{"id":"sn15.8","title":"The Ganges","languageCodes":["en","pi"],"languageNotes":{"en":"Bhikkhu Sujato · CC0","pi":"Mahāsaṅgīti edition · SuttaCentral"},"chapters":[{"id":"sn15.8","title":"The Ganges","units":[{"id":"sn15.8:0","sourceIds":["sn15.8:0.1","sn15.8:0.2","sn15.8:0.3"],"kind":"text","text":{"pi":"Saṁyutta Nikāya 15.8\n1. Paṭhamavagga\nGaṅgāsutta","en":"Linked Discourses 15.8\nChapter One\nThe Ganges"}},{"id":"sn15.8:1","sourceIds":["sn15.8:1.1","sn15.8:1.2","sn15.8:1.3","sn15.8:1.4","sn15.8:1.5","sn15.8:1.6","sn15.8:1.7"],"kind":"text","text":{"pi":"Rājagahe viharati veḷuvane.\nAtha kho aññataro brāhmaṇo yena bhagavā tenupasaṅkami; upasaṅkamitvā bhagavatā saddhiṁ sammodi.\nSammodanīyaṁ kathaṁ sāraṇīyaṁ vītisāretvā ekamantaṁ nisīdi. Ekamantaṁ nisinno kho so brāhmaṇo bhagavantaṁ etadavoca:\n“kīvabahukā nu kho, bho gotama, kappā abbhatītā atikkantā”ti?\n“Bahukā kho, brāhmaṇa, kappā abbhatītā atikkantā.\nTe na sukarā saṅkhātuṁ:\n‘ettakā kappā iti vā, ettakāni kappasatāni iti vā, ettakāni kappasahassāni iti vā, ettakāni kappasatasahassāni iti vā’”ti.","en":"Near Rājagaha, in the Bamboo Grove.\nThen a certain brahmin went up to the Buddha, and exchanged greetings with him.\nWhen the greetings and polite conversation were over, he sat down to one side and asked the Buddha,\n“Worthy Gotama, how many eons have passed?”\n“Brahmin, many eons have passed.\nIt’s not easy to calculate\nhow many eons have passed, how many hundreds or thousands or hundreds of thousands of eons.”"}},{"id":"sn15.8:2","sourceIds":["sn15.8:2.1","sn15.8:2.2","sn15.8:2.3","sn15.8:2.4","sn15.8:2.5","sn15.8:2.6","sn15.8:2.7","sn15.8:2.8","sn15.8:2.9","sn15.8:2.10","sn15.8:2.11","sn15.8:2.12"],"kind":"text","text":{"pi":"“Sakkā pana, bho gotama, upamaṁ kātun”ti?\n“Sakkā, brāhmaṇā”ti bhagavā avoca.\n“Seyyathāpi, brāhmaṇa, yato cāyaṁ gaṅgā nadī pabhavati yattha ca mahāsamuddaṁ appeti, yā etasmiṁ antare vālikā sā na sukarā saṅkhātuṁ:\n‘ettakā vālikā iti vā, ettakāni vālikasatāni iti vā, ettakāni vālikasahassāni iti vā, ettakāni vālikasatasahassāni iti vā’ti.\nTato bahutarā kho, brāhmaṇa, kappā abbhatītā atikkantā.\nTe na sukarā saṅkhātuṁ:\n‘ettakā kappā iti vā, ettakāni kappasatāni iti vā, ettakāni kappasahassāni iti vā, ettakāni kappasatasahassāni iti vā’ti.\nTaṁ kissa hetu?\nAnamataggoyaṁ, brāhmaṇa, saṁsāro.\nPubbā koṭi na paññāyati avijjānīvaraṇānaṁ sattānaṁ taṇhāsaṁyojanānaṁ sandhāvataṁ saṁsarataṁ.\nEvaṁ dīgharattaṁ kho, brāhmaṇa, dukkhaṁ paccanubhūtaṁ tibbaṁ paccanubhūtaṁ byasanaṁ paccanubhūtaṁ, kaṭasī vaḍḍhitā.\nYāvañcidaṁ, brāhmaṇa, alameva sabbasaṅkhāresu nibbindituṁ, alaṁ virajjituṁ, alaṁ vimuccitun”ti.","en":"“But worthy Gotama, can you give a simile?”\n“I can,” said the Buddha.\n“Consider the Ganges River from where it originates to where it meets the ocean. Between these places it’s not easy to calculate\nhow many grains of sand there are, how many hundreds or thousands or hundreds of thousands of grains of sand.\nThe eons that have passed are more than this.\nIt’s not easy to calculate\nhow many eons have passed, how many hundreds or thousands or hundreds of thousands of eons.\nWhy is that?\nThis transmigration has no known beginning.\nNo first point is found of sentient beings roaming and transmigrating, shrouded by ignorance and fettered by craving.\nFor such a long time you have undergone suffering, agony, and disaster, swelling the cemeteries.\nThis is quite enough for you to become disillusioned, dispassionate, and freed regarding all conditions.”"}},{"id":"sn15.8:3","sourceIds":["sn15.8:3.1","sn15.8:3.2","sn15.8:3.3","sn15.8:3.4"],"kind":"text","text":{"pi":"Evaṁ vutte, so brāhmaṇo bhagavantaṁ etadavoca:\n“abhikkantaṁ, bho gotama, abhikkantaṁ, bho gotama …pe…\nupāsakaṁ maṁ bhavaṁ gotamo dhāretu ajjatagge pāṇupetaṁ saraṇaṁ gatan”ti.\nAṭṭhamaṁ.","en":"When he said this, the brahmin said to the Buddha,\n“Excellent, worthy Gotama! Excellent! …\nFrom this day forth, may the worthy Gotama remember me as a lay follower who has gone for refuge for life.”"}}]}],"sourceRevision":"afdafa92450cfe7573b280da50382888323666d2","sourceUrl":"https://suttacentral.net/sn15.8/en/sujato","licence":"CC0 1.0","licenceUrl":"https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/","editionNote":"Full supplied source file; inherited abbreviations are preserved. Not a reconstructed expansion of every repetition. No Malay or Mandarin translation is implied."}