Ending of Dharma

World is coming to an end! That was a slogan that’s even more powerful than our presidential election. And every now and then we hear religious leaders talking about the impending end. So how does Buddhism talks about this issue especially on the decline of the teachings, the Dharma.

We inevitably hear Buddhist talking about the declines of Buddhism in how many years later. And we all get worried. But is it something factual? The talk by a very learned monk in a recent Dharma talk inspired me to maybe post some factual findings in the Sutta Pitaka.

According to the venerable, Buddha never explicitly states when is the end but tells us what will lead to the decline. A teacher tells a student how his misconduct will lead to failing his exam does not mean he will fail as long as he works hard.

http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/an/an07/an07.021.than.html

In brief, it just meant that as long as the monks conducts themselves in harmony and pursues their practice, then there is no root for decline.

http://www.basicbuddhism.org/index.cfm?GPID=29

This early account of the Pali canon speaks about how human race will start to degenerate in future with emphasis on humans no longer conducts themselves righteously and thus led to decline of the human race. It is interesting to note that this Sutta will give an account of how Maitreya the next Buddha will come.

http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/sn/sn16/sn16.013.than.html

This sutta emphasize that the Dharma will/will not disappear on this human world depending on the conduct of monastic and layperson. It also gave some perspective that Dharma will never end in nature but end for the human that does not conduct themselves well.

This brought about the idea that at the “Dharma-ending age”, Dharma does not disappear but is less practice. Maitreya Buddha came to bring the Dharma back to our awareness only.

http://www.dharma.org/ij/archives/2000b/ss_teaching.htm

This website gave in point form what causes the disappearance of the Dharma. They all stress that the Dharma will end with bad conducts of followers.

Finally, while I did a brief search on the net for information, it is disheartening where people just irresponsibly use the Suttas information, twist it, and make their own prophesies of the end of human. Some even use it to establish their cult or their new world orders. As Buddhist, we should refrain from such and only believe what the Buddha has taught with right views.

为何而去？

去佛堂不学佛，就像去联络所。

去佛堂不读经，就像去图书馆。

去佛堂不持戒，就像困在监狱。

去佛堂不修禅，就像身在被围攻的皇宫。

Tackling procrastination and something else

Topic for last week YTalk is on “Tackling procrastination”. Sound relevant to me and thus went down to see how the speaker can minimize my problem of procrastination. Yet little do I know the speaker delivered something that’s even more useful.

On the topic of procrastination, the speaker Mr John Wong lead us to list down what happens when there is too much procrastination and another list of what happens if procrastination is too little. After this exercise, it’s interesting to see that the page on “Too Much” was filled with the negative aspect of too much. When comes to the second list, there was a moment of pause and the list continues after the first person contributes. Yet this time, it’s a mix of good and bad points to having “too little” procrastination. The speaker calls the moment of pause as silent or in Buddhism we does that by meditation. After the silence phase, the brain starts to rewire its thought process and outcomes is listing also some positive points to the list. The speaker calls this transformation.

Conclusion to this phenomenon is Procrastination is neutral. When we don’t need to procrastinate we don’t. Example will be in saving a life in crisis. If there is a need to procrastinate then do so. Example will be to make important decisions that might involve other people. Optimization of procrastination. This is in line to Buddhist belief of middle way. But the main thing is to make a DECISION. Once it is made, stick to it with faith. Middle way is not about doing things half hearted or resigning to half pass efforts. It’s about not falling to the extremes of belief thus allowing attainment of inner peace.

About the speaker, he was already an amazing figure. Years before, he hits a rough patch in life and it’s something about life and death matters. He suddenly contracted an illness that made him paralyze from neck down. Most of his body’s nerves were badly damage. It’s not due to some accident or virus attack and the cause is still unknown till today. A youth in his prime enjoying success of his life, have to lie motionlessly in the hospital ward. Several neurologist and doctors could do nothing.

What turned his life is his sheer determination and faith! One of the thought moments he remembers were he felt sinking deeper into an abyss of darkness but suddenly he felt alleviated by a “floating carpet” as written in his book and surrounded by chants. He wakes up and realizes that it was his friends chanting for him. His recovery impressed the doctors as it’s know that neurons or nerve do not regenerate and it’s happening to him.

He said most of us chant but do we use our mind to chant or our heart. And when we are under a circumstance where nobody and nothing can help, it is the unwavering belief and connections to the inner universe, reality or true self that helps. We Buddhist coined it Buddha Nature. To me this word strengthen my faith in chanting.

Mr Wong currently looks healthy as any normal man, seating in board of directors in many scientific communities and runs a company call transcendental connections. His days were spent flying around different country invited to talk shows in radio and TV. He and his group of people also went around lend a helping hand to other bedridden, helping them to recover from their “terminal conditions”. There are already some successful cases that drop the jaws of many doctors.

I got his book and have been trying to read every word just like me preparing for exams! Yet it is something that’s even more important than excelling in academics: D