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The End of the world..
Just curious, what does a buddhist think when people talk about the end of the world coming? Do they believe in it? How do they handle it?
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Well everytime I fall down it feels pretty real. LOL
The question is: What difference does it make?
Jules
KoB u can ignore this....
but the earth only needs to change a global 12 degrees (or less?) to start another ice age, some scientists think this will happen by the year 2100.. or sooner
ive heard several speculations as to when the icecaps will melt.. some say 2050, others 2070
experts say its allready too late to try and reverse the damage, its been too late for decades
Just think how wonderful the world is: each person a universe of unique perception, a cosmos of personal decision. Not for nothing does the Buddha teach us that it is the supreme benefit that we have been born human, endowed with the possibility of realising and manifesting our Buddha Nature. In no other of the Realms can this occur.
It is one of the comforting thoughts for those of us who have no 'belief' and very little 'opinion' about the nature of post-transition survival that nothing is lost. It only changes.
"I hope not. I myself am trying not to do things to make the world worse."
I absolutely can not stand when people thow their garbage on the ground. This is your world, your living space...why would you want to trash your space? Its like your house...would want to live in a trashy area? No...so trash your world.
It is in a cycle of birth and death for our planet earth too.
*Warning* Don't click if you're offended by bad language! *Warning*
http://www.endofworld.net/
LOL!!!! I don't particularly like bad language, but all the little comments like "Word" and "what up" were cracking me up.
Anita, that is one of my biggest pet peeves. I get so upset when people throw garbage out their car window. Especially cigarette butts - they are everywhere!!! Most smokers do not consider that "littering" and I get so frustrated with that!
Zen,
That was funny.
Adiana
Do Buddhists believe that the end of the world will happen? The answer is Yes, but not in the way many people understand it. Whenever people talk of "The End of the World", there is usually fear and anxiety. For the Buddhist, it is a cause for concern but certainly not for fear.
The Buddha taught that nothing in this world or even the world itself is permanent. All existence, including the universe, the planets, life, civilisations are subject to constant change. We can see this as truth in our observations of everyday life and our knowledge of history, geography and the sciences. Nothing stays the same; not our lovers, our society, civilisations, the crust of this planet, absolutely nothing; not even ourselves, as we change from moment to moment and day to day. So why should we expect life on this planet to remain forever? The Buddha has predicted that our planet too will one day break apart and fall back into the swirl of the cosmos.
Many of the evidence that people may cite as indications of the ending of the world is erroneous. There have been many terrible events in the history of mankind. Diseases like the Great Plague, the great world wars, natural catastrophes like volcanoes, earthquakes and tsunamis have all at one time or another been cited as evidence of the coming end of the world. But these are short sighted. Events like these have come and gone. And with the increased world population, we can expect large numbers of unfortunate victims. They happen often enough throughout much of human history and will continue to occur with regularity.
The world may come to an end, but it does not happen overnight in the manner taught by many religions. According to Buddhism, the end comes about slowly with small changes taking place every moment, every minute. Even in our relatively short lives, we see the truth in this. Already, the climate is changing, animals are facing extinction and the world's resources are drying up. Eventually, we will see the last great whale, the last elephant, the last oak tree. And this is how the world, as we know it, will come to an end. Although this is inevitable, this event need not necessarily have to take place anytime soon.
We are responsible for the end of the world!
The Buddha taught that these phenomena are not the result of the will of god but to a large extent are within our control. Unfortunately, many of our civilizations have developed on the foundation of theistic religions. The holy books of these religions generally teach that the Earth was created for the benefit and pleasure of man. "God will provide". Indeed, even today, many people cling on to the superstitious belief that their God has put the Earth, its animals and resources for man's use. Thus, down through the ages, man have misused and abused the resources of our planet. Such beliefs have fuelled consumerism and the exploitative use of the Earth's resources. Now that the problem is evident, such people are again relying on God to solve the Earth's problems, by praying to an invisible, non-existing entity, instead of taking responsibility for our actions. It is this ignorance and irresponsibility that is the cause of the failing health of our planet. The fate of the world really rests in out hands, not in the will of an imaginary God. Just as man is responsible for the sorry condition of our world, man has the ability to restore it to health.
The Buddha said that all actions have consequences and that we are responsible for our actions. This is the law of karma. By understanding this law and living according to it, we can change the world for the better. Buddhists believe that everything in this world is inter-related. Not only do our actions have consequences on ourselves, it affects the lives of every other living being. The felling of forests in one part of the world might cause the drying up of rivers in another country. Pollution produced by one country might lead to floods in another.
Buddhists are also aware of the truth of rebirth and understand how all living beings have minds that are similar to ours. All sentient beings are reborn over and over again in various existences. Indeed, the various people we meet and the animals we encounter; all have had some relationship to us in our many, many past lives. Thus Buddhists have great empathy and compassion for all living creatures and try to avoid destroying life and the habitats of animals.
Thus the end of the world may one day occur, but Buddhists realise that this is not willed by a God or any other mythical agency but is the result of the collective actions of mankind. However, Buddhists in their wisdom realise that their personal end will arrive one day in the form of death. This reality is equally important and requires our immediate attention. If one does not fear death, then what reason is there to fear an "end of the world" scenario? If we understand death and what happens when we die, there is no need to harbour any fear as we can properly prepare for this eventuality.
This is EXCELLENT! I love it.
Thanks.
cheers,
"Comic pities da fool that don't think it's funny!"
Michael
I HATE cigareete butts!!! My brothers had a concert at my mom's place one year (they had a country band) and our yard was filled with cigarette butts after that. And since it seemed like the entire county was there, there were a lot of butts - not to mention assews. We kept finding cigarette butts for years.
What really peeves me, though, is when someone we just barely even know comes to the door smoking, then - RIGHT IN FRONT OF US - throws their butt in our yard. I'm just horrified!
That's perfect. I love it.
Michael
Forgive me if I have misunderstood you, Anita, but what is it that you imagine you control?
soooooooooooooooo..................... find peace while ya can eh?
Well, Buddha had been dead 500 years BC... and we reckon that there have been 2000 years since Christ's Existence, so that still gives us another 2,500 years.... the one who destroys the dharma will be Mayatreya - the next predicted reincarnation of the Buddha - which means that he'll just 'blow everything away ' that is to say, all shall become new, and the old shall pass away.... With his/her coming, all will be rewritten....
"Maitreya, in Buddhism, the future Buddha, a Buddha who will be reborn in a period of decline to renew the doctrine of the founder of Buddhism, the Buddha. Maitreya is believed to be a bodhisattva, one who refuses entry into nirvana, a transcendent state free from suffering, out of a compassionate desire to help others. At present, he is believed to reside in Tushita Heaven, where he awaits his rebirth (see Transmigration). Although various calculations exist, this rebirth is expected to occur in 30,000 years. At the moment of his rebirth, Buddhist law will have completely degenerated, requiring a new revelation. "
http://sangha.net/messengers/maitreya.htm
After all, if we fix our eyes on some promise of "jam tomorrow", we will simply destroy our world, each other and ourselves through the spread of "civilisation" of which, as Stanley Diamond says in In Search of the Primitive:
I used to love the words of the Psalmist, "I shall lift up my eyes to the hills, from whence cometh my help", until I realised that, if I keep looking 'out there' at the hills, I miss the suffering earth and the pile of turds that lie around my feet.
Man, that was beautiful
-bf
There was the cycle of the mineral, the rock. There was the cycle of the plant. And now we are in the cycle of the animal coming to the end of that and beginning the cycle of the human being. When we get into the cycle of the human being, the highest and greatest powers that we have will be released to us.
At the beginning of this cycle of time, long ago, the Great Spirit made an appearance and gathered the peoples of this earth together, and said to the human beings, "I'm going to send you to four directions, and over time I'm going to change you to four colors, but I'm going to give you some teachings, and you will call these the Original Teachings; when you come back together with each other, you will share these so that you can live and have peace on earth, and a great civilization will come about. During the cycle of time, I'm going to give each of you two stone tablets. When I give you those stone tablets, don't cast them upon the ground. If any of the sisters and brothers cast their tablets on the ground, not only will human beings have a hard time, but almost the earth itself will die."
And so He gave each of us a responsibility, and we call that the Guardianship. To the Indian people, he gave the Guardianship of the Earth. We were to learn during this cycle of time the teachings of the earth, the plants that grow from the earth, the foods that you can eat, and the herbs that heal so that, when we came back together with the other sisters and brothers, we could share this knowledge with them. Something good was to happen on the earth.
To the East he gave the people the Guardianship of the Wind. They were to learn about the sky and breathing and how to take that within ourselves for spiritual advancement. They were to share that with us at this time.
To the South He gave the Guardianship of the Water. They were to learn the teachings of the water, which is the chief of the elements, being the most humble and the most powerful.
To the North He gave the Guardianship of the Fire. If you look at the center of many of the things they do, you will find the fire. They say a light bulb is fire. If you look at the center of a car you will find a spark. If you look at the center of the airplane and the train you will find the fire. The fire consumes, and also moves.
And so a long time passed, and the Great Spirit gave each of the peoples of the four directions two stone tablets. Ours are kept at the Hopi Reservation in Arizona at Four Corners Area on Third Mesa. I talked to people from the black race, and their stone tablets are at the foot of Mount Kenya. They are kept by the Kukuyu Tribe. I was at an Indian spiritual gathering about 15 years ago. A medicine man from South Dakota put a beaded medicine wheel in the middle of the gathering. It had the four colors from the four directions.
The stone tablets of the peoplei in the East are kept by the Tibetans. If you went straight through the Hopi Reservation to the other side of the world, you would come out in Tibet. The Tibetan word for sun is the Hopi word for moon, and the Hopi word for sun is the Tibetan word for moon.
The guardians of the traditions of the people of the north are the Swiss. In Switzerland, they still have a day when each family brings out its mask. They still know the colors of the families, and they still know the symbols, some of them. Each of these four peoples happen to live in the mountains.
Each of the four races went to their directions and learned their teachings. It is said that as long as the four guardianships are shared. That Balance and harmony will remain on Earth. But if this balance grows heavy in any one direction. The earth will falther and die.