ความหมายของชีวิตในทัศนะของ ประมวล เพ็งจันทร์

Abstract

The thesis objective is to study the meaning of life from the prospective of Pramuan Pengchan, in particular the nature of life, the goal of life and the meaning of life via his literary works, TV programs and in depth-interview. From the study it has been found that Pramuan views on the subject of life consist of two parts which are mind and body. Mind has a will and a connection which creates its own meanings. Mind rather than reason, also perceives, senses and observes it also interprets which leads us to understand the world. Pramuan’s emphasis is on mind however; body is also a tool that helps in the learning process. Therefore, life consists of both mind and body as reciprocal factors in learning. Life is a continuous process, moving on through different contexts and situations and life thus, is always changing. By the passage of time, Pramuan’s aim of life has changed from seeking after the outer truth to inner truth to contemplate the passing life, to clarify the question about the meaning of living, which he believes is a way to find real inner peace, far beyond the sorrowful state and come back to the original mind that is full of knowledge and self-realization, which leads to freedom of thought and spirit. In Pramuan’s view, value and meaning of life is placed on learning, to seek clear answers for life which can begin in oneself and later be expanded to society by the way of reciprocal interaction. At first, one has willingness to learn and to accept any lessons from any circumstances and to experience it directly without any resistance. In other words, it is to learn vie contexts of external phenomena, then focus on the current phenomena, perceiving it directly without manipulating the thought or being dualistic e.g. good and bad, right and wrong, etc. and contemplate it, then true meaning of life will come about from internal synthesis. In sum, the meaning of life is learning, to understand, to gain wisdom which makes one able to see the nothingness of the self and to cross the non-duality, to sense the connection of all things-reciprocal relation with warmness and love. By this way, life is full of meaning, without doubt in living, one has freedom in thought and spirit and finally, life will be free from suffering. Pramuan Pengchan has also suggested that each one has one own way or meaning of life therefore, for the seeker it is not necessary to imitate him but one should find a suitable way for oneself. In short, one must perform one’s duties best as possible. Each step of learning has its own value. It will result in progress for everyday life and one must keep learning until the end of life.