法苑珠林 66.7

66.7

如中阿含經云。爾時世尊告諸比丘。眾生無始生死長夜轉輪不知苦之本際。諸比丘於意云何。若此大地一切草木。以四指量斬以為籌。以數汝等長夜輪轉生死所依父母。籌數已盡。其諸父母數猶不盡。諸比丘。如是無始生死長夜。輪轉故。不知苦之本際。

As the Madhyamāgama says: At that time, the World-Honoured One addressed the monks: 'Sentient beings transmigrate through the long night of beginningless birth and death, unaware of the fundamental limit of suffering. Monks, what do you think? If all the grasses and trees of this great earth were cut into tallies four fingers long, and used to count the parents upon whom you have depended during your long night of transmigrating through birth and death, the number of tallies would be exhausted, yet the number of those parents would still not be exhausted. Monks, it is because of transmigrating through the long night of such beginningless birth and death that one does not know the fundamental limit of suffering.'