Fren: Watched the movie ‘2012’ – finally the world comes to an end!
Gren: We are already living in the end of days as we might die any time. This is a true ‘prophesy’ that no one can deny! Whether the world ends or not, death is always impending, and as long as we are unenlightened, we will be reborn elsewhere. The end of this world is not the real end. Though we must do our best to protect the environment, the end of the whole world is overrated!
There were many doomsday prophesies in history and logically, all of the past ones failed to materialise, or we wouldn’t still be here – though some will rationalise that this is so because they got enough people to pray that they will not materialise. But this is very arguable, because how can the one-time prayers of few so easily avert end of the entire world? The end of the world (physical life on Earth) is not a big issue in Buddhism because there is rebirth and other world systems that unenlightened beings will naturally migrate to. Also, Maitreya Bodhisattva is prophesised in the sutras to arrive some 56 billion years later to become the next Buddha. We can safely say the Earth will be around in the mean time. What Buddhists are more concerned about is the end of the Dharma (spiritual life) in our world, which will happen before the next Buddha arrives. According to the ‘Sutra of Changes to Come‘…
‘When the Dharma is about to perish, all the gods will begin to weep. Rivers will dry up and the five grains will not ripen. Epidemic diseases will frequently take the lives of multitudes of people… The great rivers will rise up in disharmony with their natural cycles, yet people will not take notice or feel concern. Extremes of climate will soon be taken for granted. . . .’
Nature will always outlive humans. The above quote sounds like the climate crisis (global warming being the crux) that is in progress – which causes more typhoons, earthquakes and pandemics (e.g. bird and swine flu) too. From scientists, the Earth is only 4.5 billion years old and there has never been so much environmental destruction than this generation. By default, the environment will degrade when the state of the Dharma degrades. Technically, according to the Buddha’s prophesy, we are about 10% into the Dharma-ending Age already – which is why we must do our best to delay or turn the tide by stepping up our Dharma propagation work. The Dharma as in truth and the path to truth per se cannot end but the quality of interest and understanding of it can drop, and rise again later. It is impermanence at play. The way the Dharma being taught and practised now is clearly a far cry from the Buddha’s time. So it’s logical that if it falls steadily, a state of non-Dharma will come. I take the prophesy in good stride (as in the last link below) – to delay it, not to go with the flow. Amituofo!
Related Articles:
Buddhist Review of the Movie ‘2012’:
https://moonpointer.com/new/2009/11/a-buddhist-perspective-of-2012
Pre-review of the Movie ‘2012’:
https://moonpointer.com/new/2008/12/2012-end-of-days
Are We Really in the Dharma-Ending Age?:
https://moonpointer.com/new/2009/06/are-we-in-the-dharma-ending-age