"Ask yourself how many of the billions of inhabitants of this planet realize how rare it is to have been born a human being. How many of those who realize this think of using that chance to practice the Dharma? How many of these actually start to practice? How many of those who start continue to practice? How many of those who continue attain ultimate realization?
The number of those who attain ultimate realization is like the number of stars you can see at daybreak compared to the number you can see on a clear night. We need to be born a human being, as this is the only state of existence in which there is enough suffering to give us an acute desire to be free from samsara, yet not so much suffering that we no longer have the opportunity to free ourselves through the practice of Dharma.
If we do not make use of the precious opportunity of a human existence, we cannot but go downward, like a stone rolling down a hill."
~ Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, quoted in On the Path to Enlightenment: Heart Advice from the Great Tibetan Masters
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