| This week, the news told us more than 100,000 people in the UK have died from Covid-19 in a year. That’s the fourth highest of the 215 nations. One in 63 people in Britain currently have Covid-19. That is more than one million people at any given time. We might find ourselves thinking about life, death and the end of the world. Areas of science give priority to the future and ecological disaster unless we change our behaviour. The end of sentient life could be getting closer as the world slowly gets hotter and hotter. Areas of religion refer to the apocalypse. ‘The end of the world is at hand.’ People regard death as the end of their world. Is there a way to see and know the end of the world without reference to the above beliefs/views/concerns? The human experience of the ‘world’ consists of consciousness inter-acting with sense objects and the mind. The world seems to consist of a world of diversity of things and diversity of views about things. One view might claim we all live in the same world and another views claims we live in different worlds. Claims of what is true, half true and false abound. Dharma teachings point to the ‘end of the world.’ Can a depth of meditation and reflection reveal the truth? This question lies at the heart of the Buddha-Dharma. |
