sn.56.33 Saṁyutta Nikāya (Linked Discourses)
Stick
“Bhikkhus, just as a stick thrown up into the air falls now on its bottom, now on its top, so too as beings roam and wander on, hindered by ignorance and fettered by craving, now they go from this world to the other world, now they come from the other world to this world. For what reason? Because they have not seen the Four Noble Truths. What four? The noble truth of suffering … the noble truth of the way leading to the cessation of suffering.
“Therefore, bhikkhus, an exertion should be made to understand: ‘This is suffering.’… An exertion should be made to understand: ‘This is the way leading to the cessation of suffering.’”
- Translator: Bhikkhu Bodhi
- Editor: Blake Walsh
A Stick
“Mendicants, suppose a stick was tossed up in the air. Sometimes it’d fall on its bottom and sometimes the top.
It’s the same for sentient beings roaming and transmigrating, shrouded by ignorance and fettered by craving. Sometimes they go from this world to the other world, and sometimes they come from the other world to this world.
Why is that?
It’s because they haven’t seen the four noble truths.
What four?
The noble truths of suffering, its origin, its cessation, and the path.
That’s why you should practice meditation …”
