Samyutta Nikaya XXXV.63
Chiggala Sutta
The Hole
"Monks, suppose that this great earth were totally covered with water,
and a man were to toss a yoke with a single hole there. A wind from the
east would push it west, a wind from the west would push it east. A wind
from the north would push it south, a wind from the south would push it
north. And suppose a blind sea-turtle were there. It would come to the
surface once every one hundred years. Now what do you think: would that
blind sea-turtle, coming to the surface once every one hundred years, stick
his neck into the yoke with a single hole?"
"It would be a sheer coincidence, lord, that the blind sea-turtle, coming
to the surface once every one hundred years, would stick his neck into
the yoke with a single hole."
"It's likewise a sheer coincidence that one obtains the human state.
It's likewise a sheer coincidence that a Tathagata, worthy & rightly
self-awakened, arises in the world. It's likewise a sheer coincidence that
a doctrine & discipline expounded by a Tathagata appears in the world.
Now, this human state has been obtained. A Tathagata, worthy & rightly
self-awakened, has arisen in the world. A doctrine & discipline expounded
by a Tathagata appears in the world.
"Therefore your duty is the contemplation: 'This is stress...This is the
origination of stress...This is the cessation of stress...This is the path
of practice leading to the cessation of stress.'"