A Mustard SeedSāsapasutta

At Sāvatthī.Sāvatthiyaṁ viharati.

Then a mendicant went up to the Buddha … and asked him,Atha kho aññataro bhikkhu yena bhagavā …pe… ekamantaṁ nisinno kho so bhikkhu bhagavantaṁ etadavoca: “Sir, how long is an eon?”“kīvadīgho nu kho, bhante, kappo”ti?

“Mendicant, an eon is long.“Dīgho kho, bhikkhu, kappo. It’s not easy to calculate how many years, how many hundreds or thousands or hundreds of thousands of years it lasts.”So na sukaro saṅkhātuṁ ettakāni vassāni iti vā …pe… ettakāni vassasatasahassāni iti vā”ti.

“But sir, is it possible to give a simile?”“Sakkā pana, bhante, upamaṁ kātun”ti?

“It’s possible,” said the Buddha.“Sakkā, bhikkhū”ti bhagavā avoca.

“Suppose there was an iron citadel, a league long, a league wide, and a league high, full of mustard seeds pressed into balls.“Seyyathāpi, bhikkhu, āyasaṁ nagaraṁ yojanaṁ āyāmena yojanaṁ vitthārena yojanaṁ ubbedhena, puṇṇaṁ sāsapānaṁ guḷikābaddhaṁ. And as each century passed someone would remove a single mustard seed.Tato puriso vassasatassa vassasatassa accayena ekamekaṁ sāsapaṁ uddhareyya. By this means the big heap of mustard seeds would be used up before the eon comes to an end.Khippataraṁ kho so, bhikkhu, mahāsāsaparāsi iminā upakkamena parikkhayaṁ pariyādānaṁ gaccheyya, na tveva kappo. That’s how long an eon is.Evaṁ dīgho kho, bhikkhu, kappo. And we’ve transmigrated through many such eons, many hundreds, many thousands, many hundreds of thousands.Evaṁ dīghānaṁ kho, bhikkhu, kappānaṁ neko kappo saṁsito, nekaṁ kappasataṁ saṁsitaṁ, nekaṁ kappasahassaṁ saṁsitaṁ, nekaṁ kappasatasahassaṁ saṁsitaṁ.

Why is that?Taṁ kissa hetu? This transmigration has no known beginning. …Anamataggoyaṁ, bhikkhu, saṁsāro …pe… This is quite enough for you to become disillusioned, dispassionate, and freed regarding all conditions.”alaṁ vimuccitun”ti.