#1. Similes

As the dirt in a fingernail is smaller than the great earth, the beings reborn as humans are few.At Sāvatthī. Then the Buddha, picking up a little bit of dirt under his fingernail, addressed the mendicants: “What do you think, mendicants? Which is more: the little bit of dirt under my fingernail, or this great earth?” “Sir, the great earth is far more. The little bit of dirt under your fingernail is tiny. [Read More]

As rafters depend on the roof-peak, unwholesome qualities depend on ignorance.So I have heard. At one time the Buddha was staying near Sāvatthī in Jeta’s Grove, Anāthapiṇḍika’s monastery. There the Buddha … said: “Mendicants, the rafters of a bungalow all lean to the peak and meet at the peak, and when the peak is demolished they’re all demolished too. In the same way any unskillful qualities are rooted in ignorance and meet in ignorance, and when ignorance is demolished they’re all demolished too. [Read More]