"It's not only time, it's almost too late"
- Je Pabongkhapa Dechen Nyingpo
Dear Friends,
This thread was inspired in part by the topic "Is this a bad omen?" which regards the recent Nepal earthquake and a large crack on an important Stupa. I would be very interested to read what others have to share regarding the Kali Yuga, particularly if anyone has links to Buddhist scriptures or predictions made by Lamas regarding our planet, the duration of Buddhadharma, and similar subject matter.
The main point of this thread is to impress upon us a sense of urgency, not only with respect to deepening our meditations and preparations for our death and future lives, but that others will need our help more and more as the difficulties on our planet increase. There are many things happening globally that show a rapidly declining situation - spiritually, politically, socially, economically, environmentally, and so forth. The most important thing we can offer is the cultivation of realization without delay.
To kick things off, here is an interesting albeit dense article about viewing the history of our planet in terms of cycles rather than the limiting linear view typically explained by modern historians:
http://www.grahamhancock.com/forum/DMisraB6.php (http://www.grahamhancock.com/forum/DMisraB6.php)
When Buddha explains about his previous lives, do you ever wonder where and when exactly he's talking about? He refers to being such and such a prince ages ago on this planet, and the lojong instructions also speak of these things. The linear historic perspectives falls utterly short in explaining what the hell has happened on this planet. The cyclic view gives a much more realistic perspective that helps to shed light on what has happened and is happening on this planet.
Of particular interest will be his mention of 2025 and his general view on what our present environmental activity represents with regards to the cyclic (not linear) life on this planet.
For me, things like this remind me of Je Pabongkhapa's advice in Heart Spoon: Encouragement through recollecting impermanence. The point is, in particular, that by exploring this cyclic history of our planet, particularly the phase we're moving through, we are immediately seized by the realization of how precarious our circumstances are and that our opportunity to go deeply into the Dharma will soon be gone. It also urges us to prepare more vigorously for facing difficulties with realization, the meaning of life.
Please share what you know so that it may assist us in the perfection of effort. Thank you.