Dutiyachiggaḷayugasutta

Saṁyutta Nikāya 56.48

Linked Discourses 56.48

5. Papātavagga

5. A Cliff

Dutiyachiggaḷayugasutta

A Yoke With a Hole (2nd)

“Seyyathāpi, bhikkhave, ayaṁ mahāpathavī ekodakā assa.

“Mendicants, suppose the earth was entirely covered with water.

Tatra puriso ekacchiggaḷaṁ yugaṁ pakkhipeyya.

And a person threw a yoke with a single hole into it.

Tamenaṁ puratthimo vāto pacchimena saṁhareyya, pacchimo vāto puratthimena saṁhareyya, uttaro vāto dakkhiṇena saṁhareyya, dakkhiṇo vāto uttarena saṁhareyya.

The east wind wafts it west; the west wind wafts it east; the north wind wafts it south; and the south wind wafts it north.

Tatrassa kāṇo kacchapo. So vassasatassa vassasatassa accayena sakiṁ sakiṁ ummujjeyya.

And there was a one-eyed turtle who popped up once every hundred years.

Taṁ kiṁ maññatha, bhikkhave,

What do you think, mendicants?

api nu kho kāṇo kacchapo vassasatassa vassasatassa accayena sakiṁ sakiṁ ummujjanto amusmiṁ ekacchiggaḷe yuge gīvaṁ paveseyyā”ti?

Would that one-eyed turtle, popping up once every hundred years, still poke its neck through the hole in that yoke?”

“Adhiccamidaṁ, bhante, yaṁ so kāṇo kacchapo vassasatassa vassasatassa accayena sakiṁ sakiṁ ummujjanto amusmiṁ ekacchiggaḷe yuge gīvaṁ paveseyyā”ti.

“It would be an anomaly, sir.”

“Evaṁ adhiccamidaṁ, bhikkhave, yaṁ manussattaṁ labhati.

“That’s how anomalous it is to get reborn as a human being.

Evaṁ adhiccamidaṁ, bhikkhave, yaṁ tathāgato loke uppajjati arahaṁ sammāsambuddho.

And that’s how anomalous it is for a Realized One to arise in the world, a perfected one, a fully awakened Buddha.

Evaṁ adhiccamidaṁ, bhikkhave, yaṁ tathāgatappavedito dhammavinayo loke dibbati.

And that’s how anomalous it is for the teaching and training proclaimed by a Realized One to shine in the world.

Tassidaṁ, bhikkhave, manussattaṁ laddhaṁ, tathāgato loke uppanno arahaṁ sammāsambuddho, tathāgatappavedito ca dhammavinayo loke dibbati.

And now, mendicants, you have been reborn as a human being. A Realized One has arisen in the world, a perfected one, a fully awakened Buddha. And the teaching and training proclaimed by a Realized One shines in the world.

Tasmātiha, bhikkhave, ‘idaṁ dukkhan’ti yogo karaṇīyo …pe… ‘ayaṁ dukkhanirodhagāminī paṭipadā’ti yogo karaṇīyo”ti.

That’s why you should practice meditation …”

Aṭṭhamaṁ.