At the city of Sāvatthī…

One day in the morning the Blessed One dressed, took his bowl and double-layered robe, and went to Udaya of the brahmin caste. Then Udaya offered food to the Buddha’s bowl. The next day … and the day after that … Udaya offered food to the Buddha’s bowl.

But when he had offered food to the Buddha’s bowl for a third time, he said to the Buddha, “This greedy monk Gotama keeps coming back again and again!”

The Buddha:

“Again and again, farmers sow seeds.
Again and again, rainy clouds give rain.
Again and again, farmers plow fields.
Again and again, harvests are produced for the people.

“Again and again, the beggars beg.
Again and again, the donors give.
Again and again, when the donors have given,
Again and again, they go to heaven.

“Again and again, dairy farmers milk.
Again and again, a calf goes to its mother.
Again and again, beings become weary and tremble.
The fool is reborn again and again.

“Again and again, the person is reborn and dies.
Again and again, he gets carried to a graveyard.
But when people with sharp wisdom
have met the noble path which leads to the ending of rebirth,
they are not reborn again and again.”

When the Buddha taught the Dhamma like this, Udaya said to the Buddha “Excellent, Master Gotama! Excellent! Just as if someone turned upright, what was upside down, revealed what was hidden, pointed out the path to whoever was lost, or lit a lamp in the dark so people with good eyes could see what’s there, Master Gotama taught me the Dhamma, which is clear in many ways. I go for refuge to Master Gotama, to the Dhamma, and to the Saṅgha. From this day forth, may Master Gotama remember me as a lay follower who has gone for refuge to the Triple Gem for as long as I live.”

This is how I heard. At one time the Blessed One was living in the city of Sāvatthi, in Jeta’s park, at Anāthapiṇḍika’s monastery. The Blessed One addressed the monks, saying, “O monks!”

“Bhante!” those monks replied.

The Blessed One said, “Monks, this cycle of rebirth is endless. The beginning of this extremely long journey cannot be discovered. These beings, hindered by lack of knowledge of the true nature of life and bound by craving, roam and wander on in this endless journey.

Suppose, monks, a person would cut up whatever grass, sticks, branches, and twigs in the entire Indian Sub-Continent and collect them together into a single heap. Then, he cuts them off into four-inch pieces. Then, he would put each piece down, saying for each one ‘This is my mother, this is my mother’s mother.’

“The generation of that person’s mothers and grandmothers would not come to an end, yet, the grass, wood, branches, and twigs in all of India would be used up and finished.

What is the reason for that? It is because, monks, this cycle of rebirth is endless. The beginning of this extremely long journey cannot be discovered. These beings, hindered by lack of knowledge of the true nature of life and bound by craving, roam and wander on in this endless journey.

“For such a long time, monks, you have experienced various types of suffering, tragedies, and disasters. You have filled the cemetery with your dead bodies.

Therefore, monks, the time has come for you to understand the meaningless nature of all conditioned things. The time has come for you to become detached from them. And the time has come for you to be liberated from them.”

This is how I heard. At one time, the Blessed One was living in the city of Sāvatthi, in Jeta’s park, at Anāthapiṇḍika’s monastery. The Blessed One addressed the monks, saying, “O monks!”

“Bhante!” those monks replied.

The Blessed One said, “Monks, this cycle of rebirth is endless. The beginning of this extremely long journey cannot be discovered. These beings, hindered by lack of knowledge of the true nature of life and bound by craving, roam and wander on in this endless journey. Suppose, monks, a person would make clay balls the size of a jujube, out of this great earth. Then, he would put each ball down, saying for each one ‘This is my father, this is my father’s father.’

“The generation of that person’s fathers and grandfathers would not come to an end, yet, the great earth would be used up and finished. What is the reason for that? It is because, monks, this cycle of rebirth is endless. The beginning of this extremely long journey cannot be discovered. These beings, hindered by lack of knowledge of the true nature of life and bound by craving, roam and wander on in this endless journey.

“For such a long time, monks, you have experienced various types of suffering, tragedies, and disasters. You have filled the cemetery with your dead bodies. Therefore, monks, the time has come for you to understand the meaningless nature of all conditioned things. The time has come for you to become detached from them. And the time has come for you to be liberated from them.”

At one time, the Blessed One was living in the city of Rājagaha on the Gijjhakūṭa Mountain. The Blessed One addressed the monks, saying, “O monks!”

“Bhante!” those monks replied.

The Blessed One said, “Monks, this cycle of rebirth is endless. The beginning of this extremely long journey cannot be discovered. These beings, hindered by lack of knowledge of the true nature of life and bound by craving, roam and wander on in this endless journey. Monks, if there was someone to collect the skeletons of a single person who roams and wanders on through one eon and if what was collected would not get destroyed, then there would be a stack of bones, a pile of bones, a heap of bones as large as this Vepulla mountain.

“What is the reason for that? It is because, monks, this cycle of rebirth is endless. The beginning of this extremely long journey cannot be discovered. These beings, hindered by lack of knowledge of the true nature of life and bound by craving, roam and wander on in this endless journey.

“For such a long time, monks, you have experienced various types of suffering, tragedies, and disasters. You have filled the cemetery with your dead bodies. Therefore, monks, the time has come for you to understand the meaningless nature of all conditioned things. The time has come for you to become detached from them. And the time has come for you to be liberated from them.”

The Blessed One taught this discourse. Having taught this, the Well-Gone One, the Great Teacher, further said thus:

The Great Sage, the Buddha,
said that the heap of bones collected
of a single person wandering
through a single eon would make a heap
as high as Vepulla Mountain.

The massive Vepulla Mountain
is standing north of Gijjhakūṭa Mountain
in the Magadhan mountain range.

When a noble disciple understands suffering,
the cause of suffering,
the overcoming of suffering,
and the Noble Eightfold Path that leads
to the end of suffering,
having wandered on
in this journey of rebirths
for seven more times at most,
he will make an end to suffering
by destroying all the fetters of defilements.”

This is how I heard. At one time, the Blessed One was living in the city of Sāvatthi, in Jeta’s Park, at Anāthapiṇḍika’s monastery. The Blessed One addressed the monks, saying, “O monks!”

“Bhante!” those monks replied.

The Blessed One said, “Monks, this cycle of rebirth is endless. The beginning of this extremely long journey cannot be discovered. These beings, hindered by lack of knowledge of the true nature of life and bound by craving, roam and wander on in this endless journey. Monks, whenever you see anyone ugly, very poor, and depressed, you can conclude, ‘We too have suffered in the exact same way, many times in this long journey.’

“What is the reason for that? It is because, monks, this cycle of rebirth is endless. The beginning of this extremely long journey cannot be discovered. These beings, hindered by lack of knowledge of the true nature of life and bound by craving, roam and wander on in this endless journey.

“For such a long time, monks, you have experienced various types of suffering, tragedies, and disasters. You have filled the cemetery with your dead bodies. Therefore, monks, the time has come for you to understand the meaningless nature of all conditioned things. The time has come for you to become detached from them. And the time has come for you to be liberated from them.”

This is how I heard. At one time, the Blessed One was living in the city of Sāvatthi, in Jeta’s Park, at Anāthapiṇḍika’s monastery. The Blessed One addressed the monks, saying, “O monks!”

“Bhante!” those monks replied.

The Blessed One said, “Monks, this cycle of rebirth is endless. The beginning of this extremely long journey cannot be discovered. These beings, hindered by lack of knowledge of the true nature of life and bound by craving, roam and wander on in this endless journey. Monks, whenever you see anyone beautiful, very rich, and happy, you can conclude, ‘We too have enjoyed comforts in the exact same way, many times in this long journey.’

“What is the reason for that? It is because, monks, this cycle of rebirth is endless. The beginning of this extremely long journey cannot be discovered. These beings, hindered by lack of knowledge of the true nature of life and bound by craving, roam and wander on in this endless journey.”

“For such a long time, monks, you have experienced various types of suffering, tragedies, and disasters. You have filled the cemetery with your dead bodies. Therefore, monks, the time has come for you to understand the meaningless nature of all conditioned things. The time has come for you to become detached from them. And the time has come for you to be liberated from them.”

In those days the Buddha was living in the province of the Vajjis at the village of Koṭi. There the Buddha addressed the monks, “Monks, not understanding and not comprehending the Four Noble Truths, both you and I have wandered and journeyed in this cycle of birth and death for a very long time.

“What four? Monks, not understanding and not comprehending the Noble Truth of suffering, both you and I have wandered and journeyed in this cycle of birth and death for a very long time.

“Monks, not understanding and not comprehending the Noble Truth of the origin of suffering, both you and I have wandered and journeyed in this cycle of birth and death for a very long time.

“Monks, not understanding and not comprehending the Noble Truth of the cessation of suffering, both you and I have wandered and journeyed in this cycle of birth and death for a very long time.

“Monks, not understanding and not comprehending the Noble Truth of the path that leads to the cessation of suffering, both you and I have wandered and journeyed in this cycle of birth and death for a very long time.

“Monks, now, this noble truth of suffering has been understood and comprehended, the Noble Truth of the origin of suffering has been understood and comprehended, the Noble Truth of the cessation of suffering has been understood and comprehended, and the Noble Truth of the path that leads to the cessation of suffering has been understood and comprehended. Craving for continued existence has been cut off. The attachment to continued existence is destroyed. Now there are no more future lives for us.”

That is what the Buddha said. The Blessed One further said,

“Because of not truly seeing
the Four Noble Truths,
we have journeyed for a long time
from one birth to the next.

“But now that these noble truths have been seen,
the attachment to rebirth is removed completely.
The root of suffering is cut off,
now there are no more future lives for us.”

In those days the Buddha was living in the province of the Vajjis at the village of Koṭi. There the Buddha addressed the monks, “Monks, not understanding and not comprehending the Four Noble Truths, both you and I have wandered and journeyed in this cycle of birth and death for a very long time.

“What four? Monks, not understanding and not comprehending the Noble Truth of suffering, both you and I have wandered and journeyed in this cycle of birth and death for a very long time.

“Monks, not understanding and not comprehending the Noble Truth of the origin of suffering, both you and I have wandered and journeyed in this cycle of birth and death for a very long time.

“Monks, not understanding and not comprehending the Noble Truth of the cessation of suffering, both you and I have wandered and journeyed in this cycle of birth and death for a very long time.

“Monks, not understanding and not comprehending the Noble Truth of the path that leads to the cessation of suffering, both you and I have wandered and journeyed in this cycle of birth and death for a very long time.

“Monks, now, this noble truth of suffering has been understood and comprehended, the Noble Truth of the origin of suffering has been understood and comprehended, the Noble Truth of the cessation of suffering has been understood and comprehended, and the Noble Truth of the path that leads to the cessation of suffering has been understood and comprehended. Craving for continued existence has been cut off. The attachment to continued existence is destroyed. Now there are no more future lives for us.”

That is what the Buddha said. The Blessed One further said,

“Because of not truly seeing
the Four Noble Truths,
we have journeyed for a long time
from one birth to the next.

“But now that these noble truths have been seen,
the attachment to rebirth is removed completely.
The root of suffering is cut off,
now there are no more future lives for us.”

“Monks, suppose a stick was tossed up in the air. Sometimes it would fall on one end, sometimes the middle, and sometimes the other end. It’s the same for beings wandering and journeying in the cycle of birth and death, hindered by ignorance and fettered by craving. Sometimes they go from this world to the other world, and sometimes they come from the other world to this world. Why is that? It’s because they haven’t realized the Four Noble Truths. What four? The noble truth of suffering, the Noble Truth of the origin of suffering, the Noble Truth of the cessation of suffering, and the Noble Truth of the path that leads to the cessation of suffering.

“Therefore, monks, you should make an effort to understand: ‘This is suffering.’ You should make an effort to understand: ‘This is the origin of suffering.’ You should make an effort to understand: ‘This is the cessation of suffering.’ You should make an effort to understand: ‘This is the path that leads to the cessation of suffering.’”