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The Rohitassa Discourse: The End of the World Within This Fathom-Long Body
Rohitassasuttaṃ
A deity who once travelled at supernatural speed to find the end of the world died without reaching it. The Buddha says the world, its origin, its cessation and the way to its cessation are found in this fathom-long body with its perception and mind.
4 points
In the Rohitassa Sutta, the deity Rohitassa asks the Buddha whether it is possible, by travelling, to know, see or reach the end of the world.
He relates that in a past life he was a seer with psychic power, as swift as an arrow shot by a skilled archer, with a stride reaching from the eastern ocean to the western. Resolving to find the end of the world, he travelled for a hundred years, stopping only to eat, drink, relieve himself and sleep off fatigue, and died without reaching it.
The Buddha says the end of the world cannot be reached by travelling, yet without reaching the end of the world there is no making an end of suffering. And: "It is in this fathom-long body, with its perception and mind, that I declare the world, the origin of the world, the cessation of the world, and the way leading to the cessation of the world."
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1
The world — within this fathom-long body Lokaṃ
The world here is the world we experience through a body with perception and mind — not the geographical world whose edge one might travel to.
Applying it in daily lifeWhen you feel "the world is terrible", notice you're speaking of the world your mind is perceiving right now.
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2
The origin of the world Lokasamudayaṃ
The world of suffering arises in this body and mind, caused by craving — corresponding to the origin of suffering in the noble truths.
Applying it in daily lifeIf the world of suffering comes from craving within, fleeing elsewhere with the same craving just rebuilds the same world.
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3
The cessation of the world Lokanirodhaṃ
The cessation of the world of suffering is also found in this body and mind; there's no need to seek it elsewhere.
Applying it in daily lifeMoments when the mind lets go of craving even briefly show that the end of suffering isn't far away.
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4
The way to the cessation of the world Lokanirodhagāminipaṭipadaṃ
The way to the world's cessation is the noble eightfold path, practised with this very body and mind, requiring no journey anywhere.
Applying it in daily lifeWherever your body and mind are is a place to practise. No need to wait for a special place to begin.
Try it in daily life
Many people look outside for happiness or life's answers — changing jobs, moving cities, travelling, chasing endless new experiences. This discourse says outer journeys aren't wrong, but they won't reach the end of suffering, because the "world" that suffers lies in our own perceiving.
If you're thinking "things would be better somewhere else", also ask whether the mind you'd bring along would change. Read alongside "The Four Noble Truths", which has the same structure.
Sources in the Tipiṭaka
Tap to read the actual passage on the page cited.
- Rohitassa Sutta (Devaputta Saṁyutta) Thai Royal Edition · Volume 15 · page 72 The end of the world is in this fathom-long body with its perception and mind
- Rohitassa Vagga (Book of Fours) Thai Royal Edition · Volume 21 · page 44 The Aṅguttara Nikāya version of the Rohitassa Sutta
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