Wisdom Quarterly has enough for a recurring feature, "Signs of the Apocalypse." But then the apocalypse -- of which there are many -- might be confused with Judeo-Christian Armageddon, the war the Israeli government and Christian fundamentalists long to fight.
But such wars never end war -- there is no war to end all wars -- but only perpetuate the idea that the way to fight fighting is by fighting, ad absurdum, ad nauseum, ad infinitum. The war stops now when it is recognized as arising or being sustained from within. This may be what John Lennon and Yoko Ono were saying.
How long does the Dharma take?
The Buddha said this Dharma is immediate with immediate results. This is often understood as meaning that it is timelessly true, which it is. But it goes further: There is an immediate effect of practice. For right in that moment of practice, greed, anger/fear, and delusion dissolve. They may re-arise when we stop being generous, friendly, and mindful. But immediately in that moment, they dissolve. It's the power of now.
Enlightenment does not dawn the moment we hit the cushion and sink into serenity carried by the sound of a singing bowl. But when enlightenment -- the result of serenity, mindfulness, and systematically contemplating Dependent Origination -- does dawn, it does so in just a moment. It was always there; it was always available. And even now in our benighted state we can be with that peace and contribute to it.
In the meantime, as apocalypses advance, it's good to have a sense of humor about it. Caught up in delusion and ignorance of what is really going on, What's so real to us that it's worth fear and agitation that upsets the mind or causes us to act (karma) in ways that will serve no one's ultimate good?
Buddhist Prophecy 2012
The Bodhisattva (future buddha) in a former life was a seer and mystic. A king came to him trembling in fear. He had experienced 16 bewildering dreams that his brahmin priest advisers could not satisfactorily interpret; they recommended blood sacrifices instead.
The Bodhisattva allayed the king's fear and explained each of these visions of things to come. Is that time now? (The truth is that time and history are cyclical, so these things have happened, are happening, and will happen again, culminating not in "The End" but interspersed with good, better, and great times, too).
