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Pali Canon

I. THE HUMAN CONDITION

1. OLD AGE, ILLNESS, AND DEATH

(1) Aging and Death

At Sāvatthī, King Pasenadi of Kosala said to the Blessed One:
“Venerable sir, is anyone who is born free from aging and
death?”

“Great king, no one who is born is free from aging and
death. Even those affluent khattiyas—rich, with great wealth
and property, with abundant gold and silver, abundant
treasures and commodities, abundant wealth and grain—
because they have been born, are not free from aging and
death. Even those affluent brahmins … affluent householders
—rich … with abundant wealth and grain—because they have
been born, are not free from aging and death. Even those
monks who are arahants, whose taints are destroyed, who
have lived the holy life, done what had to be done, laid down
the burden, reached their own goal, utterly destroyed the
fetters of existence, and are completely liberated through final
knowledge: even for them this body is subject to breaking up,
subject to being laid down.

“The beautiful chariots of kings wear out,
This body too undergoes decay.
But the Dhamma of the good does not decay:
So the good proclaim along with the good.”
(SN 3:3; I 71 <163–64>)

(2) The Simile of the Mountain

At Sāvatthī, in the middle of the day, King Pasenadi of Kosala
approached the Blessed One, paid homage to him, and sat
down to one side. The Blessed One then asked him: “Now
where are you coming from, great king, in the middle of the
day?”
“Just now, venerable sir, I have been engaged in those
affairs of kingship typical for kings, who are intoxicated with
the intoxication of sovereignty, who are obsessed by greed for
sensual pleasures, who have attained stable control in their
country, and who rule having conquered a great sphere of
territory on earth.”
“What do you think, great king? Suppose a man would
come to you from the east, one who is trustworthy and
reliable, and would tell you: ‘For sure, great king, you should
know this: I am coming from the east, and there I saw a great
mountain high as the clouds coming this way, crushing all
living beings. Do whatever you think should be done, great
king.’ Then a second man would come to you from the west
… a third man from the north … and a fourth man from the
south, one who is trustworthy and reliable, and would tell you:
‘For sure, great king, you should know this: I am coming from
the south, and there I saw a great mountain high as the clouds
coming this way, crushing all living beings. Do whatever you
think should be done, great king.’ If, great king, such a great
peril should arise, such a terrible destruction of human life, the
human state being so difficult to obtain, what should be
done?”
“If, venerable sir, such a great peril should arise, such a
terrible destruction of human life, the human state being so
difficult to obtain, what else should be done but to live by the
Dhamma, to live righteously, and to do wholesome and
meritorious deeds?”
“I inform you, great king, I announce to you, great king:
aging and death are rolling in on you. When aging and death
are rolling in on you, great king, what should be done?”
“As aging and death are rolling in on me, venerable sir,
what else should be done but to live by the Dhamma, to live
righteously, and to do wholesome and meritorious deeds?
“Venerable sir, kings intoxicated with the intoxication of
sovereignty, obsessed by greed for sensual pleasures, who
have attained stable control in their country and rule over a
great sphere of territory, conquer by means of elephant
battles, cavalry battles, chariot battles, and infantry battles; but
there is no hope of victory by such battles, no chance of
success, when aging and death are rolling in. In this royal
court, venerable sir, there are counselors who, when the
enemies arrive, are capable of dividing them by subterfuge;
but there is no hope of victory by subterfuge, no chance of
success, when aging and death are rolling in. In this royal
court, venerable sir, there exists abundant bullion and gold
stored in vaults and lofts, and with such wealth we are capable
of mollifying the enemies when they come; but there is no
hope of victory by wealth, no chance of success, when aging
and death are rolling in. As aging and death are rolling in on
me, venerable sir, what else should I do but live by the
Dhamma, live righteously, and do wholesome and meritorious
deeds?”
“So it is, great king! So it is, great king! As aging and death
are rolling in on you, what else should you do but live by the
Dhamma, live righteously, and do wholesome and meritorious
deeds?”
This is what the Blessed One said. Having said this, the
Fortunate One, the Teacher, further said this:
“Just as mountains of solid rock,
Massive, reaching to the sky,
Might draw together from all sides,
Crushing all in the four quarters—
So aging and death come
Rolling over living beings—
“Khattiyas, brahmins, vessas, suddas,
Outcasts and scavengers:
They spare none along the way
But come crushing everything.
“There’s no hope there for victory
By elephant troops, chariots, and infantry.
One can’t defeat them by subterfuge,
Or buy them off by means of wealth.
“Therefore a person of wisdom here,
Out of regard for his own good,
Steadfast, should settle faith
In the Buddha, Dhamma, and Saṅgha.
“When one conducts oneself by Dhamma
With body, speech, and mind,
They praise one here in the present life,
And after death one rejoices in heaven.”
(SN 3:25; I 100–102 <224–29>)

(3) The Divine Messengers

“There are, monks, three divine messengers.
What three?
“There is a person of bad conduct in body, speech, and
mind. On the dissolution of the body, after death, he is reborn
in the plane of misery, in a bad destination, in a lower world,
in hell. There the warders of hell seize him by both arms and
take him before Yama, the Lord of Death, saying: ‘This man,
your majesty, had no respect for father and mother, nor for
ascetics and brahmins, nor did he honor the elders of the
family. May your majesty inflict due punishment on him!’
“Then, monks, King Yama questions that man, examines
him, and addresses him concerning the first divine messenger:
‘Didn’t you ever see, my good man, the first divine messenger
appearing among humankind?’
“And he replies: ‘No, Lord, I did not see him.’
“Then King Yama says to him: ‘But, my good man, didn’t
you ever see a woman or a man, eighty, ninety, or a hundred
years old, frail, bent like a roof bracket, crooked, leaning on a
stick, shakily going along, ailing, youth and vigor gone, with
broken teeth, with gray and scanty hair or bald, wrinkled, with
blotched limbs?’
“And the man replies: ‘Yes, Lord, I have seen this.’
“Then King Yama says to him: ‘My good man, didn’t it
ever occur to you, an intelligent and mature person, “I too am
subject to old age and cannot escape it. Let me now do noble
deeds by body, speech, and mind”?’
“‘No, Lord, I could not do it. I was negligent.’
“Then King Yama says: ‘Through negligence, my good
man, you have failed to do noble deeds by body, speech, and
mind. Well, you will be treated as befits your negligence. That
evil action of yours was not done by mother or father,
brothers, sisters, friends or companions, nor by relatives,
devas, ascetics, or brahmins. But you alone have done that
evil deed, and you will have to experience the fruit.’
“When, monks, King Yama has questioned, examined, and
addressed him thus concerning the first divine messenger, he
again questions, examines, and addresses the man about the
second one, saying: ‘Didn’t you ever see, my good man, the
second divine messenger appearing among humankind?’
“‘No, Lord, I did not see him.’
“‘But, my good man, didn’t you ever see a woman or a
man who was sick and in pain, seriously ill, lying in his own
filth, having to be lifted up by some and put to bed by
others?’
“‘Yes, Lord, I have seen this.’
“‘My good man, didn’t it ever occur to you, an intelligent
and mature person, “I too am subject to illness and cannot
escape it. Let me now do noble deeds by body, speech, and
mind”?’
“‘No, Lord, I could not do it. I was negligent.’
“‘Through negligence, my good man, you have failed to do
noble deeds by body, speech, and mind. Well, you will be
treated as befits your negligence. That evil action of yours was
not done by mother or father, brothers, sisters, friends or
companions, nor by relatives, devas, ascetics, or brahmins.
But you alone have done that evil deed, and you will have to
experience the fruit.’
“When, monks, King Yama has questioned, examined, and
addressed him thus concerning the second divine messenger,
he again questions, examines, and addresses the man about
the third one, saying: ‘Didn’t you ever see, my good man, the
third divine messenger appearing among humankind?’
“‘No, Lord, I did not see him.’
“‘But, my good man, didn’t you ever see a woman or a
man one, two, or three days dead, the corpse swollen,
discolored, and festering?’
“‘Yes, Lord, I have seen this.’
“‘Then, my good man, didn’t it ever occur to you, an
intelligent and mature person, “I too am subject to death and
cannot escape it. Let me now do noble deeds by body,
speech, and mind”?’
“‘No, Lord, I could not do it. I was negligent.’
“‘Through negligence, my good man, you have failed to do
noble deeds by body, speech, and mind. Well, you will be
treated as befits your negligence. That evil action of yours was
not done by mother or father, brothers, sisters, friends or
companions, nor by relatives, devas, ascetics, or brahmins.
But you alone have done that evil deed, and you will have to
experience the fruit.’”
(from AN 3:35; I 138–40)

2. THE TRIBULATIONS OF UNREFLECTIVE LIVING

(1) The Dart of Painful Feeling

“Monks, when the uninstructed worldling experiences a
painful feeling, he sorrows, grieves, and laments; he weeps
beating his breast and becomes distraught. He feels two
feelings—a bodily one and a mental one. Suppose they were
to strike a man with a dart, and then strike him immediately
afterward with a second dart, so that the man would feel a
feeling caused by two darts. So too, when the uninstructed
worldling experiences a painful feeling, he feels two feelings—
a bodily one and a mental one.
“While experiencing that same painful feeling, he harbors
aversion toward it. When he harbors aversion toward painful
feeling, the underlying tendency to aversion toward painful
feeling lies behind this.
While experiencing painful feeling, he
seeks delight in sensual pleasure. For what reason? Because
the uninstructed worldling does not know of any escape from
painful feeling other than sensual pleasure.
When he seeks delight in sensual pleasure, the underlying tendency to lust for
pleasant feeling lies behind this. He does not understand as it
really is the origin and the passing away, the gratification, the
danger, and the escape in the case of these feelings. When he
does not understand these things, the underlying tendency to
ignorance in regard to neither-painful-nor-pleasant feeling lies
behind this.
“If he feels a pleasant feeling, he feels it attached. If he
feels a painful feeling, he feels it attached. If he feels a
neither-painful-nor-pleasant feeling, he feels it attached. This,
monks, is called an uninstructed worldling who is attached to
birth, aging, and death; who is attached to sorrow,
lamentation, pain, dejection, and despair; who is attached to
suffering, I say.
“Monks, when the instructed noble disciple experiences a
painful feeling, he does not sorrow, grieve, or lament; he does
not weep beating his breast and become distraught. He feels
one feeling—a bodily one, not a mental one. Suppose they
were to strike a man with a dart, but they would not strike
him immediately afterward with a second dart, so that the
man would feel a feeling caused by one dart only. So too,
when the instructed noble disciple experiences a painful
feeling, he feels one feeling—a bodily one, and not a mental
one.
“While experiencing that same painful feeling, he harbors
no aversion toward it. Since he harbors no aversion toward
painful feeling, the underlying tendency to aversion toward
painful feeling does not lie behind this. While experiencing
painful feeling, he does not seek delight in sensual pleasure.
For what reason? Because the instructed noble disciple knows
of an escape from painful feeling other than sensual pleasure.
Since he does not seek delight in sensual pleasure, the
underlying tendency to lust for pleasant feeling does not lie
behind this. He understands as it really is the origin and the
passing away, the gratification, the danger, and the escape in
the case of these feelings. Since he understands these things,
the underlying tendency to ignorance in regard to neitherpainful-nor-pleasant feeling does not lie behind this.
“If he feels a pleasant feeling, he feels it detached. If he
feels a painful feeling, he feels it detached. If he feels a
neither-painful-nor-pleasant feeling, he feels it detached. This,
monks, is called a noble disciple who is detached from birth,
aging, and death; who is detached from sorrow, lamentation,
pain, dejection, and despair; who is detached from suffering, I
say.
“This, monks, is the distinction, the disparity, the difference
between the instructed noble disciple and the uninstructed
worldling.”
(SN 36:6; IV 207–10)

(2) The Vicissitudes of Life

“These eight worldly conditions, monks, keep the world
turning around, and the world turns around these eight worldly
conditions. What eight? Gain and loss, fame and disrepute,
praise and blame, pleasure and pain.
“These eight worldly conditions, monks, are encountered
by an uninstructed worldling, and they are also encountered
by an instructed noble disciple. What now is the distinction,
the disparity, the difference between an instructed noble
disciple and an uninstructed worldling?”
“Venerable sir, our knowledge of these things has its roots
in the Blessed One; it has the Blessed One as guide and resort.
It would be good, venerable sir, if the Blessed One would
clarify the meaning of that statement. Having heard it from
him, the monks will bear it in mind.”
“Listen then, monks, and attend carefully. I shall speak.”
“Yes, venerable sir,” the monks replied. The Blessed One
then spoke thus:
“When an uninstructed worldling, monks, comes upon gain,
he does not reflect on it thus: ‘This gain that has come to me
is impermanent, bound up with suffering, subject to change.’
He does not know it as it really is. And when he comes upon
loss, fame and disrepute, praise and blame, he does not reflect
on them thus: ‘All these are impermanent, bound up with
suffering, subject to change.’ He does not know them as they
really are. With such a person, gain and loss, fame and
disrepute, praise and blame, pleasure and pain keep his mind
engrossed. When gain comes he is elated and when he meets
with loss he is dejected. When fame comes he is elated and
when he meets with disrepute he is dejected. When praise
comes he is elated and when he meets with blame he is
dejected. When he experiences pleasure he is elated and when
he experiences pain he is dejected. Being thus involved in likes
and dislikes, he will not be freed from birth, aging, and death,
from sorrow, lamentation, pain, dejection, and despair; he will
not be freed from suffering, I say.
“But, monks, when an instructed noble disciple comes upon
gain, he reflects on it thus: ‘This gain that has come to me is
impermanent, bound up with suffering, subject to change.’
And so he will reflect when loss and so forth come upon him.
He understands all these things as they really are, and they do
not engross his mind. Thus he will not be elated by gain and
dejected by loss; elated by fame and dejected by disrepute;
elated by praise and dejected by blame; elated by pleasure and
dejected by pain. Having thus given up likes and dislikes, he
will be freed from birth, aging, and death, from sorrow,
lamentation, pain, dejection, and despair; he will be freed
from suffering, I say.
“This, monks, is the distinction, the disparity, the difference
between an instructed noble disciple and an uninstructed
worldling.”
(AN 8:6; IV 157–59)

(3) Anxiety Due to Change

“Monks, I will teach you agitation through clinging and nonagitation through nonclinging.
Listen and attend carefully. I shall speak.”
“Yes, venerable sir,” those monks replied. The Blessed One
said this:
“And how, monks, is there agitation through clinging? Here,
monks, the uninstructed worldling, who is not a seer of the
noble ones and is unskilled and undisciplined in their
Dhamma, who is not a seer of superior persons and is
unskilled and undisciplined in their Dhamma, regards form as
self, or self as possessing form, or form as in self, or self as in
form.
That form of his changes and alters. With the change
and alteration of form, his consciousness becomes
preoccupied with the change of form. Agitation and a
constellation of mental states born of preoccupation with the
change of form remain obsessing his mind. Because his mind
is obsessed, he is frightened, distressed, and anxious, and
through clinging he becomes agitated.
“He regards feeling as self … perception as self … volitional
formations as self … consciousness as self, or self as
possessing consciousness, or consciousness as in self, or self
as in consciousness. That consciousness of his changes and
alters. With the change and alteration of consciousness, his
consciousness becomes preoccupied with the change of
consciousness. Agitation and a constellation of mental states
born of preoccupation with the change of consciousness
remain obsessing his mind. Because his mind is obsessed, he
is frightened, distressed, and anxious, and through clinging he
becomes agitated.
“It is in such a way, monks, that there is agitation through
clinging.
“And how, monks, is there non-agitation through
nonclinging? Here, monks, the instructed noble disciple, who
is a seer of the noble ones and is skilled and disciplined in their
Dhamma, who is a seer of superior persons and is skilled and
disciplined in their Dhamma, does not regard form as self, or
self as possessing form, or form as in self, or self as in form.
That form of his changes and alters. Despite the change and
alteration of form, his consciousness does not become
preoccupied with the change of form. No agitation and
constellation of mental states born of preoccupation with the
change of form remain obsessing his mind. Because his mind
is not obsessed, he is not frightened, distressed, or anxious,
and through nonclinging he does not become agitated.
“He does not regard feeling as self … perception as self …
volitional formations as self … consciousness as self, or self as
possessing consciousness, or consciousness as in self, or self
as in consciousness. That consciousness of his changes and
alters. Despite the change and alteration of consciousness, his
consciousness does not become preoccupied with the change
of consciousness. No agitation and constellation of mental
states born of preoccupation with the change of consciousness
remain obsessing his mind. Because his mind is not obsessed,
he is not frightened, distressed, or anxious, and through
nonclinging he does not become agitated.
“It is in such a way, monks, that there is non-agitation
through nonclinging.”
(SN 22:7; III 15–18)

3. A WORLD IN TURMOIL

(1) The Origin of Conflict

The brahmin Ārāmadaṇḍa approached the Venerable
Mahākaccāna, exchanged friendly greetings with him, and
asked him: “Why is it, Master Kaccāna, that khattiyas fight
with khattiyas, brahmins with brahmins, and householders
with householders?”
“It is, brahmin, because of attachment to sensual pleasures,
adherence to sensual pleasures, fixation on sensual pleasures,
addiction to sensual pleasures, obsession with sensual
pleasures, holding firmly to sensual pleasures that khattiyas
fight with khattiyas, brahmins with brahmins, and
householders with householders.”
“Why is it, Master Kaccāna, that ascetics fight with
ascetics?”
“It is, brahmin, because of attachment to views, adherence
to views, fixation on views, addiction to views, obsession with
views, holding firmly to views that ascetics fight with
ascetics.”
(AN 2: iv, 6, abridged; I 66)

(2) Why Do Beings Live in Hate?

2.1. Sakka, ruler of the devas, asked the Blessed One:
“Beings wish to live without hate, harming, hostility, or
enmity; they wish to live in peace. Yet they live in hate,
harming one another, hostile, and as enemies. By what fetters
are they bound, sir, that they live in such a way?”
[The Blessed One said:] “Ruler of the devas, it is the bonds
of envy and niggardliness that bind beings so that, although
they wish to live without hate, hostility, or enmity, and to live
in peace, yet they live in hate, harming one another, hostile,
and as enemies.”
This was the Blessed One’s reply, and Sakka, delighted,
exclaimed: “So it is, Blessed One! So it is, Fortunate One!
Through the Blessed One’s answer I have overcome my
doubt and gotten rid of uncertainty.” 2.2. Then Sakka, having
expressed his appreciation, asked another question: “But, sir,
what gives rise to envy and niggardliness, what is their origin,
how are they born, how do they arise? When what is present
do they arise, and when what is absent do they not arise?”
“Envy and niggardliness, ruler of the devas, arise from
liking and disliking; this is their origin, this is how they are
born, how they arise. When these are present, they arise,
when these are absent, they do not arise.”
“But, sir, what gives rise to liking and disliking…?”—“They
arise, ruler of the devas, from desire.…”—“And what gives
rise to desire…?” —“It arises, ruler of the devas, from
thinking. When the mind thinks about something, desire
arises; when the mind thinks of nothing, desire does not
arise.”
“But, sir, what gives rise to thinking…?”
“Thinking, ruler of the devas, arises from elaborated
perceptions and notions.
When elaborated perceptions and
notions are present, thinking arises. When elaborated
perceptions and notions are absent, thinking does not arise.”
(from DN 21: Sakkapañha Sutta; II 276–77)

(3) The Dark Chain of Causation

9. “Thus, Ānanda, in dependence upon feeling there is
craving; in dependence upon craving there is pursuit; in
dependence upon pursuit there is gain; in dependence upon
gain there is decision-making; in dependence upon decisionmaking there is desire and lust; in dependence upon desire and
lust there is attachment; in dependence upon attachment there
is possessiveness; in dependence upon possessiveness there is
niggardliness; in dependence upon niggardliness there is
defensiveness; and because of defensiveness, various evil
unwholesome things originate—the taking up of clubs and
weapons, conflicts, quarrels, and disputes, insults, slander,
and falsehood.”
(from DN 15: Mahānidāna Sutta; II 58)

(4) The Roots of Violence and Oppression

“Greed, hatred, and delusion of every kind are
unwholesome.
Whatever action a greedy, hating, and
deluded person heaps up—by deeds, words, or thoughts—that
too is unwholesome. Whatever suffering such a person,
overpowered by greed, hatred, and delusion, his thoughts
controlled by them, inflicts under false pretexts upon another
—by killing, imprisonment, confiscation of property, false
accusations, or expulsion—being prompted in this by the
thought, ‘I have power and I want power,’ all this is
unwholesome too.”
(from AN 3:69; I 201–2)

4. WITHOUT DISCOVERABLE BEGINNING

(1) Grass and Sticks

The Blessed One said this: “Monks, this saṃsāra is without
discoverable beginning.
A first point is not discerned of
beings roaming and wandering on hindered by ignorance and
fettered by craving. Suppose, monks, a man would cut up
whatever grass, sticks, branches, and foliage there are in this
Jambudīpa and collect them together into a single heap.
Having done so, he would put them down, saying for each
one: ‘This is my mother, this my mother’s mother.’ The
sequence of that man’s mothers and grandmothers would not
come to an end, yet the grass, sticks, branches, and foliage in
this Jambudīpa would be used up and exhausted. For what
reason? Because, monks, this saṃsāra is without discoverable
beginning. A first point is not discerned of beings roaming and
wandering on hindered by ignorance and fettered by craving.
For such a long time, monks, you have experienced suffering,
anguish, and disaster, and swelled the cemetery. It is enough
to become disenchanted with all formations, enough to
become dispassionate toward them, enough to be liberated
from them.”
(SN 15:1; II 178)

(2) Balls of Clay

“Monks, this saṃsāra is without discoverable beginning. A
first point is not discerned of beings roaming and wandering
on hindered by ignorance and fettered by craving. Suppose,
monks, a man would reduce this great earth to balls of clay
the size of jujube kernels and put them down, saying [for each
one]: ‘This is my father, this my father’s father.’ The
sequence of that man’s fathers and grandfathers would not
come to an end, yet this great earth would be used up and
exhausted. For what reason? Because, monks, this saṃsāra is
without discoverable beginning. A first point is not discerned
of beings roaming and wandering on hindered by ignorance
and fettered by craving. For such a long time, monks, you
have experienced suffering, anguish, and disaster, and swelled
the cemetery. It is enough to become disenchanted with all
formations, enough to become dispassionate toward them,
enough to be liberated from them.”
(SN 15:2; II 179)

(3) The Mountain

A certain monk approached the Blessed One, paid homage to
him, sat down to one side, and said to him: “Venerable sir,
how long is an eon?”
“An eon is long, monk. It is not easy to count it and say it is
so many years, or so many hundreds of years, or so many
thousands of years, or so many hundreds of thousands of
years.”
“Then is it possible to give a simile, venerable sir?”
“It is possible, monk,” the Blessed One said. “Suppose,
monk, there was a great stone mountain a yojana long, a
yojana wide, and a yojana high, without holes or crevices,
one solid mass of rock.
At the end of every hundred years a
man would stroke it once with a piece of fine cloth. That great
stone mountain might by this effort be worn away and
eliminated but the eon would still not have come to an end. So
long is an eon, monk. And of eons of such length, we have
wandered through so many eons, so many hundreds of eons,
so many thousands of eons, so many hundreds of thousands
of eons. For what reason? Because, monk, this saṃsāra is
without discoverable beginning…. It is enough to be liberated
from them.”
(SN 15:5; II 181–82)

(4) The River Ganges

At Rājagaha, in the Bamboo Grove, the Squirrel Sanctuary, a
certain brahmin approached the Blessed One and exchanged
greetings with him. When they had concluded their greetings
and cordial talk, he sat down to one side and asked him:
“Master Gotama, how many eons have elapsed and gone by?”
“Brahmin, many eons have elapsed and gone by. It is not
easy to count them and say they are so many eons, or so
many hundreds of eons, or so many thousands of eons, or so
many hundreds of thousands of eons.”
“But is it possible to give a simile, Master Gotama?”
“It is possible, brahmin,” the Blessed One said. “Imagine,
brahmin, the grains of sand between the point where the river
Ganges originates and the point where it enters the great
ocean: it is not easy to count these and say there are so many
grains of sand, or so many hundreds of grains, or so many
thousands of grains, or so many hundreds of thousands of
grains. Brahmin, the eons that have elapsed and gone by are
even more numerous than that. It is not easy to count them
and say that they are so many eons, or so many hundreds of
eons, or so many thousands of eons, or so many hundreds of
thousands of eons. For what reason? Because, brahmin, this
saṃsāra is without discoverable beginning…. It is enough to
be liberated from them.”
(SN 15:8; II 183–84)

(5) Dog on a Leash

“Monks, this saṃsāra is without discoverable beginning. A
first point is not discerned of beings roaming and wandering
on hindered by ignorance and fettered by craving.
“There comes a time, monks, when the great ocean dries
up and evaporates and no longer exists, but still, I say, there is
no making an end of suffering for those beings roaming and
wandering on hindered by ignorance and fettered by craving.
“There comes a time, monks, when Sineru, the king of
mountains, burns up and perishes and no longer exists, but
still, I say, there is no making an end of suffering for those
beings roaming and wandering on hindered by ignorance and
fettered by craving.
“There comes a time, monks, when the great earth burns
up and perishes and no longer exists, but still, I say, there is no
making an end of suffering for those beings roaming and
wandering on hindered by ignorance and fettered by craving.
“Suppose, monks, a dog tied up on a leash was bound to a
strong post or pillar: it would just keep on running and
revolving around that same post or pillar. So too, the
uninstructed worldling regards form as self … feeling as self …
perception as self … volitional formations as self …
consciousness as self…. He just keeps running and revolving
around form, around feeling, around perception, around
volitional formations, around consciousness. As he keeps on
running and revolving around them, he is not freed from form,
not freed from feeling, not freed from perception, not freed
from volitional formations, not freed from consciousness. He
is not freed from birth, aging, and death; not freed from
sorrow, lamentation, pain, dejection, and despair; not freed
from suffering, I say.”
(SN 22:99; II 149–50)

(Excerpts from the Pali Canon)

(From: http://promienie.net/images/dharma/books/sutras_in-the-buddha-words.pdf)

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We are all leaves, flowers
And fruits
On the different religion-branches
Of the birthless and deathless
Life-tree.

(Sri Chinmoy)

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