♥ End of the World : Buddhists' View

Do Buddhists believe that the end of the world will happen? The answer is Yes, but not in the way many people understand it. Whenever people talk of "The End of the World", there is usually fear and anxiety.

For the Buddhist, it is a cause for concern but certainly not for fear.
The Buddha taught that nothing in this world or even the world itself is permanent. All existence, including the universe, the planets, life, civilisations are subject to constant change.

We can see this as truth in our observations of everyday life and our knowledge of history, geography and the sciences. Nothing stays the same; not our lovers, our society, civilisations, the crust of this planet, absolutely nothing; not even ourselves, as we change from moment to moment and day to day.

So why should we expect life on this planet to remain forever? The Buddha has predicted that our planet too will one day break apart and fall back into the swirl of the cosmos. Many of the evidence that people may cite as indications of the ending of the world is erroneous.

There have been many terrible events in the history of mankind. Diseases like the Great Plague, the great world wars, natural catastrophes like volcanoes, earthquakes and tsunamis have all at one time or another been cited as evidence of the coming end of the world. But these are short sighted.

Events like these have come and gone. And with the increased world population, we can expect large numbers of unfortunate victims. They happen often enough throughout much of human history and will continue to occur with regularity.

The world may come to an end, but it does not happen overnight in the manner taught by many religions. According to Buddhism, the end comes about slowly with small changes taking place every moment, every minute.

Even in our relatively short lives, we see the truth in this. Already, the climate is changing, animals are facing extinction and the world's resources are drying up. Eventually, we will see the last great whale, the last elephant, the last oak tree. And this is how the world, as we know it, will come to an end. Although this is inevitable, this event need not necessarily have to take place anytime soon.