*More 'Buddhist Question & Answers On
2012'*
'The Truth About 2012' can be seen clarified by NASA
(America's
astronomical science authority) in the video at http://vimeo.com/7463829
Though
NASA already openly reassures that nothing particularly terrible
will
happen in 2012, some '2012-doomsday- or-disaster' propagators claim
that
their source of information was leaked from NASA, that NASA is
concealing
their findings due to fear of causing panic. If so, is their
information
officially from NASA or not? If official information of impending
disaster
did leak from NASA, it should be proved traceable to NASA by
the
propagators. If this is not proved by them, what ground is there to
believe
them? If it is agreed that panic should not be caused, why should
the
propagators do exactly that?
We should be mindful not to rely on others’ words based on blind
faith, but
to investigate personally. If one simply believes what another says
due to
the person’s reputation, one is relying on a personality and not
the truth
itself. This is going against the Buddha’s teachings in a very
fundamental
way. One should ask oneself if one will believe the same ideas if
they are
propagated by another person instead. Some think that
propagating 2012
ideas might be a skilful means to urge everyone to buck up our
spiritual
practice. However, there are clearly much more skilful means to do
so, such
as using the Buddha’s teaching of immediacy - to live each moment
well due to unpredictability of the next.
On the idea that there will be major disasters with some survivors
in 2012,
it is worth noting that many die in disasters every year. For
each
individual who suffers as a result, it is already a ‘doomsday’ or
disaster
day. We are thus already survivors of sorts. Although these
disasters were
not ‘the end of the world’ for us, the possibility of facing a
deadly
disaster is already present in every moment for everyone. There is
no way
to say for sure who will die when. Being attached to the idea that
one will
die or suffer only in 2012 can thus lead to dangerous
spiritual
complacency. As such, we should live each moment fully, with as
much
mindful compassion and wisdom as we can.
To read the full article, where the above excerpts are from, please
see
http://thedailyenlightenment.com/2011/12/buddhist-questions-answers-on-2012
This does not claim that everyone will be alright in any
particular year or on
any day. What this says is that based on scientific and
Buddhist
perspectives, 2012 is not particularly special. As life is
always
unpredictable, we should live each moment best we can. No one can
go wrong
with this advice, while clinging only to a particular year or day
being a
‘doomsday’ or a disaster day is unhealthy. May fellow
Buddhists and Dharma
teachers be mindful of not causing the Dharma they share and
themselves to lose credibility by sharing any unskilful ideas on
2012. May this be a
spiritually fruitful new year for all.
Namo Amituofo : Shen Shi'an
