With regard to why we had so much time and still no results, it is not about time is it? Since there is no beginning , even 1 zillion years is ' short' compared to infinity.
It is about whether we seize the opportunity to learn when we have the right conditions like now. It is about one's choice whether to learn and practice now when we can or leave it for tomorrow or the next century or eons later...this is the ignorance.
There is even the assertion that eventually all of us will become enlightened anyway since we go round the 6 realms and will be reborn as a human and attain enlightenment based on law of probabilities even if it takes a zillion zillion kalpas.
A sub question: Does anyone think there is a flaw to this line of reasoning even though it is correct mathematically and according to Buddhist cosmology?
Dear KG, thank you for your post.
I don't know if we can call this a flaw, but actually I think we can, it is about the "law of probability."
It seems as if the law of probability brings about "randomness" in the picture, which is contrary to the principles of karma, as far as I understand them.
Is it correct or incorrect to assume that we will all get enlightened because of the law of probability?
We do not travel through realms governed by the law of probability, but rather by the law of karma, correct?
We do not meet a Guru by chance, randomly, just like if I tried often enough I would get a serie of double 6 in throwing dice.
We meet the Dharma, recognize and practice it and also meet a Guru and develop devotion from our merit.
From our merit, we encounter conditions to create more merit and develop wisdom with VOLITION.
So maybe there is more than merit required, there is volition too, based upon renunciation.
Because I have renunciation, I have the will power to proceed further on the path instead of burning my merit in useless ways, not creating further merit neither.
It seems to me as everything comes down to this: RENUNCIATION.
Without RENUNCIATION we move up and down endlessly on waves of black and white karma, and we would even meet a Buddha and hear the Dharma with great intellectual ability to learn it and even share it but this just passes and we go down again on a vicious cycle of ignorant existence.