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Saį¹yutta NikÄya 15.6 Linked Discourses 15.6
1. Paį¹hamavagga Chapter One
SÄsapasutta A Mustard Seed
SÄvatthiyaį¹ viharati. At SÄvatthÄ«.
Atha kho aƱƱataro bhikkhu yena bhagavÄ ā¦peā¦ ekamantaį¹ nisinno kho so bhikkhu bhagavantaį¹ etadavoca: Then a mendicant went up to the Buddha ā¦ and asked him,
ākÄ«vadÄ«gho nu kho, bhante, kappoāti? āSir, how long is an eon?ā
āDÄ«gho kho, bhikkhu, kappo. āMendicant, an eon is long.
So na sukaro saį¹
khÄtuį¹ ettakÄni vassÄni iti vÄ ā¦peā¦ ettakÄni vassasatasahassÄni iti vÄāti. Itās not easy to calculate how many years, how many hundreds or thousands or hundreds of thousands of years it lasts.ā The purpose of these similes is to impress on the mind the incomprehensible vastness of existence. While it is doubtful they were ever meant to be literal numbers, I have done the math in a few cases. By way of comparison, the age of the universe in modern physical cosmology is around 13.9 billion years.
āSakkÄ pana, bhante, upamaį¹ kÄtunāti? āBut sir, is it possible to give a simile?ā
āSakkÄ, bhikkhÅ«āti bhagavÄ avoca. āItās possible,ā said the Buddha.
āSeyyathÄpi, bhikkhu, Äyasaį¹ nagaraį¹ yojanaį¹ ÄyÄmena yojanaį¹ vitthÄrena yojanaį¹ ubbedhena, puį¹į¹aį¹ sÄsapÄnaį¹ guįø·ikÄbaddhaį¹. āSuppose there was an iron citadel, a league long, a league wide, and a league high, full of mustard seeds pressed into balls.
Tato puriso vassasatassa vassasatassa accayena ekamekaį¹ sÄsapaį¹ uddhareyya. And as each century passed someone would remove a single mustard seed.
Khippataraį¹ kho so, bhikkhu, mahÄsÄsaparÄsi iminÄ upakkamena parikkhayaį¹ pariyÄdÄnaį¹ gaccheyya, na tveva kappo. By this means the big heap of mustard seeds would be used up before the eon comes to an end. Assuming 2 mm per mustard seed, and 10 km per league, thatās about 5Ć10Ā²Ā² years.
Evaį¹ dÄ«gho kho, bhikkhu, kappo. Thatās how long an eon is.
Evaį¹ dÄ«ghÄnaį¹ kho, bhikkhu, kappÄnaį¹ neko kappo saį¹sito, nekaį¹ kappasataį¹ saį¹sitaį¹, nekaį¹ kappasahassaį¹ saį¹sitaį¹, nekaį¹ kappasatasahassaį¹ saį¹sitaį¹. And weāve transmigrated through many such eons, many hundreds, many thousands, many hundreds of thousands.
Taį¹ kissa hetu? Why is that?
Anamataggoyaį¹, bhikkhu, saį¹sÄro ā¦peā¦ This transmigration has no known beginning. ā¦
alaį¹ vimuccitunāti. This is quite enough for you to become disillusioned, dispassionate, and freed regarding all conditions.ā
Chaį¹į¹haį¹.