Tripiṭaka 1. Paṭhamavagga
Chapter One
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Atha kho aññataro bhikkhu yena bhagavā …pe… ekamantaṁ nisinno kho so bhikkhu bhagavantaṁ etadavoca:
Then a mendicant went up to the Buddha … and asked him,
So na sukaro saṅkhātuṁ ettakāni vassāni iti vā …pe… ettakāni vassasatasahassāni iti vā”ti.
It’s not easy to calculate how many years, how many hundreds or thousands or hundreds of thousands of years it lasts.”
“Seyyathāpi, bhikkhu, āyasaṁ nagaraṁ yojanaṁ āyāmena yojanaṁ vitthārena yojanaṁ ubbedhena, puṇṇaṁ sāsapānaṁ guḷikābaddhaṁ.
“Suppose 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 ekamekaṁ sāsapaṁ uddhareyya.
And as each century passed someone would remove a single mustard seed.
Khippataraṁ kho so, bhikkhu, mahāsāsaparāsi iminā upakkamena parikkhayaṁ pariyādānaṁ gaccheyya, na tveva kappo.
By this means the huge heap of mustard seeds would be used up before the eon comes to an end.
Evaṁ dīghānaṁ kho, bhikkhu, kappānaṁ neko kappo saṁsito, nekaṁ kappasataṁ saṁsitaṁ, nekaṁ kappasahassaṁ saṁsitaṁ, nekaṁ kappasatasahassaṁ saṁsitaṁ.
And we’ve transmigrated through many such eons, many hundreds, many thousands, many hundreds of thousands.
alaṁ vimuccitun”ti.
This is quite enough for you to become disillusioned, dispassionate, and freed regarding all conditions.”
Chaṭṭhaṁ.