[Buddha-l] Extraterrestrial

[Michel Clasquin]

John Chamberlin wrote:
> What would be the immediate and long-term effects on the world’s  great 
> religions if extraterrestrial life were discovered?

Ha! The known universe is a pale shadow of the Buddhist Great 
Trichilliocosm*.
In it, there are worlds as innumerable as the grains of sands in the beds
of a thousand Ganges rivers. On each of these there are asuras, and devas,
and animals and some sort of humans. And in each world there is a Buddha
who emits varicoloured beams of light from every pore of his body. And 
at the end of each beam is yet another world ... And of course, there 
are as many Great Trichilliocosms as there are grains of sand in the 
beds of a million Ganges rivers... And when you're done with the little
stuff we can start talking about the Pure Lands!

Bring on the bug-eyed monsters, we'll get them sitting cross-tentacled 
on black cushions quickly enough.

Michel

*No, I don't know where the term "Great Trichiliocosm" comes from 
either, though I suspect Conze is behind it.