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The Unfathomable Beginning Saṃyutta 1. The First Chapter 1. The Discourse on Grass and Wood Thus have I heard – On one occasion the Blessed One was staying at Sāvatthī, in Jeta's Grove, Anāthapiṇḍika's Park. There the Blessed One addressed the bhikkhus, "Bhikkhus!" "Venerable sir," they replied to the Blessed One. The Blessed One said this: "Without discoverable beginning, bhikkhus, is this saṃsāra. A first point is not discerned of beings roaming and wandering on, hindered by ignorance, fettered by craving. Suppose, bhikkhus, a man were to cut down all the grass, wood, branches, and foliage in this Jambudīpa, gather it into one heap, and make it into four-finger lengths of sticks, saying: 'This is my mother, and this is the mother of my mother.' Even so, bhikkhus, that man's mothers and grandmothers would not be exhausted, but the grass, wood, branches, and foliage in this Jambudīpa would come to an end, would be exhausted. For what reason? Without discoverable beginning, bhikkhus, is this saṃsāra. A first point is not discerned of beings roaming and wandering on, hindered by ignorance, fettered by craving. Thus for a long time, bhikkhus, you have experienced suffering, experienced pain, experienced misfortune, and the charnel ground has grown. Enough, bhikkhus, to be disenchanted with all formations, enough to become dispassionate, enough to be liberated." The First. 2. The Discourse on Earth Staying at Sāvatthī... "Without discoverable beginning, bhikkhus, is this saṃsāra. A first point is not discerned of beings roaming and wandering on, hindered by ignorance, fettered by craving. Suppose, bhikkhus, a man were to make this great earth into clay pellets, each the size of a jujube stone, and put them aside, saying: 'This is my father, and this is the father of my father.' Even so, his fathers and grandfathers would not be exhausted... Monks, if that man had grandfathers and great-grandfathers, this great earth would be exhausted, would come to an end. For what reason? This cycle of existence, monks, is without a discernible beginning. A first point is not known of beings hindered by ignorance, fettered by craving, who wander and transmigrate. Thus for a long time, monks, you have experienced suffering, experienced intense suffering, experienced misfortune, the charnel ground has grown. So much so, monks, that it is enough to be disenchanted with all formations, enough to be dispassionate, enough to be liberated. 3. The Tears Sutta 126. Dwelling at Savatthi… “This cycle of existence, monks, is without a discernible beginning. A first point is not known of beings hindered by ignorance, fettered by craving, who wander and transmigrate. What do you think, monks? Which is more: the tears you have shed, as you have wandered and transmigrated through this long journey, experiencing union with the disagreeable and separation from the agreeable, weeping and wailing; or the water in the four great oceans?” “As we understand the Dhamma taught by the Blessed One, venerable sir, that is indeed more, venerable sir: the tears we have shed, as we have wandered and transmigrated through this long journey, experiencing union with the disagreeable and separation from the agreeable, weeping and wailing; not the water in the four great oceans.” “Good, good, monks! It is good, monks, that you understand the Dhamma taught in this way. That is indeed more, monks: the tears you have shed, as you have wandered and transmigrated through this long journey, experiencing union with the disagreeable and separation from the agreeable, weeping and wailing; not the water in the four great oceans. For a long time, monks, you have experienced the death of a mother; the death of those mothers, you have experienced Experiencing association with the disliked, separation from the liked, weeping, crying, your tears have flowed forth, shed, not even the water in the four great oceans. For a long time, monks, you have experienced the death of a father... you have experienced the death of a brother... you have experienced the death of a sister... you have experienced the death of a son... you have experienced the death of a daughter... you have experienced the loss of relatives... you have experienced the loss of possessions. For a long time, monks, you have experienced the calamity of illness. For you, experiencing that calamity of illness, association with the disliked, separation from the liked, weeping, crying, your tears have flowed forth, shed, not even the water in the four great oceans. For what reason? Beginningless, monks, is this samsara. The first point is not known of beings hindered by ignorance and fettered by craving, who have been transmigrating and wandering on. This is enough, monks, to be disenchanted with all formations, enough to be dispassionate, enough to be liberated. The Third. 4. The Discourse on Milk 127. Dwelling at Savatthi... Beginningless, monks, is this samsara. The first point is not known of beings hindered by ignorance and fettered by craving, who have been transmigrating and wandering on. What do you think, monks, which is more, the mother's milk you have drunk while transmigrating and wandering on for this long time, or the water in the four great oceans? As we understand the Dhamma taught by the Blessed One, venerable sir, this is more, venerable sir, the mother's milk we have drunk while transmigrating and wandering on for this long time, not even the water in the four great oceans. Good, good, monks! It is good that you, monks, understand the Dhamma taught thus. This is more, monks, the mother's milk you have drunk while transmigrating and wandering on for this long time, not even the water in the four great oceans. For what reason? Beginningless, monks, is this samsara. The first point is not known of beings hindered by ignorance and fettered by craving, who have been transmigrating and wandering on. This is enough, monks, to be disenchanted with all formations, enough to be dispassionate, enough to be liberated. The Fourth. thus. 5. The Discourse on the Mountain 128. Residing in Sāvatthī… (as before)… in the park. Then a certain monk approached the Blessed One; having approached and paid homage to the Blessed One, he sat down to one side. Seated to one side, that monk said to the Blessed One: “How long, venerable sir, is an eon?” “Long, monk, is an eon. It is not easy to count it as so many years, or so many hundreds of years, or so many thousands of years, or so many hundreds of thousands of years.” “Is it possible, venerable sir, to make a comparison?” “It is possible, monk,” said the Blessed One. “Suppose, monk, there was a great mountain of solid rock, a league long, a league wide, a league high, without cracks, without holes, a single mass. And a man, at the end of every hundred years, would stroke it once with a Kāsī cloth. That great mountain of rock, monk, would wear away and come to an end more quickly by this effort, but not the eon. So long, monk, is an eon. Of such long eons, monk, not one eon has been wandered through, not a hundred eons have been wandered through, not a thousand eons have been wandered through, not a hundred thousand eons have been wandered through. For what reason? Unfathomable is this, monk, transmigration. Its beginning point… (as before)… so that, monk, it is enough to be disenchanted with all formations, enough to be dispassionate, enough to be liberated.” The Fifth. 6. The Discourse on the Mustard Seed 129. Residing in Sāvatthī. Then a certain monk approached the Blessed One… (as before)… seated to one side, that monk said to the Blessed One: “How long, venerable sir, is an eon?” “Long, monk, is an eon. It is not easy to count it as so many years… (as before)… or so many hundreds of thousands of years.” “Is it possible, venerable sir, to make a comparison?” “It is possible, monk,” said the Blessed One. “Suppose, monk, Monk, a city of iron, a league in length, a league in width, a league in height, full of mustard seeds, bound into a ball. Then a man, at the end of every hundred years, would take out one single mustard seed. Sooner indeed, monk, would that great heap of mustard seeds come to an end, to exhaustion, by this method, but not the eon. So long, indeed, monk, is an eon. Of such long eons, monk, many an eon has been traversed, many hundreds of eons have been traversed, many thousands of eons have been traversed, many hundreds of thousands of eons have been traversed. For what reason? Without conceivable beginning or end, monk, is this samsara... ...it is enough to be liberated. The Sixth. 7. The Discourse on Disciples 130. He was staying at Savatthi. Then many bhikkhus approached the Blessed One... ...sitting to one side, those bhikkhus said to the Blessed One: "How many, indeed, venerable sir, are the eons that have passed, that have gone by?" "Many, indeed, bhikkhus, are the eons that have passed, that have gone by. They are not easy to count— 'so many eons' or 'so many hundreds of eons' or 'so many thousands of eons' or 'so many hundreds of thousands of eons'." "Is it possible, venerable sir, to make a comparison?" "It is possible, bhikkhus," the Blessed One said. "Suppose, bhikkhus, there were four disciples, living for a hundred years, with a lifespan of a hundred years. They would recollect a hundred thousand eons, a hundred thousand eons, day by day. The eons, bhikkhus, would still be unrecollected by them, and then those four disciples, living for a hundred years, with a lifespan of a hundred years, would pass away at the end of a hundred years. So many, indeed, bhikkhus, are the eons that have passed, that have gone by. They are not easy to count— '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? Without conceivable beginning or end, bhikkhus, is this samsara... enough to be liberated.” The seventh. 8. The Discourse on the Ganges