Cow Dung
Gomaya Sutta  (SN 22:96)

Near Sāvatthī. Then a certain monk went to the Blessed One and, on arrival, having bowed down to him, sat to one side. As he was sitting there, he said to the Blessed One, “Lord, is there any form that is constant, permanent, eternal, not subject to change, that will stay just as it is for eternity? Is there any feeling… any perception… Are there any fabrications… Is there any consciousness that is constant, permanent, eternal, not subject to change, that will stay just as it is for eternity?”

“No, monk, there is no form… no feeling… no perception… there are no fabrications… there is no consciousness that is constant, permanent, eternal, not subject to change, that will stay just as it is for eternity.”

Then the Blessed One, picking up a tiny bit of cow dung, said to the monk, “There isn’t even this much gaining of a self-state [attabhāva-paṭilābho] that is constant, permanent, eternal, not subject to change, that will stay just as it is for eternity. If there were even this much gaining of a self-state that was constant, permanent, eternal, not subject to change, that would stay just as it is for eternity, then this living of the holy life for the right ending of suffering & stress would not be discerned. But because there isn’t even this much gaining of a self-state that is constant, permanent, eternal, not subject to change, that will stay just as it is for eternity, this living of the holy life for the right ending of suffering & stress is discerned.

“Once, monk, I was a head-anointed noble warrior king. When I was a head-anointed noble warrior king, I had 84,000 cities, the chief of which was the capital city, Kusāvati. I had 84,000 palaces, the chief of which was the Dhamma Palace. I had 84,000 peak-roofed halls, the chief of which was the Great Array Peak-roofed Hall. I had 84,000 thrones made of ivory, made of heartwood, made of gold, made of silver, each spread with a long-fleeced coverlet, a white wool coverlet, an embroidered coverlet, a rug of kadali-deer hide, with a canopy above, & red cushions on either side.

“I had 84,000 bull elephants with golden ornaments, golden banners, covered with nets of golden thread, the chief of which was the royal bull elephant Uposatha. I had 84,000 thoroughbred steeds with golden ornaments, golden banners, covered with nets of golden thread, the chief of which was the royal thoroughbred steed Valāhaka. I had 84,000 chariots with golden ornaments, golden banners, covered with nets of golden thread, the chief of which was the chariot Vejayanta.

“I had 84,000 gems, the chief of which was the treasure gem. I had 84,000 women, the chief of which was Queen Bhaddā. I had 84,000 noble-warrior vassals, the chief of which was the commander gem. I had 84,000 cows with tethers of fine jute & milk pails of bronze. I had 84,000 koṭis [ten-millions] of garments made of fine linen, fine silk, fine wool, or fine cotton. I had 84,000 serving dishes on which meals were served in the morning & in the evening.

“Of those 84,000 cities, there was only one that I resided in at any one time: Kusāvati, the capital. Of those 84,000 palaces, there was only one that I resided in at any one time: the Dhamma Palace. Of those 84,000 peak-roofed halls, there was only one that I resided in at any one time: the Great Array Peak-roofed Hall. Of those 84,000 thrones, there was only one that I used at any one time: one made of ivory, one made of heartwood, one made of gold, or one made of silver.

“Of those 84,000 bull elephants, there was only one that I rode at any one time: the royal bull elephant Uposatha. Of those 84,000 thoroughbred steeds, there was only one that I rode at any one time: the royal thoroughbred steed Valāhaka. Of those 84,000 chariots, there was only one that I rode at any one time: the chariot Vejayanta.

“Of those 84,000 women, there was only one that attended to me at any one time: a noble-warrior one or a half-brahman, half-noble-warrior one. Of those 84,000 koṭis of garments, there was only one that I wore at any one time: one made of fine linen, one made of fine silk, one made of fine wool, or one made of fine cotton. Of those 84,000 serving dishes, there was only one from which I ate at any one time a measure of rice & a suitable amount of curry.

“But now, monk, all those fabrications are past. Ceased. Changed. That’s how inconstant fabrications are, monk. That’s how impermanent fabrications are, monk. That’s how unreliable all1 fabrications are, monk: enough to become disenchanted with all fabrications, enough to become dispassionate, enough to be released.”

See also: DN 16; SN 15:11–12; AN 3:15; AN 9:20