Samyutta Nikaya: Anamataggasamyutta (II-15)

 

1: There is no first cause, never a time when there wasn’t samsara. This contrasts with Genesis, which postulates a time before sin. (Granted that the comparison between sin and samsara is very weak; they certainly aren’t the same thing.)

 

Thus the beginning of samsara isn’t knowable.

 

3: This makes the endless suffering of samsara all the more vivid.

 

5: I love these descriptions of incredibly long times.

 

10: The number of rebirths: you leave a pile of bones as high as a mountain, and even then it’s a small amount in comparison to the reality.

 

12: We have experienced every happiness which every being has suffered.

 

14 – 19: All have been your mother, father, brother, sister, son, daughter.