find the truth, we live. In this case, truth means our true self. For me, life is about finding out who I truly am. I believe it is about discovering everlasting reality that is our true nature.

The reason why people cannot find meaning in life or a reason to live is probably because they can only find value in things that are socially recognized. This is why eating ice cream in the shade of a tree in mid-summer gives no meaning to life. Even without social evaluation, everyone can find meaning in life through love. This is surely because they can find their true selves there.

Even if it has no social value, the path you are walking is the path that leads to the truth. Although the destination of truth is one, the paths to get there are different for each person, so there must be as many paths as there are people. The path to truth is not what you do, but how you live; it must not be what but how. If we live each day with the right attitude, we will be able to arrive at the truth.

What is the meaning of life? Everything we experience in life must be the meaning of life. It's different for each person, so there can't be a single answer. You can't be taught by others; you have to discover it for yourself. Finding the meaning of life is where you can find your true self.