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Turns out, there's a very real reason to be urgent about one's progress on the Dharma Path. As long as we've not transcended the cycle of birth and death, we're doomed to suffer in this manner over and over-- and over!-- again. You see, there is nothing in life that is permanent: once something is born, whether tadpole, crocodile, demi-goddess, or human, then it is 100% certain that death will eventually come to steal us away. If a person has amassed a kalpa's worth of good karma/merit, then he'll happily enjoy his life in one of the higher realms. But eventually, his good karma will be used up. When that happens, the only way for him to go will be back down to the lower realms. If he's amassed a kalpa's worth of evil karma, then he will suffer without relief for as long as his evil karma dictates. Once this karma is exhausted, then the only place for him to be reborn next is one of the upper realms (though he may still suffer intolerably as a hungry ghost or animal before he can reach the human realm). You might well make the following conclusion: "Well, what's a few thousand years in hell? If I knew I wouldn't have to stay there forever, the suffering might not be so bad." In Buddhism, there are literally thousands of Hells, some unbearably hot and some which are freezing cold. And the descriptions of what goes on in Buddhist Hells are enough to make Muslim or Christian Hells seem like a stint in the local county jail. ( http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/01/23/welcome-to-buddhist-hell.html) But let's put the term 'kalpa' into perspective. Imagine Mt. Everest, one of the great rocky behemoths of the world. Then imagine the Buddhist Mt. Sumeru, which is at least ten times taller than the mighty Mt. Everest. Now, let's say that every 100 years, a delicate monarch butterfly came along and simply brushed the side of Mt. Sumeru with its fragile, silky wing. By the time Mt. Sumeru has been worn away by the butterfly's wings altogether, then that would equal the duration of one kalpa. Unfathomable, isn't it? I'm willing to bet that no human being could wrap their minds around such a length of time. And if a single kalpa weren't mind-boggling enough, consider this: a sentient being suffering in Hell might be trapped there-- by his own negative karma-- for a hundred BILLION such kalpas. That's right. (Gods, goddesses, and those born in heavenly realms enjoy long lives of thousands and thousands of years, but this is a double-edged sword. A god's incredibly long life often hoodwinks him into believing that he can put off cultivating merit and good deeds for a decade...then another decade...and then maybe a century or three, because after all, he's got an abundance of time to enjoy his time as a god before getting serious about doing good, right? Before he knows it, his time is up, and though he is full of regret, he has no choice but to travel right back down the samsara cliff.) The prospect of a long life fools us all. We all dismiss the idea of death because-- well, there's so much TIME left! Why should I worry about cultivating good and paying homage to the Triple Gem if I'm only 23 years old and I have 5 more decades to worry about old age? Death is not fixed. We can die a year, a month, or even a moment from now. And if we don't begin to do good with body, speech, and mind NOW, then we just might wake up in a very, very unpleasant place, where we'll have to lie in anguish for what may as well be an eternity. The Good News: it's up to you to decide where you're going to spend your next life. Commit evil, and you'll suffer the dreadful consequences. But if you have a pure, good, compassionate heart, you will not be fearful at the time of death. Namaste!

Manly P. Hall ~ Lost Keys of Freemasonry