Santa Clara Meditation Movie – Which World Is The One That Ends?
The year 2012 is now drawing to an end. Whenever you think of 2012, the first words that come to mind are, “The End of The World!” Upon the discovery of the Mayan Calendar, ending on December 21th, 2012, a myriad of eschatological hypotheses flooded forth from all over the world. Despite the announcement that this date of “the last day” was misinterpreted, many people still support the eschatology at this point: it is as if people are looking forward to the end of the world. Even though this phenomenon hasn’t been realized, several movies depicting the apocalypse were produced and some are still being filmed. Among these movies, Roland Emmerich’s <2012> is the most representative movie portraying people’s conceptions of the end of the world.
The movie begins in 2009 when a meteorologist presents a forecast of a highly-expected and devastating mega-Tsunami. Following this presentation, officials hold a G8 Summit, at which confidential strategies to approach the case of the apocalypse are delivered to the G8 nations. It is decided that they should construct a gigantic ark, and only those who paid the exorbitant admission of 1 billion Euros can board. In exactly 2 years, 2012, the catastrophe begins with earthquakes, Tsunamis, and volcanic explosions which kill millions of people. Those who escaped from the catastrophes and managed to get on the ship finally land on the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa. The movie ends with the hopeful vision of those who survivors.
Why does mankind consistently bring up this hypothesis of the end of the “physical” world even though there is no evidence that this would really happen? Is it because people are desperate for change? Since people feel the futility of this life? Or is it simply a yearning for a new world that might be revealed after this mammon world ends.
Ironically, however, this vision of a hopeful future is established on the idea where “I” would survive. I am not particularly concerned about others, but “I” must survive. From this, we come to realize how selfish and self-centered human beings are (without a doubt, I am also one of them.) But from another aspect, underneath the blind hope, we might have subtly hidden our biggest fear: fear of death which derives from the complete vagueness of where I am heading while living and where I will eventually go after I die.
Natural disasters have constantly struck the globe, and will continue to do so. It is true that climate change is an ongoing phenomenon at this moment, but that probably won’t cause the physical apocalypse. It is discussed by some scientists that the apocalypse will happen when a collision with unknown asteroids or comets occurs. However, I consider this hypothesis to be generated from the combination of yearning for change, and the fear of death, etc. Then, wouldn’t this constant reminder of the apocalypse be a wake-up call showing us how ignorant we are of the fundamental life questions: Why we came to world, why we live and where we go after we die? How great would it be if there was a method to resolve these fundamental questions? I believe the answer to these questions is the longest cherished wish of all mankind.
From a different perspective, wouldn’t the prophecies of the end of the world, which people predicted, be the closure of the false human mind world? Instead of a new world after some physical change breaks out upon the current world, the true new world will be one where we can discover through the truthful introspection of our inner selves. If there is a method of finding the new world within, the ark is the method and the Cape of Good Hope will be our true destination; the new world. It seems the movie <2012> metaphorically describes that the new world after the catastrophe (hardships of our lives) is the change we actually longed for as well as the hope.
What Is the End of the World?
It is a common misconception that when the end of the world comes,
the world will disappear.
It is said that when the end of the world comes, countless people
will die while those who have faith in their religion will not.
Although many people predicted the time when the world will end, no
one got it right because they did not know the true meaning of the end of the world. The end of the world – when all people die except for the faithful who are taken to heaven – will never come.
This misunderstanding has come about because the Bible, the
Buddhist scriptures and other religious scriptures have been wrongly
interpreted. A certain religion believed that their followers would physically levitate into the air and be taken to heaven. They waited for this event with over five hundred media representatives watching but the levitation never happened.
The true meaning of the end of the world is the end of man living
in the false world – it is man being reborn as Truth in the true world.
Levitation means man’s consciousness, which had been confined in his mind world, is reborn as the true mind, the consciousness, of the great Universe itself. This is the true meaning of levitation into heaven.
The Buddhist scriptures, the Bible and other scriptures are Truth
but they were all written figuratively. The reason each religion has been split into so many different sects is people are unable to interpret them with the mind of Truth and instead interpret them with their own conceptions and habits.
The end of the world is the time when falseness becomes Truth and
it is also the time of salvation.
Unless falseness becomes Truth, the world and one’s false self will
disappear. This is the end of the world that people speak of – this is death.
Falseness is the world and all the other innumerable things man
keeps inside his mind – it is the picture world.
We must be reborn in the true world after the picture world
disappears. No one knows the true world or the false world, which is why people
do not know the true meaning of the end of the world and live in fear.
People are so foolish – foolish enough to believe that only what is
theirs and their own false ways of thinking are right.
Those who are consumed by their own religion or philosophies must
find what is truly right by learning to accept other things.
If one is not Truth now, isn’t he false? It is illogical for
someone who is false to say he is right.
To put it differently, one must become Truth, interpret the true
scriptures truly, know its true meaning, and he must become the true Truth.
Isn’t this the way to live at the time of the end of the world?
We must keep our eyes wide open to whether a method to become Truth exists in the world. We must not meet the unlucky fate of our world coming to an end.
-Woo Myung-
