Human life span only 10 years?

Exploring Theravāda's connections to other paths - what can we learn from other traditions, religions and philosophies?
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DNS
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Human life span only 10 years?

Post by DNS »

In the Digha Nikaya 26, Cakkavatti Sutta, it is reported that the human life span at a future degenerate, Dhamma-ending age will only be 10 years old. Mythological elements borrowed from Brahmanism? Perhaps, but then there is this:

9 year old girl gives birth

There are insects who only live about 24 hours, just long enough to mate and then die. At some future date perhaps this is what might happen with humans, giving birth around 9 years old (since it appears to already be biologically possible).
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tiltbillings
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Re: Human life span only 10 years?

Post by tiltbillings »

David N. Snyder wrote:In the Digha Nikaya 26, Cakkavatti Sutta, it is reported that the human life span at a future degenerate, Dhamma-ending age will only be 10 years old. Mythological elements borrowed from Brahmanism? Perhaps, but then there is this:

9 year old girl gives birth

There are insects who only live about 24 hours, just long enough to mate and then die. At some future date perhaps this is what might happen with humans, giving birth around 9 years old (since it appears to already be biologically possible).
A 9 year old girl, likely over exposed to pesticides. And what the about the life span in the tens of thousands of years that preceded the 10 year life span?

I am inclined to agree with Gombrich that this a fable about the need for kings to be moral, just and generous in their ruling of their countries, but it has been taken literally, giving us the "prophecy" of Metteyya.
>> Do you see a man wise [enlightened/ariya] in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him.<< -- Proverbs 26:12

This being is bound to samsara, kamma is his means for going beyond. -- SN I, 38.

“Of course it is happening inside your head, Harry, but why on earth should that mean that it is not real?” HPatDH p.723
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LonesomeYogurt
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Re: Human life span only 10 years?

Post by LonesomeYogurt »

I think the supposedly already-past lifespan of ten thousand years is more problematic than the prophesied one. No reason to assume this isn't just a metaphorical story, as Tilt said, encouraging a king to be wise.
Gain and loss, status and disgrace,
censure and praise, pleasure and pain:
these conditions among human beings are inconstant,
impermanent, subject to change.

Knowing this, the wise person, mindful,
ponders these changing conditions.
Desirable things don’t charm the mind,
undesirable ones bring no resistance.

His welcoming and rebelling are scattered,
gone to their end,
do not exist.
- Lokavipatti Sutta

Stuff I write about things.
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Polar Bear
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Re: Human life span only 10 years?

Post by Polar Bear »

Doesn't that same sutta talk about people living to be 80,000 years old? That is half of human history.

:namaste:
"I don't envision a single thing that, when developed & cultivated, leads to such great benefit as the mind. The mind, when developed & cultivated, leads to great benefit."

"I don't envision a single thing that, when undeveloped & uncultivated, brings about such suffering & stress as the mind. The mind, when undeveloped & uncultivated, brings about suffering & stress."
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Kim OHara
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Re: Human life span only 10 years?

Post by Kim OHara »

David N. Snyder wrote:9 year old girl gives birth

There are insects who only live about 24 hours, just long enough to mate and then die. At some future date perhaps this is what might happen with humans, giving birth around 9 years old (since it appears to already be biologically possible).
The age of puberty has been dropping as nutrition has improved. There is also some evidence (as someone has already suggested) that chemicals in the environment are now playing a part - maybe pesticides, perhaps the growth hormones that are given to livestock and then pass into our water supply or remain in the meat we eat. This overview http://envirocancer.cornell.edu/factshe ... rmones.cfm basically says "the effect is unlikely and hasn't been proven" and this one http://scienceblogs.com/aetiology/2012/ ... -mythfact/ gives more reasons why it shouldn't be happening. This one - http://www.livescience.com/1824-truth-e ... berty.html - simply says "blame obesity".
:thinking:

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Digity
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Re: Human life span only 10 years?

Post by Digity »

Why would the human life span diminish to 10 years? What would even cause that? It makes no sense to me. At that lifespan, the current way of the world would collapse...how are a bunch of children suppose to run the world?
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Re: Human life span only 10 years?

Post by Polar Bear »

Digity wrote:how are a bunch of children suppose to run the world?
Lord of the Flies :sage:
"I don't envision a single thing that, when developed & cultivated, leads to such great benefit as the mind. The mind, when developed & cultivated, leads to great benefit."

"I don't envision a single thing that, when undeveloped & uncultivated, brings about such suffering & stress as the mind. The mind, when undeveloped & uncultivated, brings about suffering & stress."
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Re: Human life span only 10 years?

Post by DNS »

Digity wrote:how are a bunch of children suppose to run the world?
There probably wouldn't be a Wall Street stock exchange and some other things, but animals seem to survive without these things, so I think children could survive too. I just thought it was interesting that there is the somewhat biological ability to give birth at such a young age, albeit in rare instances. Much more far-fetched is the likelihood of humans living to 80,000 years unless we see it as allegory for some moral points as mentioned above or for some other realm / world system.
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Re: Human life span only 10 years?

Post by inge »

For instance in the bible there are recorded many people living to around 800 years of age. Based on Buddhas explanation of the cyclical growth and decline of life span of humans one can calculate that it is aproximately 10000 years since the life span was 800 years, so maybe those biblical figures lived around that time?
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Re: Human life span only 10 years?

Post by inge »

Digity wrote:Why would the human life span diminish to 10 years? What would even cause that? It makes no sense to me. At that lifespan, the current way of the world would collapse...how are a bunch of children suppose to run the world?
They would not be children. They would become adults very quick, and die of old age at the age of 10. It is said that they would have sexual desire from the time of birth.
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Re: Human life span only 10 years?

Post by equilibrium »

Digity wrote:Why would the human life span diminish to 10 years? What would even cause that? It makes no sense to me. At that lifespan, the current way of the world would collapse...how are a bunch of children suppose to run the world?
The Evolution Debate under Open Dhamma recently would be of interest:
http://www.dhammawheel.com/viewtopic.ph ... 09#p228109" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
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Re: Human life span only 10 years?

Post by tiltbillings »

And why would anyone take any of this literally?
>> Do you see a man wise [enlightened/ariya] in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him.<< -- Proverbs 26:12

This being is bound to samsara, kamma is his means for going beyond. -- SN I, 38.

“Of course it is happening inside your head, Harry, but why on earth should that mean that it is not real?” HPatDH p.723
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Sam Vara
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Re: Human life span only 10 years?

Post by Sam Vara »

tiltbillings wrote:And why would anyone take any of this literally?
Some people don't even take the age of the girl literally....

http://www.news.com.au/world/nine-year- ... 6572306136
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Re: Human life span only 10 years?

Post by Polar Bear »

tiltbillings wrote:And why would anyone take any of this literally?
I doubt that anyone does. To do so would be insane, or at the very least the result of being rather ill-informed about biology and the way the natural world works.

:anjali:
"I don't envision a single thing that, when developed & cultivated, leads to such great benefit as the mind. The mind, when developed & cultivated, leads to great benefit."

"I don't envision a single thing that, when undeveloped & uncultivated, brings about such suffering & stress as the mind. The mind, when undeveloped & uncultivated, brings about suffering & stress."
inge
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Re: Human life span only 10 years?

Post by inge »

polarbuddha101 wrote:
tiltbillings wrote:And why would anyone take any of this literally?
I doubt that anyone does. To do so would be insane, or at the very least the result of being rather ill-informed about biology and the way the natural world works.

:anjali:
What exactly about biology and the way the natural world works is it that makes a cyclical decline and rise in lifespan impossible?
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