Dear Jon,

I am not so much into Buddhist cosmology. But, I offer a thought for
you to ponder. The elaborated discussion of lifespan of devas in
Buddhist discourses is to highlight that the heavens are not eternal,
as otherwise preached by all other religions. If we go back to the
sentence Jo posted:

sakko sa.t.thi ca vassasatasahassaani tisso ca vassako.tiyo aayu.m
khepetvaa cavi, a~n~no sakko nibbati

Sakka spent the life of 36 millions and passed away, another Sakka was
born.

To me, this sentence signifies the impermanence, not lifespan, of
Sakka. Having thought that, I have already lost half the appetite for
cosmology. ;-) I am just joking, I am in fact very keen in physical
(scientific) cosmology, but not so much in religious cosmology,
although I do read them occasionally.

metta,
Yong Peng.

--- In Pali@yahoogroups.com, Jon Fernquest wrote:

there is more than one cosmological text in Theravadan Buddhist
cosmology. I wonder if this hierarchy with its lifespans is universal
across all cosmologies?