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AN 4.156PTS AN 2.142Kappa1 min read

Eons

Kappasutta

It’s not easy to measure the length of an eon.

Translated by Bhikkhu Sujato · Pāli: Mahāsaṅgīti Tipiṭaka · Public domain (CC0) via SuttaCentral

  • 0.1Aṅguttara Nikāya 4.156Numbered Discourses 4.156
  • 0.216. Indriyavagga16. Faculties

0.3KappasuttaEons

1.1“Cattārimāni, bhikkhave, kappassa asaṅkhyeyyāni.“Mendicants, an eon contains four uncountable periods.1.2Katamāni cattāri?What four?

1.3Yadā, bhikkhave, kappo saṁvaṭṭati, taṁ na sukaraṁ saṅkhātuṁ—When an eon contracts, it’s not easy to calculate1.4ettakāni vassānīti vā, ettakāni vassasatānīti vā, ettakāni vassasahassānīti vā, ettakāni vassasatasahassānīti vā.how many years, how many hundreds or thousands or hundreds of thousands of years it takes.

2.1Yadā, bhikkhave, kappo saṁvaṭṭo tiṭṭhati, taṁ na sukaraṁ saṅkhātuṁ—When an eon remains fully contracted, it’s not easy to calculate2.2ettakāni vassānīti vā, ettakāni vassasatānīti vā, ettakāni vassasahassānīti vā, ettakāni vassasatasahassānīti vā.how many years, how many hundreds or thousands or hundreds of thousands of years it takes.

3.1Yadā, bhikkhave, kappo vivaṭṭati, taṁ na sukaraṁ saṅkhātuṁ—When an eon expands, it’s not easy to calculate3.2ettakāni vassānīti vā, ettakāni vassasatānīti vā, ettakāni vassasahassānīti vā, ettakāni vassasatasahassānīti vā.how many years, how many hundreds or thousands or hundreds of thousands of years it takes.

4.1Yadā, bhikkhave, kappo vivaṭṭo tiṭṭhati, taṁ na sukaraṁ saṅkhātuṁ—When an eon remains fully expanded, it’s not easy to calculate4.2ettakāni vassānīti vā, ettakāni vassasatānīti vā, ettakāni vassasahassānīti vā, ettakāni vassasatasahassānīti vā.how many years, how many hundreds or thousands or hundreds of thousands of years it takes.

4.3Imāni kho, bhikkhave, cattāri kappassa asaṅkhyeyyānī”ti.These are the four uncountable periods of an eon.”

4.4Chaṭṭhaṁ.