1.1Sāvatthiyaṁ viharati.At Sāvatthī.

1.2Atha kho aññataro bhikkhu yena bhagavā …pe… ekamantaṁ nisinno kho so bhikkhu bhagavantaṁ etadavoca:Then a mendicant went up to the Buddha … and asked him,1.3“kīvadīgho nu kho, bhante, kappo”ti?“Sir, how long is an eon?”

1.4“Dīgho kho, bhikkhu, kappo.“Mendicant, an eon is long.1.5So 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.”¹

2.1“Sakkā pana, bhante, upamaṁ kātun”ti?“But sir, is it possible to give a simile?”

2.2“Sakkā, bhikkhū”ti bhagavā avoca.“It’s possible,” said the Buddha.

2.3“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.2.4Tato puriso vassasatassa vassasatassa accayena ekamekaṁ sāsapaṁ uddhareyya.And as each century passed someone would remove a single mustard seed.2.5Khippataraṁ kho so, bhikkhu, mahāsāsaparāsi iminā upakkamena parikkhayaṁ pariyādānaṁ gaccheyya, na tveva kappo.By this means the big heap of mustard seeds would be used up before the eon comes to an end.²2.6Evaṁ dīgho kho, bhikkhu, kappo.That’s how long an eon is.2.7Evaṁ 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.

2.8Taṁ kissa hetu?Why is that?2.9Anamataggoyaṁ, bhikkhu, saṁsāro …pe…This transmigration has no known beginning. …2.10alaṁ vimuccitun”ti.This is quite enough for you to become disillusioned, dispassionate, and freed regarding all conditions.”

2.11Chaṭṭhaṁ.