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SN 56.38PTS SN 5.4421 min read

The Simile of the Sun (2nd)

Dutiyasūriyasutta

As long as there are no sun and moon, the world is in darkness. So too, as long as the Realized One has not arisen and declared the four noble truths, the world is in darkness.

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

  • 0.1Saṁyutta Nikāya 56.38Linked Discourses 56.38
  • 0.24. Sīsapāvanavagga4. In a Rosewood Forest

0.3DutiyasūriyasuttaThe Simile of the Sun (2nd)

1.1“Yāvakīvañca, bhikkhave, candimasūriyā loke nuppajjanti, neva tāva mahato ālokassa pātubhāvo hoti mahato obhāsassa.“Mendicants, as long as the moon and the sun don’t arise in the world, no great light or great radiance appears.11.2Andhatamaṁ tadā hoti andhakāratimisā.Darkness prevails then, utter darkness.1.3Neva tāva rattindivā paññāyanti, na māsaddhamāsā paññāyanti, na utusaṁvaccharā paññāyanti.Day and night aren’t found, nor months and fortnights, nor seasons and years.

2.1PTS 5.443Yato ca kho, bhikkhave, candimasūriyā loke uppajjanti, atha mahato ālokassa pātubhāvo hoti mahato obhāsassa.But when the moon and the sun arise in the world, a great light, a great radiance appears.2.2Neva andhakāratamaṁ tadā hoti na andhakāratimisā.Darkness no longer prevails.2.3Atha rattindivā paññāyanti, māsaddhamāsā paññāyanti, utusaṁvaccharā paññāyanti.Day and night are found, and months and fortnights, and seasons and years.

2.4Evameva kho, bhikkhave, yāvakīvañca tathāgato loke nuppajjati arahaṁ sammāsambuddho, neva tāva mahato ālokassa pātubhāvo hoti mahato obhāsassa.In the same way, as long as the Realized One doesn’t arise in the world, no great light or great radiance appears.2.5Andhatamaṁ tadā hoti andhakāratimisā.Darkness prevails then, utter darkness.2.6Neva tāva catunnaṁ ariyasaccānaṁ ācikkhaṇā hoti desanā paññāpanā paṭṭhapanā vivaraṇā vibhajanā uttānīkammaṁ.There’s no explanation of the four noble truths, no teaching, advocating, establishing, clarifying, analyzing, and revealing of them.

3.1Yato ca kho, bhikkhave, tathāgato loke uppajjati arahaṁ sammāsambuddho, atha mahato ālokassa pātubhāvo hoti mahato obhāsassa.But when the Realized One arises in the world, a great light, a great radiance appears.3.2Neva andhatamaṁ tadā hoti na andhakāratimisā.Darkness no longer prevails.3.3Atha kho catunnaṁ ariyasaccānaṁ ācikkhaṇā hoti desanā paññāpanā paṭṭhapanā vivaraṇā vibhajanā uttānīkammaṁ.Then there’s the explanation of the four noble truths, the teaching, advocating, establishing, clarifying, analyzing, and revealing of them.3.4Katamesaṁ catunnaṁ?What four?3.5Dukkhassa ariyasaccassa …pe… dukkhanirodhagāminiyā paṭipadāya ariyasaccassa.The noble truths of suffering, its origin, its cessation, and the path.

4.1Tasmātiha, bhikkhave, ‘idaṁ dukkhan’ti yogo karaṇīyo …pe… ‘ayaṁ dukkhanirodhagāminī paṭipadā’ti yogo karaṇīyo”ti.That’s why you should practice meditation …”

4.2Aṭṭhamaṁ.

Translator’s notes

  1. See DN 27 for the early Buddhist conception of the origins of the cosmos.

    ↩ sn56.38:1.1