5,000 year 'shelf-live' and Buddah's promised destructive rebirth

DublinWriter

I was reading a text by the Dalai Lama the other day and he briefly mentioned that the Buddah said that his teachings would only be 'good' for 5,000 years, after which time he would be reincarnated as a being who would destroy the planet.

I can't find reference to this anywhere. Anyone got any thoughts on it?

MeditationMom

Hi DublinWriter,

I can't help you with where to find this, but thought I'd comment that this is a typical misinterpretation in many religions when "the end of the world", or "coming back to destroy the world" etc. is taken by the fearful and deluded mortals literally as the destruction of the physical world.

Ultimate liberation, truth, enlightenment, uniting with God, self-realization, the end of separation - and all the many other ways the great teachers have attempted to describe this final human flowering - requires the "end of the world", in other words, requires absolutely everything that we know, see, hear, touch, smell, feel, or experience in any other way - to be let go off. It is an event that is neither internal nor external - it could be said to be eternal, and beyond the human experience. You can only be it, not experience it. All the great teachers "were it" - One, and therefore expressed the divine.

All this quote means is that after 5000 years all teachings are ruined by the blind leading the blind, with their churches, dogmas and interpretations of what the true teachers said, and that a fresh set of ideas, words, parables and explanations, or poetry if you will, is needed from an enlightenend one. This 5000 years time period may also not be literal and just be an expression at the times meaning "a long time". The way we say - "once in a million years". We don't really mean exactly a million years mathematically.

It will be intersting if someone more knowledgable than me can find this quote, and maybe the original meaning versus the slightly misguided later translations.

Asiaprod

MeditationMom wrote:

It will be intersting if someone more knowledgable than me can find this quote, and maybe the original meaning versus the slightly misguided later translations.

It would be interesting, but I think you have explained it beautifully. That is exactly how I see it too. I think that is reflected in that great quote by the Buddha about "Leaving the Raft."

The Mad Hatter

Asiaprod wrote:

It would be interesting, but I think you have explained it beautifully. That is exactly how I see it too. I think that is reflected in that great quote by the Buddha about "Leaving the Raft."

I'm afraid I don't know that one...

Asiaprod

Its a nice little story, enjoy.

One of Buddhas' teachings is a story about a raft which is told as a simile for understanding the Dharma. Dharma is the body of teachings expounded by the Buddha. It is the knowledge of, or duty to undertake conduct set forth by the Buddha, as a way to enlightenment and one of the basic minute elements from which all things are made. Dharma literally means path or right way. The Dharma is like a raft which is used for crossing over to enlightenment but is not for holding onto. Buddha tells the story as follows.

"Suppose a man were traveling along a path. He sees a great expanse of water, with the near shore dubious and risky, the further shore secure and free from risk, but with neither a ferryboat nor a bridge going from this shore to the other. The thought would occur to him, 'What if I were to gather grass, twigs, branches, and leaves and, having bound them together to make a raft, were to cross over to safety on the other shore with the raft, making an effort with my hands and feet?'

So the man gathered grass, twigs, branches,and leaves, and bound them together to make a raft. He crossed over safely to the other shore using the raft by propelling it with his hands and feet. Upon reaching the further shore, he might think, 'How useful this raft has been to me! Why don't I, having hoisted it on my head or carrying on my back, go wherever I like?' What do you think, monks: Would the man, in doing that, be doing what should be done with the raft?"

"No, lord." replied the monks.

"And what should the man do in order to be doing what should be done with the raft? There is the case where the man, having crossed over, would think, 'How useful this raft has been to me! Why don't I, having dragged it on dry land or sinking it in the water, go wherever I like?' In doing this, he would be doing what should be done with the raft. In the same way, monks, I have taught the Dharma compared to a raft, for the purpose of crossing over, not for the purpose of holding onto. Understanding the Dharma as taught compared to a raft, you should let go even of Dharmas, to say nothing of non-Dharmas."

There is another story of Buddha which also applies. It relates the tale of the day Buddha met an ascetic who had practiced austere living for 25 years. Buddha asked him what his reward had been for all of his hard work and effort. The ascetic proudly told the Buddha that now he could cross the river by walking on the water. Buddha let the ascetic know that this wasn't a significant achievement for all of his hard years of effort because he could all along have crossed the river on a ferry for one cent. Buddha had a sense of humour.

The moral of the raft story is to dump the raft because there is nothing in life worth clinging to - especially the past or that rocky shore that you are leaving behind. There is also a message about the sacrifices we will have to make in the name of spiritual living and the seeking of enlightenment. Sometimes there are easier ways and we need to learn to keep things in proper perspective so we aren't swept away with the illusory attraction of suffering.

The Mad Hatter

Asiaprod wrote:

Its a nice little story, enjoy.

I stand corrected, I had actually read that before. It is indeed a nice little story, though

There is another story of Buddha which also applies. It relates the tale of the day Buddha met an ascetic who had practiced austere living for 25 years. Buddha asked him what his reward had been for all of his hard work and effort. The ascetic proudly told the Buddha that now he could cross the river by walking on the water. Buddha let the ascetic know that this wasn't a significant achievement for all of his hard years of effort because he could all along have crossed the river on a ferry for one cent. Buddha had a sense of humour.

That's great!