2.
The Discourse on the Seven Suns
66.
Thus have I heard -
On one occasion the Blessed One was dwelling at Vesālī in Ambapālī's grove.
There the Blessed One addressed the monks thus:
"Monks."
"Venerable sir," those monks assented to the Blessed One.
The Blessed One said this:
"Impermanent, monks, are activities; inconstant, monks, are activities; without comfort, monks, are activities. This is enough, monks, to become disenchanted with all activities, enough to become dispassionate, enough to become liberated.
"Sineru, monks, the king of mountains, is eighty-four thousand yojanas in length, eighty-four thousand yojanas in breadth, eighty-four thousand yojanas plunged into the great ocean, eighty-four thousand yojanas risen above the great ocean. There comes a time, monks, when at some time after a very long period has passed, for many years, for many hundreds of years, for many thousands of years, for many hundreds of thousands of years, the rain god does not rain. When the rain god does not rain, monks, whatever seed-plants and growing plants, medicinal herbs, grasses, and forest trees, they dry up, wither away, and cease to exist. Thus impermanent, monks, are activities; thus inconstant, monks, are activities, etc. enough to become liberated.
"There comes a time, monks, when at some time after a very long period has passed, a second sun appears. With the appearance of the second sun, monks, whatever rivulets and small pools, they dry up, wither away, and cease to exist. Thus impermanent, monks, are activities, etc. enough to become liberated.
"There comes a time, monks, when at some time after a very long period has passed, a third sun appears. With the appearance of the third sun, monks, whatever great rivers, as follows - the Ganges, the Yamunā, the Aciravatī, the Sarabhū, the Mahī, they dry up, wither away, and cease to exist. Thus impermanent, monks, are activities, etc. enough to become liberated.
"There comes a time, monks, when at some time after a very long period has passed, a fourth sun appears. With the appearance of the fourth sun, monks, those great lakes from which these great rivers flow, as follows - Anotatta, Sīhapapāta, Rathakāra, Kaṇṇamuṇḍa, Kuṇāla, Chaddanta, Mandākinī, they dry up, wither away, and cease to exist. Thus impermanent, monks, are activities, etc. enough to become liberated.
"There comes a time, monks, when at some time after a very long period has passed, a fifth sun appears. With the appearance of the fifth sun, monks, the waters in the great ocean recede one hundred yojanas, the waters in the great ocean recede two hundred yojanas, three hundred yojanas, four hundred yojanas, five hundred yojanas, six hundred yojanas, seven hundred yojanas the waters in the great ocean recede; the water in the great ocean stands at seven palm-tree depths, at six palm-tree depths, at five palm-tree depths, at four palm-tree depths, at three palm-tree depths, at two palm-tree depths, at one palm-tree depth the water in the great ocean stands; the water in the great ocean stands at seven man-heights, at six man-heights, at five man-heights, at four man-heights, at three man-heights, at two man-heights, at one man-height, at half a man-height, at waist-depth, at knee-depth, at ankle-depth the water in the great ocean stands. Just as, monks, in the autumn season, when the sky rains with large drops, here and there waters stand in cow's hoofprints; so too, monks, here and there ankle-deep waters stand in the great ocean. With the appearance of the fifth sun, monks, there is not even a finger-joint's depth of water in the great ocean. Thus impermanent, monks, are activities, etc. enough to become liberated.
"There comes a time, monks, when at some time after a very long period has passed, a sixth sun appears. With the appearance of the sixth sun, monks, this great earth and Sineru, the king of mountains, smoke, fume, and smoulder. Just as, monks, a potter's kiln when first plastered smokes, fumes, and smoulders; so too, monks, with the appearance of the sixth sun, this great earth and Sineru, the king of mountains, smoke, fume, and smoulder. Thus impermanent, monks, are activities, etc. enough to become liberated.
"There comes a time, monks, when at some time after a very long period has passed, a seventh sun appears. With the appearance of the seventh sun, monks, this great earth and Sineru, the king of mountains, blaze up, burn, and become one mass of flame. And as this great earth and Sineru, the king of mountains, are burning and blazing, monks, the flame, thrown by the wind, goes even as far as the Brahma world. As Sineru, the king of mountains, monks, is burning, blazing, and being destroyed, overcome by the great mass of heat, peaks of one hundred yojanas crumble, peaks of two hundred yojanas, of three hundred yojanas, of four hundred yojanas, of five hundred yojanas crumble. And of this great earth and Sineru, the king of mountains, monks, as they are burning and blazing, neither ashes appear nor soot. Just as, monks, when ghee or oil is burning and blazing, neither ashes appear nor soot; so too, monks, of this great earth and Sineru, the king of mountains, as they are burning and blazing, neither ashes appear nor soot. Thus impermanent, monks, are activities; thus unstable, monks, are activities; thus without comfort, monks, are activities. This is enough, monks, to become disenchanted with all activities, enough to become dispassionate, enough to become liberated.
"Therein, monks, who would believe, who would have faith - 'This earth and Sineru, the king of mountains, will burn and be destroyed, will cease to exist' - except for those who have seen the truth?
"Once in the past, monks, there was a teacher named Sunetta, a founder of a sect, free from lust towards sensual pleasures. And, monks, the teacher Sunetta had many hundreds of disciples. The teacher Sunetta, monks, expounded the Teaching to his disciples for companionship with the Brahma world. Now those, monks, who, when the teacher Sunetta was expounding the Teaching for companionship with the Brahma world, understood the teaching in every way, upon the body's collapse at death, were reborn in a fortunate realm, in the Brahma world. Those who did not understand the teaching in every way, upon the body's collapse at death, some were reborn in the company of the gods who control what is created by others, some were reborn in the company of the gods who delight in creation, some were reborn in the company of the Tusita gods, some were reborn in the company of the Yāma gods, some were reborn in the company of the Thirty-three gods, some were reborn in the company of the gods ruled by the four great kings, some were reborn in the company of wealthy warriors, some were reborn in the company of wealthy brahmins, some were reborn in the company of wealthy householders.
Then, monks, this occurred to the teacher Sunetta - 'It is not proper for me that I should have the same destination as my disciples in the future life. What if I were to develop friendliness further?'
Then, monks, the teacher Sunetta developed a mind of friendliness for seven years. Having developed a mind of friendliness for seven years, for seven cosmic cycles of universe-contraction and expansion he did not come back again to this world. When the world was contracting, monks, he was one who reached the Radiant realm. When the world was expanding, he was reborn in an empty Brahma-mansion. There indeed, monks, he was Brahmā, the Great Brahmā, the Overlord, the Unvanquished, the All-Seeing, the Wielder of Power. Thirty-six times indeed, monks, he was Sakka, the lord of the gods. Many hundreds of times he was a king, a wheel-turning monarch, a righteous king of righteousness, ruler of the four quarters, victorious, who had established the security of his realm, possessed of the seven treasures. And he had more than a thousand sons, brave, heroic in form, crushers of enemy armies. He dwelt having conquered this earth bounded by the ocean, without rod, without sword, by righteousness. Yet indeed, monks, the teacher Sunetta, being so long-lived, so long-lasting, was not released - 'From birth, from ageing, from death, from sorrows, from lamentations, from sufferings, from displeasures, from anguishes; he was not released from suffering', I say.
"What is the reason for this? Through not understanding, through not penetrating four things. Which four? Monks, through not understanding, through not penetrating noble morality; through not understanding, through not penetrating noble concentration; through not understanding, through not penetrating noble wisdom; through not understanding, through not penetrating noble liberation. Monks, this noble morality has been understood and penetrated, noble concentration has been understood and penetrated, noble wisdom has been understood and penetrated, noble liberation has been understood and penetrated, craving for existence has been cut off, the conduit to existence has been eliminated, there is now no more rebirth." This is what the Blessed One said. Having said this, the Fortunate One, the Teacher, further said this -
These things have been understood by Gotama of great fame.
The Teacher who makes an end of suffering, the one with vision, has attained final Nibbāna." The second.