Perhaps an Age of True Peace?

We are living in a time of almost unimaginable change, a time in which our expectations are increasingly outpacing our world's ability to sustain them. How we face these changes has the potential to alter our future—for better or for worse. The following are a friend's thoughts, which she titled "A Cameo Appearance," on one possible outcome.

My heart has been so heavy with the slowly dawning understanding of the Earth’s peril. The bad news is all around me now. My grief has been devastating, and yet, with the help of Buddhist teachings, I have decided to look for the good news – because there is always another side to a problem. Good news – to see the hope and not the dark shadow of fear.

What good news can there be in this very hard time for the planet and its population?

Could it be that the apocalyptic conditions on earth will force us to wake up and face the truth of our actions? Could it be that this enormous danger will increase cooperation and force us to work together as a one-world community? We will be forced to allow creative entrepreneurship and inventiveness to succeed instead of feeding the greed of profiteers. Many wonderful ideas are being proposed to stop the downward slide of our world. Pockets of peace are still thriving and teaching us how to love the planet. It could be that this is the time for the “sinking boat” ethos to push us all together on this sinking planet.

Could it be that the great struggle for survival we are engaged in will trigger a mass consciousness rising and we will wake up in the dawn of the age of true peace that has been promised for all of us by many prophets over time?

Comments

[anybody]

The best I can come up with is that these ending times are times for use to dedicate ourselves. With devotion, respect and gratitude, take refuge in the Buddha Dharma and Sangha with the understanding this is not all there is to life.

This is comperable to a school where we act out our roles until we wake up. Some will cultivate the garden of practicing loving kinkness and others will play with destructive toys of distraction. Maybe i am old fashion but a little bit of "devastating grief" is a good place to start. Using grief to understand that there is more to this planet than this world. Gets everyone wondering "what is going to happen next and am i ready." This world was and still is impermanent. The last i checked everyone does die and nobody takes their toys with them except one toy. The only real thing we get to take with us is how we lived and our reactions (Karma). We all pay a toll bothe on the way out so to speak. If we have enough training and loving kindness we will go through easily. It is all up to us individually to renunciate the world and all its glitter.

Why shouldn't the planet die as well? We are so attached to this form of being human. Some might say Buddhism offers hope because of cause and effect or maybe because of rebirth, or enlightenment. Well I wouldn't want to take the chance and come back and do it all over again. High School and College were tough enough. It would be much more gentle if people could simply realize we are not bound by this form we call body. We need to prepare ourselves for what our mind thinks will happen when we do die. We need to practice our faith just pick something and stick to it. Having a little "Devastating Grief" we will be forced to pick something to give us relief. Hopefully at that point we will cultivate peace. There are many methods, pick one. The planet dying or not dying is just a moment of "devasting grief" we can use to wake up. Pockets of peace are being cultivated. It might be too little too late. However, we can wake up in time to save ourselves.

"Oh Israel, the same God of fear is the same God of love." "Do I remeber at every moment I am dying and everyone and everything else is and so treat all being at all times with COMPASSION. Has my understanding of death and impermanence become so keen and so urgent that I am devoting every second to the pursuit of enlightenment?"

Yes, we are dying. Yes, the world is ending and the good news is we can cultivate peace within our own heart and mind. In the form we chose, again pick something and stay with it. Loving kindness and compassion is the answer. It always has been! Sometimes we need "devastating grief" to wake us up from all the destraction of glitter.