By looking at the causes of the opportune rebirth, we can see how difficult it is to obtain the result.

The main cause is the practice of the morality of abandoning the ten unvirtuous actions. The co-operative causes are the practices of Giving, other types of Morality, Patience, and so forth.

So that these causes ripen properly, one must also pray in a pure manner, unmarred by the eight worldly concerns (concern with gain and loss, pleasure and pain, fame and dishonour, praise and blame). These causes do not arise spontaneously but are established with difficulty. Seeing in this way the difficulty of obtaining this opportunity, we should realize that since it is so rare we must make effort to use it well. After each point in the meditation, we should make this strong decision. …

We can also see that the opportune, fortunate rebirth is rare since one of its factors, the presence of the Buddha’s Teaching, only occurs rarely and does not last long. This too should motivate us to make the most of this opportunity.

The Buddha himself taught the rarity of human existence by picking up a little dust on his fingernail, and explaining to the monks that while they were then in a happy state of existence, it was very easy to fall into the realms of woe.

The number of beings in happy destinies was like the dust on his nail, while the number in ill destinies was like the dust of the whole Earth. He also taught that of the five destinies of samsaric beings, the greatest number of beings were in hell states, the next greatest number were pretas, and next animals. Although we cannot ourselves see the hell beings and pretas, they are spoken of in the Sutras. The Buddha explained the states of rebirth as dependent on the degree of negativity of the action which throws a being into them: extremely negative actions throw one into the hell realms, less extreme ones into preta, rebirth, and ones of comparatively slight negativity into rebirth as an animal. …

Going one step further, let us divide human beings into those who are interested in spiritual practice and those who are not. The former are a small minority, and even among them it is hard to find any who have the complete opportune, fortunate rebirth and are genuinely engaging in practice that will be fruitful.

Source: Geshe Rabten. The Essential Nectar: Meditations on the Buddhist Path. An explanation of the Lam rim text of Yeshe Tsondru entitled The Essential Nectar of the Holy Doctrine, and the text itself. Editing and verse translation by Martin Willson.

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