Some of those stranded in Thailand’s calamitous floods are family pets. A group of volunteers has been heading into flooded Bangkok neighborhoods, rescuing frantic cats and dogs. Irwin Loy went along with one pet rescue team. Comment
Doom is the end of the world. Doom is death and destruction. Doom, we can't get enough of it. Why are we obsessed? It may be fear of death the forces us to pay attention. It may be relief -- we need another "failed" prediction to bolster our sense that no one will ever predict anything. No one has seen anything. No one knows anything. We're safe.
Translators may tweak the tone or sentiment of these words. Yet the message is incontrovertible. Things fall apart. They are always falling apart. That is the nature of "things" (all that arises supported by causes and conditions, which is everything with the sole exception of nirvana). Release from this, freedom from this, liberation from this is knowing and seeing nirvana.
The Maya or Mayans knew one thing for sure. The Ages change. And this one is coming to an end. As of today, or perhaps December 21, 2012, we transition from one to another. This is the dawning of the Age of Aquarius.
Due to ignorance, one acts with consequences. Due to karma (action), there is rebirth. Due to rebirth there is pain, sadness...and this entire mass of "suffering." Nirvana is the end of suffering reached through meditation. But Dr. Goldberg, like the ancient Vedic Brahmins, proposes another way out of the karmic cycle.
It is possible, unbelievable but possible. Let us look at the evidence rather than relying on our preconceptions and biases. Coast to Coast host George Noory recently welcomed hypnotherapist Dr. Bruce Goldberg to discuss:
What is time? (themostawesomepageintheuniverse.com)
Goldberg (pictured left) offered a series of nighttime exercises to help anyone wishing to become a conscious out-of-body traveler. One can tap into what he calls our "higher self," the perfect part of us. Accessing our higher self can help soothe the bereaved and even provide healing, he suggests. It is the reason for his work.
Goldberg talks about the importance of "conscious dying" as an ascension technique. He describes it as a way to merge with the higher self at the moment of death in order to avoid the disorienting forces of the karmic cycle.
By way of example, Goldberg speaks of the case of an uncertain pianist named Edna. She died in 1979 and was reborn in 1981 as an empowered young girl named Paula, who played the piano and spoke of her past life.
Himalayan path along Phoksundo Lake (lasochres.se)
The teaching of causal interdependence is the most important of Buddhist principles. The progression of causes and conditions is the reality that applies to all things: from the natural environment, which is an external and physical condition, to the events of human society, ethics, life events, and the happiness and suffering that manifest in our minds.
Causal relationships are part of one natural truth. Our happiness within this natural system depends on having some knowledge of how it works and practicing correctly within it. With knowledge we are able to address problems on personal, social, and environmental levels.
Given that all things are interconnected, all affecting one another, success in dealing with the world lies in creating harmony within it.
The sciences, which have evolved with human civilization and are influencing our lives so profoundly, are said to be based on reason and rationality. Their storehouse of knowledge has been amassed through interacting with these natural laws of conditionality. ...
But the human search for knowledge in modern scientific fields has three notable features...
All facets of the natural order -- the physical world and the human world, the world of conditions (dharma) and the world of actions (karma), the material world and the mental world -- are connected and interrelated; they cannot be separated. Disorder and aberration in one sector will affect other sectors. If we want to live in peace, we must learn how to live in harmony with all spheres of the natural environment, both the internal and the external, the individual and the social, the physical and the mental, the material and the immaterial.
...This is why, of all the systems of causal relationship based on the following law "Because there is this, that arises; when this ceases, that ceases," the teachings of Buddhism begin with, and stress throughout, the factors involved in the creation of suffering in individual awareness.
"Because there is ignorance, there are volitional formations..." is the first link of the Dependent Origination formula. Once this system is understood on the inner level, liberating us from suffering, we are then in a position to see the connections between inner factors and the causal relationships in the external environment. This is the approach adopted in this book. More
1. An Overview of Dependent Origination
Types of Dependent Origination found in the texts
1. The general principle
2. The principle in effect
2. Interpreting Dependent Origination
The essential meaning
4. The Standard Format
The main factors
1. Ignorance and craving-clinging
2. Volitional impulses and becoming
3. Consciousness to feeling, and birth, aging and death
5. Other Interpretations
Preliminary definition
How the links connect
Examples
An example of Dependent Origination in everyday life
7. Dependent Origination in Society
(Pinlight) This video was released to accompany a radio appearance by L.A. Marzulli June 28, 2011 on Coast to Coast AM. Do ancient prophetic texts refer to the times we are living in? What is happening with our Moon? Magnetic north is moving, and airports are having to readjust their equipment, so does this signal an impending pole shift? Bird and fish deaths? Massive earthquakes in a ring spreading across the planet? Floods and peculiar weather? "Watchers 2" investigates these events. Full DVD available at lamarzulli.net
Author Marzulli discussed his latest research on biblical prophecy, which suggests that the recent increase in global turmoil, calamities, and Earth changes are the "birth pangs" of the apocalypse. April 2011 had the deadliest weather in American history. Along with the Fukushima earthquake in March and other strange events (SEE INCREDIBLE LIST), Marzulli concludes that we are in an unprecedented period. "Something's been let loose...to attack humankind in a way that we've never seen, and it's manifesting in earthquakes and volcanic activity," he warns.
There seems to be a new body in our solar system that is affecting the lunar surface. Our Moon now has an anomalous rotation. This could be what Bible prophecy refers to as "signs in the heavens." The more ancient Book of Enoch states: "the moon shall alter her order and not appear at her time," he notes. "When we plug in Planet X, Nibiru, Elenin, Comet Honda, and others that seem to be manifesting in the sky -- what are we really looking at? It's alarming in my opinion," Marzulli commented, adding that we may be witnessing the effects of a cosmic war taking place in a dimension that we do not see. More
January 7, 2009 L.A. Marzulli interview on Coast to Coast
The Buddha rested between two Sal trees in the midst of countless devas and members of the Sangha. He greeted well wishers, answered questions, and gave his last instructions, passing in joy through the jhanas ("meditative absorptions") with one final exhortation.
Buddhist eschatology, as subscribed to by some Buddhist schools, derives from purported Gautama Buddha's prediction that his teachings, the "Dharma," would disappear after 5,000 years.
According to the discourse collection (Sutta Pitaka), the "ten wholesome courses of conduct" will disappear. People will follow the ten unwholesome courses of action -- bad karma that includes murder, violence, theft, sexual misconduct, false speech (perjury, divisiveness, abuse, and idle talk), greed, ill will, and delusion.
Greed manifests as perverted lust and rapacious craving for resources resulting in skyrocketing poverty and the end of compassionate behavior born out of the true Dharma.
How long would the Buddha's teaching last? Signs of corruption were evident in the Buddha's time (e.g., old Subhadda held wrong views, DN 16, 6:28) span of time was expanded to 5,000 years.
Commentators like Ven. Buddhaghosa predicted a step-by-step disappearance of the Buddha's teachings: During the first stage, enlightened beings would no longer appear in the world. Later, the content of the Buddha's true teachings would vanish and only their form would be preserved. Finally, even the form of the Dharma would be forgotten.
During the final stage, the memory of the Buddha himself would be forgotten.
The last of his relics would be gathered together in Bodh Gaya and cremated. Some time [one school says millions of years, another thousands] following this development a new buddha will arise.
Maitreya Buddha will arise to rediscover and reveal the timeless Dharma, namely the path to nirvana. The Buddha said that Maitreya is currently residing in Tuṣita heaven, where he is awaiting his final rebirth in the human world.
The decline of the Dharma (the core of Buddhism) in the world, its disappearance, and its eventual re-establishment by another buddha are in keeping with the general shape of Buddhist cosmology.
Buddhism like Vedic Hinduism teaches that there are cycles of evolution and destruction over the aeons, of which the present epoch represents only the latest step.
The historical Buddha Shakyamuni is only the latest in a series of supremely-enlightened teachers (buddhas) that stretches back into the past. (The Buddha named 29 of these buddhas).
The belief in the decline and disappearance of the true Dharma -- the teaching that successfully leads to enlightenment and nirvana -- in the human world has exerted significant influence in the development of Buddhism since the time of the Buddha.
In Vajrayana Buddhism and various other forms of esoteric Mahayana Buddhism, the use of tantra is rationalized as justifiable by the degenerate state of the present world.
The East Asian belief in the decline of the Dharma (mappo in Japanese) was instrumental in the emergence of Pure Land Buddhism. Within the oldest Theravada Buddhist tradition, debate over whether nirvana was still attainable in the present age helped prompt the creation of the Dhammayutt Monastic Order in Thailand and more importantly as various popular lay Insight-Meditation (Vipassana) movements such as Goenka.
In China, Buddhist eschatology was strengthened by the Taoist influence: The messianic features of Maitreya are widely emphasized. The figure of Prince Moonlight obtains prominence unknown in Sanskrit sources. So one of the T'ang Dynasty apocrypha predicts his rebirth in the female form, thus creating religious legitimacy for the Wu Zetian Empress's usurpation. Making more Taoist associations, the "Sutra of Samantabhadra" portrays Prince Moonlight as dwelling in a cave on Penglai Island.
Buddhist cosmology speaks of incredibly long cycles. During these, the lifespan of human beings lengthens and shortens according to collective human conduct (karma). In the Cakkavati Sutra the Buddha explains the relationship between the lifespan of human beings and behavior. According to this discourse, in the distant past unskillful behavior was unknown among the human race (Aggañña Sutra, DN 27).
Humans devolved from celestial, space-traveling beings (devas). As a result of their generally skillful behavior, people lived for an immensely long time -- 80,000 years -- endowed with great beauty, health, pleasure, and strength. Over time however they began behaving unskillfully. This gradually shortened average lifespan to 100 years, where it now stands. But this is cyclical. It will continue to go down along with human morality until it is 10, with girls reaching sexual maturity at the age of five.
Ultimately, conditions will deteriorate to the point of a "sword-interval." Swords will be wielded by human beings, who will hunt one another. However, a few people will take shelter in the wilderness to escape the carnage. When the slaughter is over, they will come out of hiding and resolve to take up a life of skillful and virtuous conduct again. With the recovery of virtue, the lifespan will gradually increase until it again very gradually reaches 80,000 years, with girls attaining sexual maturity at the age of 500.
According to Tibetan Buddhist literature, the age of the first Buddha (28 buddhas ago) was 100,000 years, and his height was 100 cubits. But the 28th buddha, Siddhartha Gautama (563-483 BCE) lived 80 years, and his height was 20 cubits.
If a group of fundamentalist Christians is right, you only have nine more months to live. Harold Camping, leader of the ministry Family Radio Worldwide, has concluded after careful study of the Bible that the world will begin to end on May 21, 2011.
It will actually take several months for the process to be complete, but Camping is certain that by October it will all be over. And his group is doing their best to warn everyone.
The sect is spreading its doomsday message using billboards, travelling caravans of RVs holding volunteers who pass out relevant pamphlets, and bus-stop benches, according to the Associated Press:
"Cities from Bridgeport, Conn., to Little Rock, Ark., now have billboards with the ominous message, and mission groups are traveling through Latin America and Africa to spread the news outside the U.S," the AP reported.
Fundamentalist Christians have a long and colorful history of searching for -- and mistakenly believing they have found -- clues about when Jesus would return to Earth and bring about the final judgment.
In the early 1800s farmer William Miller concluded from a Bible study that the world would end April 23, 1843. It did not. [10 Failed Doomsday Predictions to make you feel better]
One of the great popularizers of Christian end-times is Hal Lindsey, author of the wildly popular best seller The Late Great Planet Earth (Zondervan, 1970). After his prophecies failed to materialize, he wrote a follow-up called Apocalypse Code (Western Front Ltd., 1997). More>>
Buddhist Prophecies?
Wisdom Quarterly (COMMENTARY)
One thing used to puzzle social psychologists about apocalyptic cults that predict a specific date for the "end of the world." What? They do not disband the day after. They get stronger!
The prediction not coming true brings them together. Clever cult leaders can tell their followers that they averted the catastrophe. If it weren't for them, the world would surely have ended. This is a pattern as old as the Vedas.
Near Eastern pre-JudeoChristian religions were influenced by the empire to the east, which was called Bharat (India as an expansive empire). It gave rise to Buddhism, which influenced Christianity a great deal. Predictions the Buddha made were about the distant future. Often they were general, part of repeating cycles of human social decay and renewal.
The question is, What is the good of any prediction?
It seems it keeps people on the ball, on task, on top of their goals to insure that when they are reborn, and they will be, they are happy about how they lived.
Today seems to last forever, and we slack off. But tomorrow, we are overjoyed to have made merit that secured our future. The next buddha will not be coming any time soon. But the message of the historical Buddha still exists on Earth (with increasing distortions and misunderstandings).
Things will get worse. And everyone will die (except the enlightened, who do not "die"). Things will get better. And nearly everyone will be reborn right away (except the enlightened, who have overcome rebirth). Sound like a contradiction?
On the one hand, if an ordinary being passes away, then a name, personality, and opportunity ends.
But the accumulation of karma continues to bear results in a new form. It is not the same form or personality and does not go by the same name. On the other hand, if an enlightened person passes away, rebirth and suffering permanently end right there. So it cannot be called "death," which always rebirth. Overcoming samsara is final nirvana (parinirvana) -- the end of all suffering without remainder.
Given all this, it is easy to see how even ancient Westerners in Greco-Roman empires and all along the Silk Route began to reword these wisdom teachings. The "deathless" (nirvana) became "eternal life." Ultimate bliss became ordinary happiness -- that is, nirvana became nothing but a "heaven."
The end of the "world" came to mean the end of everything. In fact, all that ends in Buddhist, Christian, and Mayan prophecy is an age.
It's the end of an astronomical age. That's why people look at the stars (astronomy) and consult astrological charts, studying the meaning of celestial bodies moving -- looking for precession on small-seasonal and big-axial scales.
There's some tribulation. But there's tribulation even when it's not the end of an age. Whether the world is ending tomorrow or not, it's always good to do good and come into line with one's values.
It in an effort that these things be understood correctly that Wisdom Quarterly tackles Buddhist subjects no one else touches -- and points them out in connection to topics non-Buddhists do tackle: prophecy, karma, history, the heavens (literal worlds in space), "angelic" extraterrestrial involvement in human affairs, and more.
Scientists have discovered the earliest known Hebrew writing -- pottery shard with an inscription dating from the 10th century B.C., during the period of King David's reign. The breakthrough could mean that portions of the Old Testament were written centuries earlier than previously thought. (The Bible's Old Testament is thought to have been first written down in an ancient form of Hebrew.) Until now, many scholars have held that parts of the Hebrew version of the Bible originated in the 6th century B.C. [at the time of the Buddha, although Dr. Ranajit Pal dates the Buddha as living centuries earlier], because Hebrew writing was thought to stretch back no further. But the newly deciphered Hebrew text is about four centuries older, scientists announced [in January, 2010].
That’s when believers would be raptured to heaven. The complete end of the world, we "must realize," would come five months later on Oct. 21, 2011 according to the proponent's Website.
Just as the Maya postulated an end date, an explanation was given for the beginning. Even before Mesoamerica, ancient India explained the origins of the universe.
Their architectural feats are unmatched today. We would not be able to build what a culture with no power tools or heavy equipment was able to build with apparent ease. But the Maya were not alone in these feats. Evidence of similar accomplishments are found around the world -- most of them hidden due to a phenomenon known as "forbidden archeology."
This states that what does not make sense according to prestigious and established theories of how cultures evolved, from lower and more primitive to higher and more "modern," are rejected out of hand. One will be drummed out of the field for attempting or speculating something that contradicts current thinking. Such is the state of "unbiased" science and academic politics. The truth may eventually win out, but it would have won out much sooner had it not been hampered by obstacles that have nothing to do with the science.
The world is familiar with the magnificent Stone Age ruins in Buddhist Cambodia (Khmer empire), but we argue about the date choosing to believe the official royal histories of self-aggrandizing kings who claim construction to forward the notion that they were omnipotent. Stonehenge is also widely recognized as nearly impossible to explain (less well known being nearby complexes and burial mounds, not to mention similar sites found even in America).
The exact same thing has happened in Egypt, where pharaohs tore down statues of former rulers, erected their own, and claimed larger (much more ancient) monuments a result of their efforts. It worked. Those rulers basked in the glory of inherited sites too grand to be comprehended even in their time and all the more in ours. Zahi Hawass (Egypt's own Indiana Jones, a megalomaniacal Head of Antiquities, who has now been given a prison sentence for his ongoing outrages) ignores egyptologists and any alternative theories, as if to hide the truth to promote his own opinions.
Less well known are many underwater structures kept hidden, such as those photographed by deep water submersibles and those found in and around India, which has a mythological basis for them but very little formal research funding. Why? Governmental and extra-governmental (military-industrial complex) agencies do not want these widely known.
This brings us back to the Maya and the Mayan calendar. Their sophisticated understanding of time, history, and cyclical ages was not their own. It was handed to them from "on high," as it were, through visitations. We mask it in religious terms because that makes sense to those familiar with Judeo-Christian mythologies. But there is very little spirituality around this, except for the advances advanced civilizations (who have visited this planet) seem to exhibit as part of the evolution of any sophisticated culture. ETs are capable of things we would call miraculous, not only with their machines but in terms of their own organic abilities -- telecommunication, telekinesis, cloaking/invisibility, healing, and so on.
Being so intelligent and advanced, capable of genetic manipulation and war, they had much to say about time. What then did they say about the past, our origins, our creation? Mayan creation myths should be as popular a subject as their scatological myths: "2012, the end of the world." They never said such things, but that's what we hear. Their year 2012 merely marks a 26,000 year cycle that is the end of an age. The world will change. The world has already radically shifted in a relatively short period. Expect more, but the drama of obvious difference on December 22, 2012 is misguided.
Quetzalcoatl will return. A new planet will be announced (not "discovered" since it is already known an in view) in our solar system, and revelations will be made (but not the biblical doom and gloom). That disclosure is taking place even now. India knew thousands of years ago because devas had told humankind, and the Vedas record that knowledge. Sumerians were told. Every great culture that became an empire was told. Only we have been kept in the dark. But even we had the mythology and scripture discussing it. Science liberated us (by rejecting interpretations and editing of sacred texts), and science enslaved us when it was co-opted by powers who saw how easy it was to manipulate by funding and public relations campaigns.
