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SN 56.48

A Yoke With a Hole (2nd)

Dutiyachiggaḷayugasutta

from: 5. A Cliff

A Yoke With a Hole (2nd)

“Mendicants, suppose the earth was entirely covered with water. And a person threw a yoke with a single hole into it. The east wind wafts it west; the west wind wafts it east; the north wind wafts it south; and the south wind wafts it north. And there was a one-eyed turtle who popped up once every hundred years.

What do you think, mendicants? Would that one-eyed turtle, popping up once every hundred years, still poke its neck through the hole in that yoke?”

“It’s unlikely, sir.”

“That’s how unlikely it is to get reborn as a human being. And that’s how unlikely it is for a Realized One to arise in the world, a perfected one, a fully awakened Buddha. And that’s how unlikely it is for the teaching and training proclaimed by a Realized One to shine in the world. And now, mendicants, you have been reborn as a human being. A Realized One has arisen in the world, a perfected one, a fully awakened Buddha. And the teaching and training proclaimed by a Realized One shines in the world.

That’s why you should practice meditation …”

Translation: German (Ayyā Sabbamittā), English (Bhikkhu Sujato). Source: SuttaCentral / Bilara (public domain, CC0).

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