Using a simile of a blind turtle, the Buddha shares on the rarity of gaining a human birth, the arising of a Tathāgata, and the shining of the Dhamma and Vinaya proclaimed by a Tathāgata through the simile of a blind turtle.
“Seyyathāpi, bhikkhave, ayaṁ mahāpathavī ekodakā assa. Tatra puriso ekacchiggaḷaṁ yugaṁ pakkhipeyya. Tamenaṁ puratthimo vāto pacchimena saṁhareyya, pacchimo vāto puratthimena saṁhareyya, uttaro vāto dakkhiṇena saṁhareyya, dakkhiṇo vāto uttarena saṁhareyya. Tatrassa kāṇo kacchapo. So vassasatassa vassasatassa accayena sakiṁ sakiṁ ummujjeyya.
“|Bhikkhus,::::| suppose this great earth were entirely covered with water. A man were to toss a yoke with a single hole into it, and the east wind would blow it west, the west wind would blow it east, the north wind would blow it south, and the south wind would blow it north. And there was a blind turtle in it, coming to the surface just once every hundred years.
Taṁ kiṁ maññatha, bhikkhave, api nu kho kāṇo kacchapo vassasatassa vassasatassa accayena sakiṁ sakiṁ ummujjanto amusmiṁ ekacchiggaḷe yuge gīvaṁ paveseyyā”ti?
What do you think, bhikkhus? Would that blind turtle, coming to the surface just once every hundred years, ever manage to put its neck through that yoke with a single hole?”
“Adhiccamidaṁ, bhante, yaṁ so kāṇo kacchapo vassasatassa vassasatassa accayena sakiṁ sakiṁ ummujjanto amusmiṁ ekacchiggaḷe yuge gīvaṁ paveseyyā”ti.
“It would be a matter of sheer chance, venerable sir, that the blind turtle, coming to the surface just once every hundred years, would manage to put its neck through that yoke with a single hole.”
“Evaṁ adhiccamidaṁ, bhikkhave, yaṁ manussattaṁ labhati. Evaṁ adhiccamidaṁ, bhikkhave, yaṁ tathāgato loke uppajjati arahaṁ sammāsambuddho. Evaṁ adhiccamidaṁ, bhikkhave, yaṁ tathāgatappavedito dhammavinayo loke dibbati. Tassidaṁ, bhikkhave, manussattaṁ laddhaṁ, tathāgato loke uppanno arahaṁ sammāsambuddho, tathāgatappavedito ca dhammavinayo loke dibbati.
“|Bhikkhus,::::| it is by just such sheer chance that one gains a human birth. It is by just such sheer chance that a |Tathāgata::one who has arrived at the truth, an epithet of a perfectly Awakened One [tathāgata]| arises in the world, an Arahant, a perfectly Awakened One. It is by just such sheer chance that the |Dhamma::teachings of the Buddha that point to the nature of reality, the ultimate truth [dhamma]| and |Vinaya::code of monastic discipline rules, training [vinaya]| proclaimed by a Tathāgata shines in the world. Yet now, |bhikkhus,::::| this human birth has been gained, a Tathāgata has arisen in the world, an Arahant, a perfectly Awakened One, and the Dhamma and Vinaya proclaimed by a Tathāgata shines in the world.
Tasmātiha, bhikkhave, ‘idaṁ dukkhan’ti yogo karaṇīyo,
‘ayaṁ dukkhasamudayo’ti yogo karaṇīyo,
‘ayaṁ dukkhanirodho’ti yogo karaṇīyo,
‘ayaṁ dukkhanirodhagāminī paṭipadā’ti yogo karaṇīyo”ti.
Therefore, |bhikkhus,::::| effort should be applied to fully realize: ‘This is suffering’;
effort should be applied to fully realize: ‘This is the arising of suffering’;
effort should be applied to fully realize: ‘This is the end of suffering’;
effort should be applied to fully realize: ‘This is the way of practice leading to the end of suffering.’”
“|Bhikkhus,::::| suppose this great earth were entirely covered with water. A man were to toss a yoke with a single hole into it, and the east wind would blow it west, the west wind would blow it east, the north wind would blow it south, and the south wind would blow it north. And there was a blind turtle in it, coming to the surface just once every hundred years.
What do you think, bhikkhus? Would that blind turtle, coming to the surface just once every hundred years, ever manage to put its neck through that yoke with a single hole?”
“It would be a matter of sheer chance, venerable sir, that the blind turtle, coming to the surface just once every hundred years, would manage to put its neck through that yoke with a single hole.”
“|Bhikkhus,::::| it is by just such sheer chance that one gains a human birth. It is by just such sheer chance that a |Tathāgata::one who has arrived at the truth, an epithet of a perfectly Awakened One [tathāgata]| arises in the world, an Arahant, a perfectly Awakened One. It is by just such sheer chance that the |Dhamma::teachings of the Buddha that point to the nature of reality, the ultimate truth [dhamma]| and |Vinaya::code of monastic discipline rules, training [vinaya]| proclaimed by a Tathāgata shines in the world. Yet now, |bhikkhus,::::| this human birth has been gained, a Tathāgata has arisen in the world, an Arahant, a perfectly Awakened One, and the Dhamma and Vinaya proclaimed by a Tathāgata shines in the world.
Therefore, |bhikkhus,::::| effort should be applied to fully realize: ‘This is suffering’;
effort should be applied to fully realize: ‘This is the arising of suffering’;
effort should be applied to fully realize: ‘This is the end of suffering’;
effort should be applied to fully realize: ‘This is the way of practice leading to the end of suffering.’”
“Seyyathāpi, bhikkhave, ayaṁ mahāpathavī ekodakā assa. Tatra puriso ekacchiggaḷaṁ yugaṁ pakkhipeyya. Tamenaṁ puratthimo vāto pacchimena saṁhareyya, pacchimo vāto puratthimena saṁhareyya, uttaro vāto dakkhiṇena saṁhareyya, dakkhiṇo vāto uttarena saṁhareyya. Tatrassa kāṇo kacchapo. So vassasatassa vassasatassa accayena sakiṁ sakiṁ ummujjeyya.
Taṁ kiṁ maññatha, bhikkhave, api nu kho kāṇo kacchapo vassasatassa vassasatassa accayena sakiṁ sakiṁ ummujjanto amusmiṁ ekacchiggaḷe yuge gīvaṁ paveseyyā”ti?
“Adhiccamidaṁ, bhante, yaṁ so kāṇo kacchapo vassasatassa vassasatassa accayena sakiṁ sakiṁ ummujjanto amusmiṁ ekacchiggaḷe yuge gīvaṁ paveseyyā”ti.
“Evaṁ adhiccamidaṁ, bhikkhave, yaṁ manussattaṁ labhati. Evaṁ adhiccamidaṁ, bhikkhave, yaṁ tathāgato loke uppajjati arahaṁ sammāsambuddho. Evaṁ adhiccamidaṁ, bhikkhave, yaṁ tathāgatappavedito dhammavinayo loke dibbati. Tassidaṁ, bhikkhave, manussattaṁ laddhaṁ, tathāgato loke uppanno arahaṁ sammāsambuddho, tathāgatappavedito ca dhammavinayo loke dibbati.
Tasmātiha, bhikkhave, ‘idaṁ dukkhan’ti yogo karaṇīyo,
‘ayaṁ dukkhasamudayo’ti yogo karaṇīyo,
‘ayaṁ dukkhanirodho’ti yogo karaṇīyo,
‘ayaṁ dukkhanirodhagāminī paṭipadā’ti yogo karaṇīyo”ti.