The End of the World (Part 02) Rohitassa Sutta

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Rohitassa Sutta

…….At  Savatthi...  Standing  at  one  side,  Rohitassa,  son  of  the gods, spoke thus to the Exalted One: 

"Where,  lord,  one  does  not  get  born,  nor  grow  old,  nor  die, nor  pass  away,  nor  get  reborn,  is  one  able,  lord,  by  walking,  to come to know that end of the world, or to see it, or to get there?" 

"Where, friend,  one does not get born,  nor  grow old,  nor  die, nor  pass  away,  nor  get  reborn,  that  end  of  the  world,  I  say,  you  are not able by walking, to come to know, or to see, or to arrive at." 

"Wonderful  is  it,  lord.  marvellous  is  it,  lord,  how  well  it  is   said  by  the  Exalted  One:  'Where,  friend,  one  does  not  get        born...  or  to  arrive at.' 

"In  times  past,  lord,  I  was  a  seer,  Rohitassa  by  name,  son  of Bhoja,  gifted  so  that  I  could  fly  through  the  air.  And  so  swift,        lord,  was  my  speed  that  I  could  fly  just  as  quickly  as  a  master  of archery,  well-trained,  expert,  proficient,  a  past-master  in  his        art,  armed  with  a  strong  bow  could,  without  difficulty,  send  a     light  shaft  far  past  the  area  covered  by  a  palm-tree's  shadow.      And  so  great,  lord,  was  my  stride  that  I  could  step  from  the     eastern to the western sea. 

"In  me,  lord,  arose  such  a  wish  as  this:  'I  will  arrive  at  the     end  of  the  world  by  walking.'  And  though  such,  lord,  was  my speed, and such my stride, and though, with a life-span of a century, living for hundred years I walked continuously for a hundred years, save the while I spent in eating, drinking,      chewing or tasting, or in answering calls of nature, save the      while I gave way to sleep or fatigue, yet I died on the way       without reaching the end of the world. Wonderful is it, lord, marvellous is it, lord, how well it is said by the Exalted One:    'Where, friend, one does not get born.. or to arrive at." 

"But neither do I say, friend, that without having reached    the end of the world there could be an ending of ill. It is in this     very fathom-long physical frame with its perceptions and        mind, that, I declare, lies the world, and the arising of the       world, and the cessation of the world, and the path leading to      the cessation of the world.  

 "Ne'er may world's end be reached by walking. No release is there from ill till that end is reached. Therefore that wise one, the knower of the world, Is the one who has reached the end of the world.  Consummate in him is the holy life. Knowing the world's end that sage serene Yearns not for this world nor for the other." 
Samyutta Nikaya I 61 (II 3,6)

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