"Wherever the Buddha's teachings have been received, either in cities or countrysides, people would gain inconceivable benefits. The land and people would be enveloped in peace. The sun and moon will shine clear and bright. Wind and rain would appear accordingly, and there will be no disasters. Nations would be prosperous and there would be no use for soldiers or weapons. People would abide by morality and accord with laws. They would be courteous and humble, and everyone would be content without injustices. There would be no thefts or violence. The strong would not dominate the weak and everyone would be settled at their proper place in society"
- The Sutra of Amitabha's Purity, Equality and Understanding
I had not bought newspaper nor magazine to read about the world news for a while. Occasionally, I do get to watch the news in BBC and CNN and what I get to watch is a contrast with the above quote from the sultra. Natural and man-made disasters, Arab Spring, riot police firing live rounds at demonstrators, contaminated medicine and food, and scandals, bribery by officials, people in power and politicians.
Two thousand five hundred years ago, Buddha had taught that 2013 is the era of what is call Dharma-Ending (Degenerate Age, Last Age), which is twenty-six centuries after demise of Shakyamuni Buddha. The concept of decline, dissension and schism within the Dharma after the passing of the Buddha is a general teaching of Buddhism and a corollary to the Truth of Impermanence. This Dharma-Ending Age will last some ten thousand years, when a diluted form of the teaching exists and Enlightenment is rarely attained.
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