What about Hinduism? Alan Watts explains

Alan Watts (KPFK Archives); S. Auberon, Dhr. Seven, Ashley Wells (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

Journey of the Soul: Concepts of Hell/Heaven in Hinduism, Christianity, Islam (isrgrajan.com)

Check the KPFK archives for Alan Watts

Buddhist Radio Los Angeles (Something's Happening with Roy of Hollywood Tuckman on KPFK 90.7 FM) carries on even though the world has lost Roy to Mara, the Grim Reaper. A broadcaster with a speech impediment seems to be keeping the torch going, if not Tuckman's wife the nurse.

• Alan Watts every Sunday morning at 8:00 am or in the archives online at KPFK.org Buddhist Radio continues on Thursdays at midnight into the morning.

One day an LA man will champion me at Pacifica

(Spiritual Library) Alan Watts explains Hinduism completely, which should give some insight into what Mahayana or popular Buddhism is, deviating quite a bit from what the historical Buddha Siddhartha Gautama taught in opposition to the Brahman priests of proto-India (or the remnants of ancient Bharat).

Great Bharat (Maha-Bharata) is a great ancient civilization that is part of the Indus Valley Civilization (IVC), Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro surrounding Gandhara.

Could anyone call Roy Tuckman "healthy"?

So Brahmanism, which modern Hinduism claims as its cornerstone as the preservation of the Vedas, goes way back. So, too, does Buddhism because of previous teaching buddhas (samma-sam-buddhas) the historical Buddha named and talked about.

They existed kalpas ("aeons, epochs, ages") ago; however, the Sanskrit word kalpa (Pali kappa) is a variable term.

It can mean an ordinary lifespan for that period, geologic time, cosmic time, lasting from 120 years (like today) or millions and millions of years, or even periods so staggering as to boggle the mind that attempts to contemplate them.

There is the great kalpa, a day in the life of Brahma (the Supreme), a night of Brahma, a chaotic period before things reform again for another cycle. There is the indeterminate kalpa which may last even longer. One might imagine Big Bangs and Big Contractions, long periods of evolution, long periods of devolutions, and even interstitial periods of chaos before things impersonally organize themselves again.

The Buddha talked about previous buddhas from kalpas ago. How long ago was that? It seems that some of them were within history and, of course, most of them were prehistorical. Alongside buddhas teachings, there seem to have been Brahmin priests with their Vedas or "Books of Knowledge" handed down by the devas (shining celestial space beings who came to earth to help humankind), which we might think of as "angels" or "gods" or "demigods."