Samyuttanikaya 12.6.5.55

12.6.5.55

Pañcame uddhaṃ ojaṃ abhiharantīti pathavīrasañca āporasañca upari āropenti. Ojāya āropitattā hatthasatubbedhassa rukkhassa aṅkuraggesu bindubindūni viya hutvā sineho tiṭṭhati. Idaṃ panettha opammasaṃsandanaṃ – mahārukkho viya hi tebhūmakavaṭṭaṃ, mūlāni viya āyatanāni, mūlehi ojāya ārohanaṃ viya chahi dvārehi kammārohanaṃ, ojāya abhiruḷhattā mahārukkhassa yāvakappaṭṭhānaṃ viya vaṭṭanissitabālaputhujjanassa chahi dvārehi kammaṃ āyūhantassa aparāparaṃ vaṭṭassa vaḍḍhanavasena dīgharattaṃ ṭhānaṃ.

In the fifth discourse, “they convey the nutritive essence upward” means they draw the earth-juice and water-juice upward. Because the nutritive essence has been drawn up, moisture stands as if in droplets at the tips of the shoots of a tree one hundred cubits tall. Here, this is the application of the simile: the great tree is like the cycle of existence in the three realms; the roots are like the sense bases; the drawing up of the nutritive essence through the roots is like the accumulation of kamma through the six doors; the great tree's standing for an eon because the nutritive essence has been drawn up is like the foolish ordinary person clinging to the cycle, who accumulates kamma through the six doors, standing for a long time by way of the cycle's increase over and over again.