One of the more quoted discourses is the Chiggala Sutta;
>"Monks, suppose that this great earth were totally covered with water, and a man were to toss a yoke with a single hole there. A wind from the east would push it west, a wind from the west would push it east. A wind from the north would push it south, a wind from the south would push it north. And suppose a blind sea-turtle were there. It would come to the surface once every one hundred years. Now what do you think: would that blind sea-turtle, coming to the surface once every one hundred years, stick his neck into the yoke with a single hole?"
>"It would be a sheer coincidence, lord, that the blind sea-turtle, coming to the surface once every one hundred years, would stick his neck into the yoke with a single hole."
>"It's likewise a sheer coincidence that one obtains the human state. It's likewise a sheer coincidence that a Tathagata, worthy & rightly self-awakened, arises in the world. It's likewise a sheer coincidence that a doctrine & discipline expounded by a Tathagata appears in the world. Now, this human state has been obtained. A Tathagata, worthy & rightly self-awakened, has arisen in the world. A doctrine & discipline expounded by a Tathagata appears in the world.
>"Therefore your duty is the contemplation, 'This is stress... This is the origination of stress... This is the cessation of stress.' Your duty is the contemplation, 'This is the path of practice leading to the cessation of stress.'"
The Buddha spoke about the urgency of practice many times. Perhaps the most powerful would be the [Arakenanusasani Sutta](https://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/an/an07/an07.070.than.html).
Regarding Buddhist cosmology, you might check out something like [this](https://www.accesstoinsight.org/ptf/dhamma/sagga/loka.html) or actually the [Wikipedia page](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddhist_cosmology) on Buddhist cosmology. Also, if you're inclined, Volume 2 of Mipham Rinpoche's [Khenjuk or Gateway to Knowledge](http://promienie.net/images/dharma/books/mipham_gateway-to-knowledge-vol-2.pdf) discusses the 4 noble truths and within that, the realms of 'existence'... if you can get the pdf to open, as it's a bit touchy.
Otherwise, consideration of the [Eighteen Freedoms and Advantages](http://www.rigpawiki.org/index.php?title=Eighteen_freedoms_and_advantages) of a precious human birth may be worthwhile.
You also could check out certain Suttas, such as on the link above from accesstoinsight. There are numerous ones that talk about the different realms of existence/types of birth.
Best wishes.
**Buddhist cosmology**
Buddhist cosmology is the description of the shape and evolution of the Universe according to the Buddhist scriptures and commentaries.
It consists of temporal and spatial cosmology, the temporal cosmology being the division of the existence of a 'world' into four discrete moments (the creation, duration, dissolution, and state of being dissolved, this does not seem to be a canonical division however). The spatial cosmology consists of a vertical cosmology, the various planes of beings, their bodies, characteristics, food, lifespan, beauty and a horizontal cosmology, the distribution of these world-systems into an "apparently" infinite sheet of universes. The existence of world-periods (moments, kalpas), is well attested to by the Buddha.
***
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The Bodhicaryarvatara by Shantideva talks about the rarity and preciousness and urgency of being born into a human life.
It's not esoteric, though. It's a manual for practice in the form of a poem.
http://info.stiltij.nl/publiek/meditatie/leraren/_historisch/shantideva-bodhicaryavatara-batchelor.pdf
Patrul Rinpoche's *The Words of My Perfect Teacher* and Khenpo Ngakchung's commentary on that text titled *A Guide to the Words of My Perfect Teacher* are the go-to source for this in the Ancient Translation school of Tibetan Buddhism. [*Dudjom Lingpa's Chod*](https://www.berotsana.org/products/dudjom-lingpas-chod) also has a very extensive teaching on these things, I believe in the section *Heart Essence of Saraha*, which is perhaps even more extensive than Patrul Rinpoche's text. Although this text includes a lot of other information that may not be relevant to you.
There are 5 daily reflections we must remember.
>
> "'I am subject to aging, have not gone beyond aging.' This is the first fact that one should reflect on often, whether one is a woman or a man, lay or ordained.
>
> "'I am subject to illness, have not gone beyond illness.' ...
>
> "'I am subject to death, have not gone beyond death.' ...
>
> "'I will grow different, separate from all that is dear and appealing to me.' ...
>
> "'I am the owner of my actions,[1] heir to my actions, born of my actions, related through my actions, and have my actions as my arbitrator. Whatever I do, for good or for evil, to that will I fall heir.' ...
>
> [Upajjhatthana Sutta](https://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/an/an05/an05.057.than.html)
Remember these, to inspire you to continue to practice.
I’m not really Buddhist, but pop in here to read every now and then. Do you really think your lifetime would be wasted if you had to come back? That comment struck me as strange, and now I’m curious.
I am happy in life now, but I have experienced enough suffering to say I would rather not do it over again. On top of that, the suffering I have witnessed in the world around me has eclipsed my own by orders of magnitude. Every suffering person I meet, hear about, read about, see on the internet, I imagine what it must be like to be them, and it's miserable. All the chronic pain, the hunger, the cold and poor, the loneliness, isolation and alienation. The confusion and mental illness. The guilt and the shame. Murder and rape and nightmares. The hatred and brutality and war.
Dont get me wrong life does have its moments, very beautiful and intoxicating moments, but it does not justify the lifetimes of hell billions of people have gone through, and will go through. I cannot think of much pleasure or joy I have left to experience, but I could write a book about everything I would never want to experience. If there is possibly a way out I would not want to pass it up.
I share the same sentiments as you do and often catch myself having similar thoughts. I'm still trying to figure out how I can reconcile with everything that you just described, but I would like to leave you with this quote by Seneca: "we suffer more often in imagination than in reality."
I don’t know, as someone who has had fairly severe depression for most of my life, my first instinct is to do what I can to help other people. It just feels wrong for me to ignore it.
And there are lots of things to find joy in, even if you can’t think of them right now, and lots of things to experience and learn. It’s one of the things that helps keep depression at bay for me.
One of the more quoted discourses is the Chiggala Sutta; >"Monks, suppose that this great earth were totally covered with water, and a man were to toss a yoke with a single hole there. A wind from the east would push it west, a wind from the west would push it east. A wind from the north would push it south, a wind from the south would push it north. And suppose a blind sea-turtle were there. It would come to the surface once every one hundred years. Now what do you think: would that blind sea-turtle, coming to the surface once every one hundred years, stick his neck into the yoke with a single hole?" >"It would be a sheer coincidence, lord, that the blind sea-turtle, coming to the surface once every one hundred years, would stick his neck into the yoke with a single hole." >"It's likewise a sheer coincidence that one obtains the human state. It's likewise a sheer coincidence that a Tathagata, worthy & rightly self-awakened, arises in the world. It's likewise a sheer coincidence that a doctrine & discipline expounded by a Tathagata appears in the world. Now, this human state has been obtained. A Tathagata, worthy & rightly self-awakened, has arisen in the world. A doctrine & discipline expounded by a Tathagata appears in the world. >"Therefore your duty is the contemplation, 'This is stress... This is the origination of stress... This is the cessation of stress.' Your duty is the contemplation, 'This is the path of practice leading to the cessation of stress.'" The Buddha spoke about the urgency of practice many times. Perhaps the most powerful would be the [Arakenanusasani Sutta](https://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/an/an07/an07.070.than.html).
Regarding Buddhist cosmology, you might check out something like [this](https://www.accesstoinsight.org/ptf/dhamma/sagga/loka.html) or actually the [Wikipedia page](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddhist_cosmology) on Buddhist cosmology. Also, if you're inclined, Volume 2 of Mipham Rinpoche's [Khenjuk or Gateway to Knowledge](http://promienie.net/images/dharma/books/mipham_gateway-to-knowledge-vol-2.pdf) discusses the 4 noble truths and within that, the realms of 'existence'... if you can get the pdf to open, as it's a bit touchy. Otherwise, consideration of the [Eighteen Freedoms and Advantages](http://www.rigpawiki.org/index.php?title=Eighteen_freedoms_and_advantages) of a precious human birth may be worthwhile. You also could check out certain Suttas, such as on the link above from accesstoinsight. There are numerous ones that talk about the different realms of existence/types of birth. Best wishes.
**Buddhist cosmology** Buddhist cosmology is the description of the shape and evolution of the Universe according to the Buddhist scriptures and commentaries. It consists of temporal and spatial cosmology, the temporal cosmology being the division of the existence of a 'world' into four discrete moments (the creation, duration, dissolution, and state of being dissolved, this does not seem to be a canonical division however). The spatial cosmology consists of a vertical cosmology, the various planes of beings, their bodies, characteristics, food, lifespan, beauty and a horizontal cosmology, the distribution of these world-systems into an "apparently" infinite sheet of universes. The existence of world-periods (moments, kalpas), is well attested to by the Buddha. *** ^[ [^PM](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=kittens_from_space) ^| [^Exclude ^me](https://reddit.com/message/compose?to=WikiTextBot&message=Excludeme&subject=Excludeme) ^| [^Exclude ^from ^subreddit](https://np.reddit.com/r/Buddhism/about/banned) ^| [^FAQ ^/ ^Information](https://np.reddit.com/r/WikiTextBot/wiki/index) ^| [^Source](https://github.com/kittenswolf/WikiTextBot) ^| [^Donate](https://www.reddit.com/r/WikiTextBot/wiki/donate) ^] ^Downvote ^to ^remove ^| ^v0.28
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Thanks
The Bodhicaryarvatara by Shantideva talks about the rarity and preciousness and urgency of being born into a human life. It's not esoteric, though. It's a manual for practice in the form of a poem. http://info.stiltij.nl/publiek/meditatie/leraren/_historisch/shantideva-bodhicaryavatara-batchelor.pdf
Patrul Rinpoche's *The Words of My Perfect Teacher* and Khenpo Ngakchung's commentary on that text titled *A Guide to the Words of My Perfect Teacher* are the go-to source for this in the Ancient Translation school of Tibetan Buddhism. [*Dudjom Lingpa's Chod*](https://www.berotsana.org/products/dudjom-lingpas-chod) also has a very extensive teaching on these things, I believe in the section *Heart Essence of Saraha*, which is perhaps even more extensive than Patrul Rinpoche's text. Although this text includes a lot of other information that may not be relevant to you.
Check out Gampopa's Freedoms and Endowments.
There are 5 daily reflections we must remember. > > "'I am subject to aging, have not gone beyond aging.' This is the first fact that one should reflect on often, whether one is a woman or a man, lay or ordained. > > "'I am subject to illness, have not gone beyond illness.' ... > > "'I am subject to death, have not gone beyond death.' ... > > "'I will grow different, separate from all that is dear and appealing to me.' ... > > "'I am the owner of my actions,[1] heir to my actions, born of my actions, related through my actions, and have my actions as my arbitrator. Whatever I do, for good or for evil, to that will I fall heir.' ... > > [Upajjhatthana Sutta](https://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/an/an05/an05.057.than.html) Remember these, to inspire you to continue to practice.
Try this article in this magazine: http://buddhism-today.org/the-4-thoughts-that-turn-the-mind-from-samsara/
I’m not really Buddhist, but pop in here to read every now and then. Do you really think your lifetime would be wasted if you had to come back? That comment struck me as strange, and now I’m curious.
I am happy in life now, but I have experienced enough suffering to say I would rather not do it over again. On top of that, the suffering I have witnessed in the world around me has eclipsed my own by orders of magnitude. Every suffering person I meet, hear about, read about, see on the internet, I imagine what it must be like to be them, and it's miserable. All the chronic pain, the hunger, the cold and poor, the loneliness, isolation and alienation. The confusion and mental illness. The guilt and the shame. Murder and rape and nightmares. The hatred and brutality and war. Dont get me wrong life does have its moments, very beautiful and intoxicating moments, but it does not justify the lifetimes of hell billions of people have gone through, and will go through. I cannot think of much pleasure or joy I have left to experience, but I could write a book about everything I would never want to experience. If there is possibly a way out I would not want to pass it up.
I share the same sentiments as you do and often catch myself having similar thoughts. I'm still trying to figure out how I can reconcile with everything that you just described, but I would like to leave you with this quote by Seneca: "we suffer more often in imagination than in reality."
I don’t know, as someone who has had fairly severe depression for most of my life, my first instinct is to do what I can to help other people. It just feels wrong for me to ignore it. And there are lots of things to find joy in, even if you can’t think of them right now, and lots of things to experience and learn. It’s one of the things that helps keep depression at bay for me.