So Impermanent, So Unstable, So Unreliable Conditions

Monks, this Cycle of Rebirth is without discoverable beginning. A first point is not identifiable of beings roaming and wandering on, hindered by ignorance (unknowing of true reality) and fettered by craving.

In the past, Monks, this Mount Vepulla was called Pācīnavaṃsa, and at that time these people were called Tivaras. The life span of the Tivaras was 40,000 years. They could climb Mount Pācīnavaṃsa in four days and descend in four days.

At that time The Perfectly Enlightened One Kakusandha, an Arahant, a Perfectly Enlightened One, had arisen in the world. His two chief disciples were named Vidhura and Sañjīva, an excellent pair.

See, Monks! That name for this mountain has disappeared, those people have died, and that Fortunate One has attained Final Nibbāna (Final Enlightenment). So impermanent are conditions, Monks, so unstable, so unreliable.

It is enough, Monks, to experience fading away of strong feelings towards all conditions, enough to become free from strong feelings towards them, enough to be liberated from them.

[At another time] in the past, Monks, this Mount Vepulla was called Vaṅkaka, and at that time these people were called Rohitassas. The life span of the Rohitassas was 30,000 years. They could climb Mount Vaṅkaka in three days and descend in three days.

At that time The Perfectly Enlightened One Koṇāgamana, an Arahant, a Perfectly Enlightened One, had arisen in the world. His two chief disciples were named Bhiyyosa and Uttara, an excellent pair.

See, Monks! That name for this mountain has disappeared, those people have died, and that Fortunate One has attained Final Nibbāna (Final Enlightenment). So impermanent are conditions, Monks, so unstable, so unreliable.

It is enough, Monks, to experience fading away of strong feelings towards all conditions, enough to become free from strong feelings towards them, enough to be liberated from them.

[At still another time] in the past, Monks, this Mount Vepulla was called Supassa, and at that time these people were called Suppiyas. The life span of the Suppiyas was 20,000 years. They could climb Mount Supassa in two days and descend in two days.

At that time The Perfectly Enlightened One Kassapa, an Arahant, a Perfectly Enlightened One, had arisen in the world. His two chief disciples were named Tissa and Bhāradvāja, an excellent pair.

See, Monks! That name for this mountain has disappeared, those people have died, and that Fortunate One has attained Final Nibbāna (Final Enlightenment). So impermanent are conditions, Monks, so unstable, so unreliable.

It is enough, Monks, to experience fading away of strong feelings towards all conditions, enough to become free from strong feelings towards them, enough to be liberated from them.

At present, Monks, this Mount Vepulla is called Vepulla, and at present these people are called Magadhans. The life span of the Magadhans is short, limited, fleeting; one who lives long lives a hundred years or a little more. The Magadhans climb Mount Vepulla in an hour and descend in an hour.

At present I have arisen in the world, an Arahant, a Perfectly Enlightened One. My two chief disciples are named Sāriputta and Moggallāna, an excellent pair.

There will come a time, Monks, when the name for this mountain will have disappeared, when these people will have died, and I will have attained Final Nibbāna (Final Enlightenment).

So impermanent are conditions, Monks, so unstable, so unreliable.

It is enough, Monks, to experience fading away of strong feelings towards all conditions, enough to become free from strong feelings towards them, enough to be liberated from them.

This is what The Perfectly Enlightened One said. Having said this, The Fortunate One, The Teacher, further said this:

This was called Pācīnavaṃsa by the Tivaras,

And Vaṅkaka by the Rohitassas,

Supassa by the Suppiya people,

Vepulla by the Magadhan folk.

Impermanent, oh, are conditions, Subject to arising and vanishing.

Having arisen, they are eliminated: Their calming is peaceful.

(Reference: SN 15.20)

In this Teaching from Gotama Buddha, he shares The Universal Truth of Impermanence as it relates to the name of a mountain. He is explaining the different names this mountain has had over time to explain its nature of impermanence.

He explains this through recounting the various lifetimes of past Buddhas and their “chief disciples” (i.e. their most dedicated Students).

The Buddha explains his two chief disciples are “Sāriputta and Moggallāna”.