Question

"Countless eons, 500 lifetimes." Are we meant to take these expressions literally?

Answer

Maybe. In the commentaries, it does point out that regularly the number 500 meant many, many, the number seven meant few.

"Countless eons"! To give you an idea of the definition of an eon, imagine you have a solid granite rock, one mile tall, one mile wide, one mile thick, this big block, solid granite. Once every hundred years a person with a silk handkerchief comes up and wipes the side of the rock. That rock will disappear before an eon is finished. That's the definition, so I have read. We can't even fathom how long it would take for a solid granite rock, a mile this way and that way, and you wipe it once every hundred years with a silk handkerchief, to disappear. So let alone fathom one eon, what can we say about countless eons? Let's just assume it's a long, long time!

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