(HowStuffWorks) Thousands of people across the globe believe the world will end in 2012 -- but why? The beliefs of 2012 fans, from interpretations of the ancient Mayan calendar to concerns over irregular sunspot cycles and solar storms, spell new hope for humanity or doom of biblical proportions.
Showing posts with label end of the world. Show all posts
Showing posts with label end of the world. Show all posts
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
2012: They Don't Want You to Know (video)
(HowStuffWorks) Thousands of people across the globe believe the world will end in 2012 -- but why? The beliefs of 2012 fans, from interpretations of the ancient Mayan calendar to concerns over irregular sunspot cycles and solar storms, spell new hope for humanity or doom of biblical proportions.Friday, October 28, 2011
Why we fear "doom"
Wisdom Quarterly
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.
We are safe. But as we sleep in safety, are we ignoring the doom all around us? The Buddha's final words as he exited this samsara (the round of death followed incessantly by rebirth) were:
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.
Mahayana Buddhism popularizes a confusing notion, "samsara is nirvana," a dangerous witticism on par with "If you meet a buddha on the road, kill him." These are odd ways to say simple things. This is not nirvana. It can be. Nirvana is not elsewhere. But we have not realized that liberation. The belief that we have does not bring us closer to it.
And if a paradoxical Zen instruction says reject authority because we have that in us, great. But to "kill" (utterly disregard, denounce, silence) a guide who points out the way? That is like rejecting a prison door labelled EXIT and deciding, "I'll just keep looking for myself."
Buddhas point the way.
There is precious little time for us on this plane, so fortunate to hear the path to freedom from all suffering. We go from here onto other states, only very rarely coming back. It is not likely that we will hear this message again for a long time. We ourselves are conditioned phenomena, and everything (material form, sensations, perceptions, formations, and consciousness) in us that we regard as us is hurtling toward destruction.
The Buddha (teacher) is a guide. The Dharma (teaching) is a guide. The Sangha (those who have successfully followed the path) collectively is a guide. The path does not simply lead to nirvana, final emancipation. It leads to all good states along the way. If one should wish to be reborn in one of the many heavens (states superior to the human in terms of longevity, beauty, pleasure, radiance, etc.) that is available by the path of serenity and insight, concentration and mindfulness, stilling and seeing.
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.We are safe. But as we sleep in safety, are we ignoring the doom all around us? The Buddha's final words as he exited this samsara (the round of death followed incessantly by rebirth) were:
All conditioned phenomena are hurtling toward destruction;
work out your liberation with diligence.
work out your liberation with diligence.
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.Mahayana Buddhism popularizes a confusing notion, "samsara is nirvana," a dangerous witticism on par with "If you meet a buddha on the road, kill him." These are odd ways to say simple things. This is not nirvana. It can be. Nirvana is not elsewhere. But we have not realized that liberation. The belief that we have does not bring us closer to it.
And if a paradoxical Zen instruction says reject authority because we have that in us, great. But to "kill" (utterly disregard, denounce, silence) a guide who points out the way? That is like rejecting a prison door labelled EXIT and deciding, "I'll just keep looking for myself."
Buddhas point the way.
The Buddha (teacher) is a guide. The Dharma (teaching) is a guide. The Sangha (those who have successfully followed the path) collectively is a guide. The path does not simply lead to nirvana, final emancipation. It leads to all good states along the way. If one should wish to be reborn in one of the many heavens (states superior to the human in terms of longevity, beauty, pleasure, radiance, etc.) that is available by the path of serenity and insight, concentration and mindfulness, stilling and seeing.
What did the Maya know?
Wisdom Quarterly
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.
There is great astronomical and astrological significance in this. But few of us now regard the significance of astronomy in our lives, and astrology has been made a pop media joke. There is significance. We are separate from space. We are in space. This is a space world. It is visited by other space worlds. It is influenced and influences other space worlds.
The Maya were told that and taught various calendars and synchronaries. The days of the week, the phases of the Moon (which is the Earth's timepiece once so valuable to everything we did that the powers that be -- other space or subterranean entities -- could not stand for it and obscured it as evil and replaced it with worship of the Sun, which also was always important), the days to undertake an endeavor.
We laugh. How naive of our forest-dwelling forbears who somehow built monoliths and observatories, pyramids and spiritual centers (all with aid from above). Never mind that all over the world similar groups did the same thing, from Egypt to Cambodia, from Sumeria to India, from Easter Island to Stonehenge, from unknown site to unknown site. These sites are everywhere.
The world will end, guaranteed.
But it will spring up again. That is certain.
If we fear change, we will always live in fear, because change is the only constant.
What can we do?
We suggest we work out our liberation (salvation, emancipation, improvement) with diligence. We'll see you in heaven, in paradise, in good states supported by the profitable karma willed, performed, and accumulated right NOW. And for a few all praise is due, who confirmed that it is possible right here, right now, in this very life: Nirvana is visible within samsara. They are not the same thing.
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.There is great astronomical and astrological significance in this. But few of us now regard the significance of astronomy in our lives, and astrology has been made a pop media joke. There is significance. We are separate from space. We are in space. This is a space world. It is visited by other space worlds. It is influenced and influences other space worlds.
The Maya were told that and taught various calendars and synchronaries. The days of the week, the phases of the Moon (which is the Earth's timepiece once so valuable to everything we did that the powers that be -- other space or subterranean entities -- could not stand for it and obscured it as evil and replaced it with worship of the Sun, which also was always important), the days to undertake an endeavor.
We laugh. How naive of our forest-dwelling forbears who somehow built monoliths and observatories, pyramids and spiritual centers (all with aid from above). Never mind that all over the world similar groups did the same thing, from Egypt to Cambodia, from Sumeria to India, from Easter Island to Stonehenge, from unknown site to unknown site. These sites are everywhere.
The world will end, guaranteed.
But it will spring up again. That is certain.
If we fear change, we will always live in fear, because change is the only constant.
What can we do?
We suggest we work out our liberation (salvation, emancipation, improvement) with diligence. We'll see you in heaven, in paradise, in good states supported by the profitable karma willed, performed, and accumulated right NOW. And for a few all praise is due, who confirmed that it is possible right here, right now, in this very life: Nirvana is visible within samsara. They are not the same thing.
- Be the Change: Occupy Together
- Buddhism in ancient America
- Rick Fields' book will remain as the first attempt to document the Buddhist movement in America. There are approximately eight hundred persons and places named in the book, from Shakyamuni, who started it all, through to the Tibetans, Koreans, Vietnamese, Japanese, Sinhalese, Chinese, and a plethora of Westerners. It's a fascinating story full of eccentric characters, good intentions, and unstinting effort....Buddhism's migration to the new lands....
Thursday, October 27, 2011
Friday, October 21, 2011
Thursday, October 20, 2011
Why the World Will End (Again) Tomorrow
Stephanie Pappas (LiveScience.com)
(Fox) The world is about to end. Again. Oct. 21 is the next in a long line of apocalypses stretching back thousands of years.
This time, the prophet of doom is Harold Camping, a radio preacher who received international media attention in May when he predicted that Judgment Day would fall on May 21, followed by months of torment on Earth and an end to everything in autumn.
Judgment Day didn't bring the promised earthquakes and Rapture, but Camping now says May 21 marked a spiritual Judgment Day and that the world will still end "quietly" on Friday. It may seem odd that Camping's faith remains strong, but apocalypse experts say that doomsday prophets have often built their entire lives around their end-of-the-world views, and that worldview is hard to shake. For an elderly preacher like Camping, who suffered a stroke in June, apocalypse beliefs may also reflect his struggle with his own mortality....
Doomsday predictions, whether secular or religious, often attract those who feel the world is unsalvageable. Sometimes the world-ending catastrophe is nuclear winter; sometimes it’s the Mayan apocalypse. But religious doomsday groups often draw on mainstream faith, said Stephen Kent, a sociologist at the University of Alberta. "Almost all apocalyptic beliefs show Christian influence," Kent told LiveScience. More
(Fox) The world is about to end. Again. Oct. 21 is the next in a long line of apocalypses stretching back thousands of years.This time, the prophet of doom is Harold Camping, a radio preacher who received international media attention in May when he predicted that Judgment Day would fall on May 21, followed by months of torment on Earth and an end to everything in autumn.
Judgment Day didn't bring the promised earthquakes and Rapture, but Camping now says May 21 marked a spiritual Judgment Day and that the world will still end "quietly" on Friday. It may seem odd that Camping's faith remains strong, but apocalypse experts say that doomsday prophets have often built their entire lives around their end-of-the-world views, and that worldview is hard to shake. For an elderly preacher like Camping, who suffered a stroke in June, apocalypse beliefs may also reflect his struggle with his own mortality....
- Deferred Doomsday Due Friday - Or Not
- Debris of Comet Elenin to Pass Near Earth
- Mysterious Planet Nibiru, Comet Elenin
- Camping says end of world is on May 21st
Doomsday predictions, whether secular or religious, often attract those who feel the world is unsalvageable. Sometimes the world-ending catastrophe is nuclear winter; sometimes it’s the Mayan apocalypse. But religious doomsday groups often draw on mainstream faith, said Stephen Kent, a sociologist at the University of Alberta. "Almost all apocalyptic beliefs show Christian influence," Kent told LiveScience. MoreTuesday, June 14, 2011
Buddhist Prophecy: "Seven Suns" (video)
Translation by Pa Auk Sayadaw, preeminent noble living Buddhist scholar-practitioner, from his compendious The Workings of Kamma, edited by Wisdom Quarterly
In the "Seven-Suns Discourse" (Satta-Suriya Sutra, A.VII.vii.2) the Buddha gives a detailed account of this world-system’s eventual destruction.
"Inconceivable is the beginning, disciples, of the round of rebirth. A first point is not known of beings hindered by ignorance and fettered by craving rushing on and running about [from life to life in samsara]."
The Buddha then explains how, in the distant future, the world-system will come to an end. This possibly settles a question made famous by the American poet Robert Frost:
Some say the world will end in fire,
Some say in ice.
From what I've tasted of desire
I hold with those who favor fire.
But if it had to perish twice,
I think I know enough of hate
To say that for destruction ice
Is also great
And would suffice.
Some say in ice.
From what I've tasted of desire
I hold with those who favor fire.
But if it had to perish twice,
I think I know enough of hate
To say that for destruction ice
Is also great
And would suffice.
THERE WILL COME A TIME
First the great ocean dries up: "There will come a time, disciples, when the great ocean dries up, evaporates, and is no more."In the distant future the world will be destroyed in one of three ways [16]: destroyed by fire, by water or by wind" [20]. Here, the Buddha describes what happens when the world is destroyed by fire [21]. "First of all, a 100,000 years beforehand, certain sky-devas [literal beings from space] will appear before people with disheveled hair, and pitiful faces, wiping their tears with their hands [22].
They will announce the end of the world and urge people to develop the four Divine Abidings (Brahma Viharas): loving-kindness (metta), compassion, joy in others' joy, and impartiality (equanimity) up to the level of absorption (jhana). And they will advise people to look after their parents and respect their elders. Most people will take these words to heart and practice loving-kindness towards each other. In this and other ways they accomplish wholesome karma.
Those who are able will develop the meditative-absorptions. Those who are unable to develop [any of the eight] absorptions will, because of their past profitable karma, be reborn in the deva world. Then as devas they will develop absorption.
Dependent on ignorance and craving, the karmic potency of their absorption causes all of these beings to be reborn in the brahma world [23]. [This is the result of the weighty good karma of absorption held at the time of dying.]
(FULL LENGTH MOVIE)
After a long period, a great cloud appears, and heavy rain falls throughout the hundred thousand million world spheres. People sow crops, but when the crops have grown high enough for an ox to graze, the rain stops [24]. With no more rain, plants dry up and are no more. Soon there is famine. Human beings die and also earthbound-devas (bhumma-deva), for they live on flowers and fruits.
Owing to their past profitable karma, they are reborn in the deva world. And as devas they develop absorption using meditative disks (kasina). Again, dependent on ignorance and craving, the karmic potency of their absorption serves as the cause of rebirth in the brahma world.
After a long time, the water in the world begins to evaporate. Fish, turtles, and other creatures that live in the water die. Owing to their past profitable karma, they are also reborn in the deva world, where as devas develop absorption. Dependent on ignorance and craving, the karmic potency of their absorption causes them to be reborn in the brahma world.
According to a "law of nature" (niyama), the beings residing in hellish planes also escape from hell and are reborn in the human world [25]. They develop loving-kindness and are reborn in the deva world, where as devas they develop absorption. Dependent on ignorance and craving, the karmic potency of their absorption causes them to be reborn in the brahma world.
But the beings who were reborn in the [lowest worlds, the eight great] hells as a result of holding persistent wrong views (niyata-miccha-ditthi) [26] do not escape: Dependent on ignorance and craving, the karmic potency of their persistent wrong view causes them to be reborn in an interstitial hell (loka-antarika-niraya, see e.g., "The Darkness Discourse," Andhakara Sutra, S.V.XII.v.6), one of the unfortunate destinations situated in the space between world-systems [27]. Thus, even though the world system is coming to an end, the continued rushing on and running about of beings does not come to an end.
The Buddha goes on to declare [28], "Not even then, disciples, is the suffering of beings hindered by ignorance and fettered by craving (who rush on and run about) brought to an end, I declare.
"After a long period without rain, by the time all beings have been reborn elsewhere, a second sun appears [29]. As one sun sets the other rises, so there is no more telling night from day: The world is continuously scorched by the heat of two suns. Streams and smaller rivers dry up.
"After yet another very long period, a third sun appears, and now the great rivers dry up [30]. Then after yet another very long period, a fourth sun appears, and the great lakes that were the source of the great rivers dry up [31]. After yet another very long period, a fifth sun appears, and the seas dry up. There is not enough water left to wet a finger [32]. Again, after yet another very long period, a sixth sun appears. Now the great Mount Sineru [33] and the very Earth itself begin to burn and give off clouds of smoke. "Eventually, after yet another very long period, a seventh sun appears. Now all bursts into flames, into one great sheet of flame. Great Mount Sineru and the Earth burn and disintegrate. Powerful winds carry the fire right up to the brahma worlds [high in space]. And just as burning ghee [creme de la creme] or oil leave no ashes, so the burning Mount Sineru and Earth leave no ashes [34].
"Even so," the Buddha explains, "there is no end to the rushing on and running about of beings in the round of rebirth [35].
"There will come a time, disciples, when Sineru, King of Mountains, is burned, destroyed, and is no more. Not even then, disciples, is the suffering of beings hindered by ignorance and fettered by craving (who rush on and run about) brought to an end, I declare.
"There will come a time, disciples, when the great Earth, is burned, destroyed, and is no more. Not even then, disciples, is the suffering of beings hindered by ignorance and fettered by craving (who rush on and run about) brought to an end, I declare."
Having explained how beings continue to rush on and run about in the round of rebirth (samsara), the Buddha then discusses why. More (p. 23) plus footnotes
Friday, May 27, 2011
"The Tree of Life" (2011 film)
Brad Pitt stars in a new film from Terrence Malick -- the acclaimed director of Badlands, Days of Heaven, and The Thin Red Line. The Tree of Life is the impressionistic story of a Midwestern American family in the 1950's.
It follows the life journey of the eldest son, Jack (played as an adult by Sean Penn), through the innocence of childhood to his disillusioned adult years. He tries to reconcile a complicated relationship with his father (Brad Pitt).
Jack finds himself a lost soul in the modern world: He is seeking answers to the origins and meaning of life while questioning the existence of faith.
Through Malick's signature imagery, we see how both brute nature and spiritual grace shape not only our lives as individuals and families, but all life.
It follows the life journey of the eldest son, Jack (played as an adult by Sean Penn), through the innocence of childhood to his disillusioned adult years. He tries to reconcile a complicated relationship with his father (Brad Pitt).
Jack finds himself a lost soul in the modern world: He is seeking answers to the origins and meaning of life while questioning the existence of faith.
Through Malick's signature imagery, we see how both brute nature and spiritual grace shape not only our lives as individuals and families, but all life.
- Justin Bieber's Mexican girlfriend, Jewish tattoo
- War-weary lawmakers push Obama to end Afghan war
- Student finds universe's "missing mass"
- US crime is down, but media wants fear in these cities
- High school graduation rates are up in US
- Obama admin. still trying to illegally kill Gaddafi
- War Powers Act: Obama can now be Dictator
- "1984" in 2011: U.S. House votes for "Patriot Act"
The U.S. House of Representatives voted Thursday to extend three key provisions of the Patriot Act until June 1, 2015. The Senate voted earlier in the day to approve the extension bill. The House vote was 250 in favor, with 153 opposed. Oppositions to the bill said it was an invasion of privacy and had hoped to add language providing for further oversight and audits of the activities the law permits. The three provisions are as follows: One would enable law enforcement officials to conduct surveillance on suspects without a warrant who switch communication devices, such as using disposable cellular phones. A second would let officials conduct warrant-less surveillance on suspects not currently linked to any known terrorist organization abroad. The third would enable officials access to suspects' business transactions without a warrant. Pres. Obama signed the bill using an auto pen machine from France. SourceMonday, May 23, 2011
Doomsday dud! So now what? (Commentary)
Wisdom Quarterly (COMMENTARY)
Filmmaker Zeke Piestrup has been documenting Harold Camping; see below (SFGate.com).
Doomsday was a dud. It's no surprise. But we have to admit we're a little disappointed. We came in on the weekend, hugged Christian pets, went to a party, learned the Dougie -- and all for what?! When does the Bible show begin already?
Kate Upton teaches a weary world the Dougie
Camping "flabbergasted" Judgment Day did not come
Filmmaker Zeke Piestrup has been documenting Harold Camping; see below (SFGate.com).
Doomsday was a dud. It's no surprise. But we have to admit we're a little disappointed. We came in on the weekend, hugged Christian pets, went to a party, learned the Dougie -- and all for what?! When does the Bible show begin already?Kate Upton teaches a weary world the Dougie
Armageddon is the name of a Jewish war. And apparently it can not begin until a few other things line up. Imagine a religion, fundamentalist Christianity, put in a position to long for war, to be wary of anybody labelled "the peacemaker" (usually American presidents who try to resolve Middle East tensions), and who sees End Time signs in every social eventuality:
Kindness? So what. Compassion? Who cares. Environmental stewardship? Never heard of it. But homosexuality? Aha! Crime? Yes! Earthquakes? Praise the lord! Everything bad is good if it signals the end of the world (and the beginning of assumption into heaven).
CBS News Video as posted on SF Gate's May 21, 2011: rapture or party time?
Camping to Answer on Film TodayKindness? So what. Compassion? Who cares. Environmental stewardship? Never heard of it. But homosexuality? Aha! Crime? Yes! Earthquakes? Praise the lord! Everything bad is good if it signals the end of the world (and the beginning of assumption into heaven).
CBS News Video as posted on SF Gate's May 21, 2011: rapture or party time?
Wisdom Quarterly
Fortunately, Zeke Piestrup has been following doomsayer Harold Camping for weeks, running tape for as much as 19 hours a day in the run up to The End. But Camping went into black out mode on the 21st. He will emerge on tape to explain why his prediction failed.
Fortunately, Zeke Piestrup has been following doomsayer Harold Camping for weeks, running tape for as much as 19 hours a day in the run up to The End. But Camping went into black out mode on the 21st. He will emerge on tape to explain why his prediction failed.And Camping will have an explanation today because he holds the world's record on answering Bible questions (50 years) on an unscripted open forum radio show. He is unflappable, charismatic, and absolutely certain of his interpretations. He has survived at least one failed prediction (but that one left him the out that May 21 was the only other option). More than surviving, he comes out stronger, in accordance with psychologist Festinger's 1950's findings on doomsday cults.
Former KROQ DJ Piestrup was on KROQ radio in Los Angeles Monday morning (May 23) discussing his documentary film on Harold Camping and the Family Radio ministry.
Camping "flabbergasted" Judgment Day did not come
SFGate.com
The man who said the world was going to end appeared at his front door in Alameda (Northern California) a day later, very much alive but not so well.
The man who said the world was going to end appeared at his front door in Alameda (Northern California) a day later, very much alive but not so well.
"It has been a really tough weekend," said Harold Camping, the 89-year-old fundamentalist radio preacher [and twice failed prophet] who convinced hundreds of his followers that the rapture would occur on Saturday at 6:00 pm.
Massive earthquakes would strike, he said. Believers would ascend to heaven and the rest would be left to wander a godforsaken planet until Oct. 21, when Camping promised a fiery end to the world. More
- Will Graham [Televangelist Billy Graham's son] preaches on end times after camping's wrong prediction [because there's a lot of money to be made from doomsaying]
- Harold Camping Should Publicly Apologize for Wrong Doomsday Prediction, Says Christian
- Critical Facts About Harold Camping
- Harold Camping's Rapture prediction doing anything good?
- Harold Camping, We're Still Here After 6:01 P.M., What Now?
- Harold Camping doomsday prediction record: 0-2
- Jane Seymour: Schwarzenegger has more out-of-wedlock kids
Sunday, May 22, 2011
Doomsday dud explained!
LiveScience.com
Harold Camping has some serious explaining to do. Or does he? He may be an embarrassment to Christians, laughing stock to atheists, and a "nut" to everyone else, but what motivated his charismatic confidence? (Image: Karl Tate, TechMediaNetwork)
If readers are reading this, Harold Camping and FamilyRadio.com's predictions that the end of the world would start Saturday (May 21, 6:00 pm) failed to pan out.
That's good news for most of us. But Camping and his Christian followers were looking forward to the end. After all, they believed that they were likely to be among the 200 million souls sent to live in [space] paradise forever.
[That is the total number to get to heaven, past and present, because the worldwide earthquake was going to toss up the dead, according to Camping.]
Piestrup documenting Camping in the run up to the end (Michael Macor/The Chronicle).
So how do believers cope when their doomsday predictions fail? It depends, said Lorenzo DiTommaso, a professor of religion at Concordia University in Montreal who studies the history of doomsday predictions.
Doomsdays without Doom
The classic study of "doomsdays gone bad" took place in 1954. A Chicago woman named Dorothy Martin predicted a cataclysmic flood from which a few true believers would be saved by aliens. Martin and her cult, The Seekers, gathered the night before the expected flood to await the flying saucer.
Unbeknown to them, however, their group had been infiltrated by psychologist Leon Festinger, who hoped to find out what happens when the rug of people's beliefs is pulled out from under them. Festinger's study, which became the basis of the book When Prophecy Fails (Harper-Torchbooks 1956), revealed... More
Friday, May 20, 2011
Why the World WILL End Tomorrow
Wisdom Quarterly (Photo: 123rf.com)
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.When the Buddha was passing away --that is, irreversibly entering parinirvana -- his final words were: "All conditioned things are hurtling towards destruction; work out your liberation with diligence!"
It is not enough to have faith (confidence in the Teacher, Teaching, and well Taught disciples). The value of faith is that it inspires one to investigate.
The purpose of investigation is to set off on a quest to make an end of all suffering.
Drugs do not "end" suffering. Death does not end suffering. Rebirth does not end suffering. What ends suffering?
This one possibility is the final end of all suffering -- nirvana.
- To experience nirvana directly, one must practice (not believe, debate, memorize, study, preach...) the Path of Awakening. The power is in the practice. Ananda knew the more sutras than any monk in the Buddha's time. But he was not enlightened until after the Buddha was gone. Why? Because he had not practiced even though he spent more time with the Buddha than anyone else.
What is the the Path? It combines serenity and insight as the marriage of compassion and wisdom. It is called the Middle Way to complete liberation.
A summary of the Noble Eightfold Path could describe it as cultivating virtue, concentration (samadhi), and wisdom -- all of which support one another. Realizing (not memorizing) the Four Noble Truths is the gateway to the deathless. It establishes one on the supramundane Path.
The world as a whole will not be ending. But "the world" for the individual will end, even now as it passes from this moment. No one will get out alive, which is to say that every personality will undergo transformation into something else. Clinging to identity is painful because one is not anything that can be clung to. There is no use in accepting these things on "faith." Realization is the way to happiness. The bliss of nirvana is within reach. But this is not it.
And whether one strives for wisdom and freedom or sinks into delusion and slavery, the Buddha's last words ring true:
"All conditioned things are hurtling toward destruction; work out your liberation with diligence [mindfulness and clear comprehension]!"
Fully enlightened beings (arhats) are the only beings who do not die. They enter nirvana, which is completely different than death and rebirth. Buddhas point the way, and humans and light beings (devas) are in the best position to reach this ultimate goal (salagram.net).
Doomsday Parties, Saints, Song (video)
(Hugh Kramer, examiner.com) While Christian media tycoon Harold Camping is prophesying worldwide devastation and the bodily lifting into heaven of true believers for May 21, the group "American Atheists" is prophesying something quite different: a good time.
Here's the blurb from the biggest party AA is sponsoring; the two day (May 21-22) West Coast Rapture Ram in Oakland, CA:
We'll be there organized and ready to pick up theclutter left behind when the Christian Rapture begins that Saturday, as promised by "God" Himself at wecanknow.com. Since God has chosen to reveal this vital fact to his prophet in Oakland, we thought Oakland would provide the best venue fo an intimate view of the event. More
Eels "Lucky Day in H*ll"
According to FamilyRadio.com, only 3 percent of the world's population will be "raptured" on Saturday, about 6:00 pm. Although (.03 x 6.5B = not good odds), it may be our lucky day in h*ll.
(Patt Morrison) Not God, but recognizably holy, oftentimes a martyr, and always a miracle worker, how does one become a saint? The earliest form of the canonization process was more or less a popularity contest. But over the centuries, it became more stringent.
[Then it became much less stringent with the closing of the Vatican's Office of the Devil's Advocate," which used to vet claims of sanctity and miracles.]
Sometime after the year 400, bishops decided who would be declared a saint. This went on until around the year 1100, when a priest got into a bar fight in Scandinavia and was killed. When his bishop friends began to revere him as a saint, the pope reserved the saint-making process for himself. It’s been in the hands of Rome ever since.
Today, the process is a complex affair involving formal [but no so stringent] investigations and witness testimonies, of sometimes up to 1,000 pages. In addition to the Virgin Mary and St. Patrick, there are as many as 40,000 Catholic saints [which to many simply means one got into heaven[. Now some southlanders are petitioning to canonize a local Basque Claretian Missionary priest buried at the San Gabriel Mission [in Los Angeles' east valley].
Patt Morrison gets the latest on the story of Father Aloysius Ellacuria and a brief history of sainthood.
Fatima and the End of the World
Controversial Catholicism from Mostholyfamilymonastery.com
A film on Vatican II apostasy
This video was made to present the world's largest religion, the Catholic faith, to non-Catholics and Catholics alike. It has influenced conversions, lapses, and entering Catholic-recovery. It attempts to disprove the theory of evolution while not entirely understanding it, shows evidence of a world-wide flood of which many cultures speak, covers Biblical miracles, modern-day miracles, Eucharistic miracles, incorruptible bodies of saints, and the Shroud of Turin.
If not the most important, this is definitely one of the most important films produced by mostholyfamilymonastery.com. It covers how brief life is, how quickly humans are forgotten when we die, the various pains and tortures of hell[s], including information revealed to saints, and ways to avoid [rebirth in the] hell[s]. The film utilizes the wisdom of Matthew (16:26) and the way in which the Catholic Church’s greatest spiritual teachers look at life [allegedly].
Friday, May 13, 2011
Buddhism: End of the World (eschatology)
Wisdom Quarterly Wikipedia edit
"Till the World Ends" by Ke$ha performed by Britney Spears (Jimmy Kimmel Live)
"Everything You Know Is Wrong" (Lloyd Pye)
"Till the World Ends" by Ke$ha performed by Britney Spears (Jimmy Kimmel Live)
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.
"Everything You Know Is Wrong" (Lloyd Pye)
Monday, May 9, 2011
End of the World moved up to May 21, 2011
Peter Smith (Faith and Works blog, Courier-Journal.com)
Judgment Day will be later this May "guaranteed"
While you're marking Derby Day, here's something to consider if you have plans for Preakness Day: Several billboards around Louisville -- and the nation and world -- are warning of an impending Day of Judgment to be on a date certain: May 21, 2011.
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.
It’s part of a worldwide publicity blitz by a broadcast ministry called Family Radio, based in Oakland, California.
The short version: Founder Harold Camping believes through a complex set of numerological calculations, one can date the creation of the world, Noah’s flood, and other events described in the Bible, then extrapolate when the Bible "guarantees" the world will end. More
American Dad: Rapture's Delight (in Russian)
Wisdom Quarterly (COMMENTARY)
It's like we have been trying to say: The "end" is not the end. The world will not end. Judgment Day is everyday for everyone who passes away. Karma is our judge, whether or not a god or other entity does. Gods themselves are controlled by karma.
The rapture is a misunderstanding of events likely to happen. Originally it seems to have meant that UFOs would descend from the heavens (the skies, space) to save 144,000 or so people (possibly naked) and take them up to safety. The lowest celestial realms are interested in the welfare of this planet and the good people on it.
Those people are not limited to Jews (or Christians) although these traditions began to teach that they were the "chosen people" of their tribal deity. There has been a great deal of contact with many peoples of the Earth. But at no time are people told, "It's the end, pure destruction, all is lost." Even Christianity does not teach such a thing. But try to tell that to Christians.
What do altered scriptures say, to say nothing of the original texts? Inimical entities will use the Earth to fight celestial entities. Rather than welcoming celestial "saviors," people around the world are being trained to fear, loathe, and fight anyone coming down. "They are all green, gooey, gray, and scary," we have come to believe.
Christian soldiers are ready to shoot at Jesus if he does not fit their image of a bigger than life translucent savior with blond hair and a kind smile. If he comes by ship, he had better be ready to dodge our Star Wars anti-spacecraft apparatus and laser pulse weapons.
In Buddhist/Hindu terms, it is Sakka (a.k.a. Indra, St. Michael, Thor, etc.) and the "shining ones" (devas) who, after keeping an eye on the planet and the general level of virtue of the population, will stand in defense against titans, reptilians, and ogres (asuras, nagas, and yakkhas) who are already here manipulating human affairs.
But it all sounds so preposterous, so mythological, so cartoonish that the only way to portray it is in a foreign-language cartoon. So here we again present the CIA's own Stan Smith and family of "American Dad" fame in "Rapture's Delight."
The short version: Founder Harold Camping believes through a complex set of numerological calculations, one can date the creation of the world, Noah’s flood, and other events described in the Bible, then extrapolate when the Bible "guarantees" the world will end. More
American Dad: Rapture's Delight (in Russian)
- Watch in English while it's available (Adult Swim)
- Read about this brilliant episode (Wikipedia)
- Doomsday coming later this month (May, 2011)
Wisdom Quarterly (COMMENTARY)
It's like we have been trying to say: The "end" is not the end. The world will not end. Judgment Day is everyday for everyone who passes away. Karma is our judge, whether or not a god or other entity does. Gods themselves are controlled by karma.
The rapture is a misunderstanding of events likely to happen. Originally it seems to have meant that UFOs would descend from the heavens (the skies, space) to save 144,000 or so people (possibly naked) and take them up to safety. The lowest celestial realms are interested in the welfare of this planet and the good people on it.
Those people are not limited to Jews (or Christians) although these traditions began to teach that they were the "chosen people" of their tribal deity. There has been a great deal of contact with many peoples of the Earth. But at no time are people told, "It's the end, pure destruction, all is lost." Even Christianity does not teach such a thing. But try to tell that to Christians.
What do altered scriptures say, to say nothing of the original texts? Inimical entities will use the Earth to fight celestial entities. Rather than welcoming celestial "saviors," people around the world are being trained to fear, loathe, and fight anyone coming down. "They are all green, gooey, gray, and scary," we have come to believe.
Christian soldiers are ready to shoot at Jesus if he does not fit their image of a bigger than life translucent savior with blond hair and a kind smile. If he comes by ship, he had better be ready to dodge our Star Wars anti-spacecraft apparatus and laser pulse weapons.
In Buddhist/Hindu terms, it is Sakka (a.k.a. Indra, St. Michael, Thor, etc.) and the "shining ones" (devas) who, after keeping an eye on the planet and the general level of virtue of the population, will stand in defense against titans, reptilians, and ogres (asuras, nagas, and yakkhas) who are already here manipulating human affairs.
But it all sounds so preposterous, so mythological, so cartoonish that the only way to portray it is in a foreign-language cartoon. So here we again present the CIA's own Stan Smith and family of "American Dad" fame in "Rapture's Delight."
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