The four extremes

Buddhism has the denial of the four extremes. Monism, dualism, eternalism and nihilism.
The New Age is mainly concerned with Monism and eternalism. Monism is concerned with everything is one. We are all God. It also has a belief that everything has meaning and that randomness does not operate. Since Buddhism is an antheistic religion there is no God so monism is denied.The main reason there is no God in Buddhism is that there is no first cause. Buddhists believe that Mind has always existed and will always exist. Our thoughts arise from this Mind which are called small mind.
Eternalism says that everything has meaning. This is partcular true at the present moment when people think of the second coming and the signs that will appear. I'm afraid all the eathquakes and hurricanes are just the random functioning of the universe and has no ultimate purpose. People make alot of money predicting the end of the world but it never comes. Let us even suppose there is a second coming as in revelations, what then. Will there be heaven on earth.In order for that to be the case, everyone would have to be good. If that were possible, why hasn't that happened already. Heaven must exist in the present moment, otherwise its a delusion.
Nihilism is a popular belief now, where nothing has meaning and there is only this one life.Spiritual practice however shows us that we can become better people and Mind does continue from life time to life time.If you ever meet realised beings you realise that they could not have made all that progress in just one life time.
The other thing thing that is very confused is karma. Karma in the Buddhist sense is perception and response. How we perceive things determine how we respond.If we change are perceptions are responses change.It is not cause and effect. Cause and effect does operate but also randomness and order also operate.
The only purpose is life is to achieve realisation. To realise that form and emptiness cannot be divided and are non-dual. Form is everything that we can name. Emptiness gives rise to form and then it dissolves back into emptiness. Think of a sound. First there is silence. Emptiness. A sound arises form, then it dissolves emptiness. Non-duality is the experience of sound and emptiness at the same time, this is called Rigpa. There is only this exquisite dance at play. What generates suffering is our attachment to Form and our rejection of emptiness. A Utopia is not possible however. Emptiness will always occur. Nothing lasts forever except that which was never created in the first place.