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Linked Discourses · SN 15.2

  • Linked Discourses 15.2Saṁyutta Nikāya 15.2
  • Chapter One1. Paṭhamavagga

The EarthPathavīsutta

At Sāvatthī.Sāvatthiyaṁ viharati.

“Mendicants, this transmigration has no known beginning.“Anamataggoyaṁ, bhikkhave, saṁsāro. No first point is found of sentient beings roaming and transmigrating, shrouded by ignorance and fettered by craving.Pubbā koṭi na paññāyati avijjānīvaraṇānaṁ sattānaṁ taṇhāsaṁyojanānaṁ sandhāvataṁ saṁsarataṁ. Suppose a person was to make the whole earth into clay balls the size of jujube seeds. They’d lay them down, saying:Seyyathāpi, bhikkhave, puriso imaṁ mahāpathaviṁ kolaṭṭhimattaṁ kolaṭṭhimattaṁ mattikāguḷikaṁ karitvā nikkhipeyya: ‘This is my father, this is my grandfather.’ The whole earth would run out before that person’s fathers and grandfathers.‘ayaṁ me pitā, tassa me pitu ayaṁ pitā’ti, apariyādinnāva bhikkhave, tassa purisassa pitupitaro assu, athāyaṁ mahāpathavī parikkhayaṁ pariyādānaṁ gaccheyya.

Why is that?Taṁ kissa hetu? This transmigration has no known beginning.Anamataggoyaṁ, bhikkhave, saṁsāro. No first point is found of sentient beings roaming and transmigrating, shrouded by ignorance and fettered by craving.Pubbā koṭi na paññāyati avijjānīvaraṇānaṁ sattānaṁ taṇhāsaṁyojanānaṁ sandhāvataṁ saṁsarataṁ. For such a long time you have undergone suffering, agony, and disaster, swelling the cemeteries.Evaṁ dīgharattaṁ vo, bhikkhave, dukkhaṁ paccanubhūtaṁ tibbaṁ paccanubhūtaṁ byasanaṁ paccanubhūtaṁ, kaṭasī vaḍḍhitā. This is quite enough for you to become disillusioned, dispassionate, and freed regarding all conditions.”Yāvañcidaṁ, bhikkhave, alameva sabbasaṅkhāresu nibbindituṁ, alaṁ virajjituṁ, alaṁ vimuccitun”ti.

Similar passages elsewhere

Found by meaning, not by citation: the passages in other texts whose wording sits closest to a passage here.

  1. SN 15.9 A Stick 0.74near 0.1Linked Discourses 15.9 Chapter One A Stick At Sāvatthī. “Mendicants, this transmigration has no known beginning. No first point is found of sentient beings roaming and transmigrating, shrouded by ignorance and fettered b…
  2. SN 15.19 Daughter 0.67near 0.1Linked Discourses 15.19 2. Chapter Two Daughter At Sāvatthī. “Mendicants, this transmigration has no known beginning. No first point is found of sentient beings roaming and transmigrating, shrouded by ignorance and fette…
  3. SN 15.15 Father 0.63near 0.1Linked Discourses 15.15 Chapter Two Father At Sāvatthī. “Mendicants, this transmigration has no known beginning. … It’s not easy to find a sentient being who in all this long time has not previously been your father. … T…
  4. SN 22.99 A Leash 0.61near 0.1Linked Discourses 22.99 10. Flowers A Leash At Sāvatthī. “Mendicants, this transmigration has no known beginning. No first point is found of sentient beings roaming and transmigrating, shrouded by ignorance and fettered…
  5. SN 15.14 Mother 0.57near 0.1Linked Discourses 15.14 Chapter Two Mother At Sāvatthī. “Mendicants, this transmigration has no known beginning. … It’s not easy to find a sentient being who in all this long time has not previously been your mother. Why…