[@Aerodyno@]

dear Theravada forum

i apologise if my deliberately provocative thread title may appear to be insensitive. my intention in having such a thread title is to draw attention to the Assu Sutta

the Assu Sutta seems to be a favourite amongst reincarnationists & rebirthers in asserting Buddha taught literal rebirth

in fact, some go so far, such as translator Thanissaro, to include the word 'transmigration' in the sutta, even though devoted rebirthers, such as Bhikkhu Bodhi, do not use such an alien term & simply stick to the Pali samsara (which means to 'cycle round')

but often, on chatsites, one will read threads requesting: "Please pray for my father; pray for my mother; pray for my cat", etc

in the light of this common grief & hope in respect to the departed, even amongst Buddhists, does the Assu Sutta aim to reinforce reincarnation/rebirth beliefs? Or does it aim to quench the common suffering of grief?




From an inconstruable beginning comes samsara. A beginning point is not evident, though beings hindered by ignorance and fettered by craving are roaming & wandering on.

Long have you experienced the death of a mother. The tears you have shed over the death of a mother while roaming & wandering this long, long time — crying & weeping from being joined with what is displeasing, being separated from what is pleasing — are greater than the water in the four great oceans.

Long have you experienced the death of a father... the death of a brother... the death of a sister... the death of a son... the death of a daughter... loss with regard to relatives... loss with regard to wealth... loss with regard to disease. The tears you have shed over loss with regard to disease while roaming & wandering this long, long time — crying & weeping from being joined with what is displeasing, being separated from what is pleasing — are greater than the water in the four great oceans.

Why is that? From an inconstruable beginning comes samsara. A beginning point is not evident, though beings hindered by ignorance and fettered by craving are roaming & wandering on. Long have you thus experienced stress, experienced pain, experienced loss, swelling the cemeteries — enough to become disenchanted with all fabricated things, enough to become dispassionate, enough to be released.

Assu Sutta: Tears