SN 56.91 Khettavatthu Sutta: Fields and Land
One day the Buddha, putting a little bit of dirt on his fingernail, asked the monks: “What do you think, monks? Which is more: the little bit of dirt on my fingernail, or this great Earth?”
“Bhante, the great Earth is certainly more. The little bit of dirt on your fingernail is tiny. Compared to the great earth, it can’t be reckoned or compared; it’s not even a fraction.”
“Monks, in the same way, the beings who refrain from accepting fields and land are few, while those who don’t refrain from accepting fields and land are many. Why is that? It’s because they haven’t seen the Four Noble Truths. What four? The Noble Truth of suffering, the Noble Truth of the origin of suffering, the Noble Truth of the end of suffering, and the Noble Truth of the path that leads to the end of suffering.
“Therefore, monks, you should make an effort to understand: ‘This is suffering.’ You should make an effort to understand: ‘This is the origin of suffering.’ You should make an effort to understand: ‘This is the end of suffering.’ You should make an effort to understand: ‘This is the path that leads to the end of suffering.’”
SN 56.92 Kayavikkaya Sutta: Buying and Selling
“… the beings who refrain from buying and selling are few, while those who don’t refrain from buying and selling are many. …”
SN 56.93 Duteyya Sutta: Carrying Messages
“… the beings who refrain from carrying messages are few, while those who don’t refrain from carrying messages are many. …”
SN 56.94 Talākuta Sutta: Falsifying Weights
“… the beings who refrain from falsifying weights, metals, or measures are few, while those who don’t refrain from doing those are many. …”
SN 56.95 Ukkoṭana Sutta: Bribery, Fraud, Cheating, and Duplicity
“… the beings who refrain from bribery, fraud, cheating, and duplicity are few, while those who don’t refrain from those are many. …”
SN 56.96–100 Chedanādi Sutta: Injuring, Punishing, Kidnapping, Robbery, and Violence
… the beings who refrain from injuring, punishing, kidnapping, robbery and violence are few, while those who don’t refrain from those are many. Why is that? It’s because they haven’t seen the Four Noble Truths. What four? The Noble Truth of suffering, the Noble Truth of the origin of suffering, the Noble Truth of the end of suffering, and the Noble Truth of the path that leads to the end of suffering.
“Therefore, monks, you should make an effort to understand: ‘This is suffering.’ You should make an effort to understand: ‘This is the origin of suffering.’ You should make an effort to understand: ‘This is the end of suffering.’ You should make an effort to understand: ‘This is the path that leads to the end of suffering.’”
