Samsara - The Wheel of Existence Inconceivable is the beginning of this Samsara; not to be discovered
is any first beginning of beings, who, obstructed by ignorance, and
ensnared by craving, are hurrying and hastening through this round of
rebirths. [Samsara-the Wheel of Existence, lit., the "Perpetual
Wandering"-is the name by which is designated the sea of life ever
restlessly heaving up and down, the symbol of this continuous process of
ever again and again being born, growing old, suffering, and dying. More
precisely Put: Samsara is the unbroken chain of the fivefold Khandha-combinations,
which, constantly changing from moment to moment, follow continuously
one upon the other through inconceivable periods of time. Of this
Samsara, a single lifetime constitutes only a vanishingly tiny fraction;
hence, to be able to comprehend the first noble truth, one must let
one's gaze rest upon the Samsara, upon this frightful
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chain of rebirths,
and not merely upon one single lifetime, which, of course, may be
sometimes not very painful.] Which do you think is the more: the flood
of tears, which weeping and wailing you have shed upon this long
way-hurrying and hastening through this round of rebirths, united with
the undesired, separated from the desired this, or the waters of the
four oceans? Long time have you suffered the death of father and mother,
of sons, daughters, brothers, and sisters. And whilst you were thus
suffering, you have, verily, shed more tears upon this long way than
there is water in the four oceans. Which do you think is the more: the
streams of blood that, through your being beheaded, have flowed upon
this long way, or the waters in the four oceans? Long time have you been
caught as dacoits, or highwaymen, or adulterers; and, through your being
beheaded, verily, more blood has flowed upon this long way than there is
water in the four oceans. But how is this possible? Inconceivable is the
beginning of this Samsara; not to be discovered is any first beginning
of beings, who, obstructed by ignorance, and ensnared by craving, are
hurrying and hastening through this round of rebirths. And thus have you
long time undergone suffering, undergone torment, undergone misfortune,
and filled the graveyards full; verily, long enough to be dissatisfied
with all the forms of existence, long enough to turn away, and free
yourselves from them all.