Aññatrasutta

Atha kho bhagavā parittaṁ nakhasikhāyaṁ paṁsuṁ āropetvā bhikkhū āmantesi: “Taṁ kiṁ maññatha, bhikkhave, katamaṁ nu kho bahutaraṁ—yo vāyaṁ mayā paritto nakhasikhāyaṁ paṁsu āropito, ayaṁ vā mahāpathavī”ti? “Etadeva, bhante, bahutaraṁ, yadidaṁ—mahāpathavī; appamattakāyaṁ bhagavatā paritto nakhasikhāyaṁ paṁsu āropito. Saṅkhampi na upeti, upanidhampi na upeti, kalabhāgampi na upeti mahāpathaviṁ upanidhāya bhagavatā paritto nakhasikhāyaṁ paṁsu āropito”ti.

Then the Buddha, picking up a little bit of dirt on his fingernail, addressed the mendicants: “What do you think, mendicants? Which is more: the little bit of dirt on my fingernail, or this great earth?” “Sir, the great earth is certainly more. The little bit of dirt on your fingernail is tiny. Compared to the great earth, it doesn’t count, there’s no comparison, it’s not worth a fraction.”

“Evameva kho, bhikkhave, appamattakā te sattā ye manussesu paccājāyanti; atha kho eteva bahutarā sattā ye aññatra manussehi paccājāyanti. Taṁ kissa hetu? Adiṭṭhattā, bhikkhave, catunnaṁ ariyasaccānaṁ. Katamesaṁ catunnaṁ? Dukkhassa ariyasaccassa …pe… dukkhanirodhagāminiyā paṭipadāya ariyasaccassa.

“In the same way, the sentient beings reborn as humans are few, while those not reborn as humans are many. Why is that? It’s because they haven’t seen the four noble truths. What four? The noble truths of suffering, its origin, its cessation, and the path.

Tasmātiha, bhikkhave, ‘idaṁ dukkhan’ti yogo karaṇīyo …pe… ‘ayaṁ dukkhanirodhagāminī paṭipadā’ti yogo karaṇīyo”ti. Paṭhamaṁ.

That’s why you should practice meditation …”