Introduction
Many people spend years asking life’s biggest questions:
Who am I?
Why do I exist?
What is the meaning of life?
For some, these questions remain quietly in the background. For others, they become a lifelong search.
In this profound meditation testimonial, Brandon O. shares his journey from loneliness, suffering, and existential confusion to discovering lasting happiness, inner peace, and a deeper understanding of life’s purpose.
Growing up on a remote island before being separated from his family at a young age, Brandon carried emotional pain, loneliness, and unanswered questions throughout much of his life. Although he later achieved academic success and received a full college scholarship, the emptiness within him remained.
Through Master Woo Myung’s meditation method, he discovered something he never expected to find—the answers he had been searching for his entire life.
His story explores the search for truth, the true self, and the meaning of life itself.
💬 What Is the Meaning of Life?
By Brandon O. | San Francisco, CA
Finding the true meaning of life can feel like a miracle.
Many people spend their entire lives searching for it, yet it often seems difficult to find.
I would like to share how I discovered the meaning of my life.
🌊 A Childhood That Felt Like a Dream
My childhood, up until the age of nine, was beautiful and happy.
I was born on an island so small that it is difficult to find on a map.
There were only about ten households on the island, and I lived there with my parents and sisters.
Everyone in the community lived like one family.
Even though there were no grocery stores and very little money, the mountains and the ocean provided more than enough food for everyone.
We did not always have electricity, but I had friends to play with in nature every day.
Looking back, it feels like a fairy tale.
There was no school on the island, so when I was nine years old, I was sent to live with my grandmother in the city, away from my parents, sisters, and friends.
That was when my dark and lonely life began.
💔 Years of Loneliness and Searching
The boys in the city were often cruel.
I was bullied and made fun of because I was different.
I spent much of my time alone.
I cried so much during those years that I felt as though I had no tears left for the rest of my life.
Eventually, I entered college.
I was fortunate to receive a full scholarship that covered my tuition, room and board, and even provided a stipend.
I had financial security.
I had a girlfriend.
I was surrounded by people.
Yet despite all of that, I still felt disconnected from the world.
I often felt like a drop of oil floating on the surface of the ocean—separate from everything around it.
I was still lonely.
The emptiness inside me only seemed to grow larger.
Every day, the same questions returned:
What is the meaning of life?
Why do I live?
Where am I going?
Those questions never left me.
🌱 The Beginning of My Journey
When I was twenty-two years old, one of my professors invited me to attend a meditation retreat.
Without hesitation, I agreed.
At that retreat, I learned for the first time what the human mind truly is.
I also realized something astonishing:
I had not been living in the world itself.
I had been living inside the world of my own mind.
The meditation guides taught me how to reflect on my life and let go of the accumulated thoughts, memories, and emotions I carried within me.
As I reflected on my life and continued discarding the burdens I had accumulated, my perspective gradually changed.
✨ Letting Go of the Past
The resentment I had toward my parents for sending me away.
The anger toward those who bullied me.
The pain of rejection.
The shame.
The loneliness.
The countless ways I tried to fill the emptiness inside myself.
All of those emotions began to unravel and disappear one by one.
For the first time in many years, I cried.
But these were not tears of sadness.
They were tears of understanding, repentance, and release.
As those burdens disappeared, many of the questions that had troubled me throughout my life also began to dissolve.
Slowly, I became happy again.
🌟 Discovering Truth and My True Self
One day, I remembered the Heart Sutra that I had memorized years earlier.
For the first time, I understood its meaning not intellectually, but directly through experience.
I realized that Truth was not something distant.
It was not reserved for monks, priests, or spiritual masters.
As I continued letting go of the human mind, the universal mind—the Truth—gradually revealed itself.
That Truth was our true nature.
It was our true self.
And it was where we came from.
Suddenly, the questions that had followed me for years became clear:
Who am I?
Where did I come from?
How should I live?
What happens when I die?
The answers were no longer concepts.
I knew them directly.
🌈 Finding the Meaning of Life
I never attended meditation in search of Truth.
I attended because I was suffering.
I simply followed the method I was taught and focused on letting go of my mind.
In doing so, I found what I had been searching for all along.
I found my true self.
For the first time in my life, I no longer felt separated from the world.
I finally felt that I belonged.
Now I live in the world of Truth, and every day feels like a gift.
I am deeply grateful and genuinely happy.
This is how I found the meaning of life.
For me, the true meaning of life is to discover Truth, become one with Truth, and live with lasting happiness.
The Truth had always been within me.
It was simply hidden beneath countless thoughts, memories, and attachments.
If you are searching for the meaning of life, I encourage you to explore meditation for yourself.
It may help you discover answers that cannot be found anywhere else.
Finding Meaning, Purpose, and the True Self
Many people spend years searching for happiness, fulfillment, and answers to life’s deepest questions.
Brandon’s story demonstrates that lasting peace and purpose do not necessarily come from success, achievement, or external circumstances.
Through Master Woo Myung’s meditation method, he found freedom from loneliness, emotional pain, and existential confusion while discovering his true self and a deeper understanding of life.
His experience reminds us that the answers we seek may already exist within us, waiting to be uncovered.
