Buddha stories – Blind Turtle

Below is the story by Lord Buddha Siddarth Gautam where he explained how difficult is to attain human birth once you are born in the lower plane of existence. If anyone can understand the story than his or her life will change forever.

To explain the rarity of human birth, Buddha used the example of the Blind Turtle in the above story.

In the story of the blind turtle, Bhagwan Buddha illustrates the concept of how difficult it is to attain a human life, and how precious and valuable it is.

Buddha asked his bhikkhus:

Suppose at one end of the ocean you throw a yoke with one hole in it, and this yoke can go east, west, north, or south depending upon the flow of wind and from the other end of the Ocean, you sailed a blind turtle that only comes to the surface of the ocean once in 100 years.

Now, what is the possibility that such a time will come when the blind turtle eventually put his head through that yoke with the one hole in it?

Bhikkhus replied, “He might, Lord, but very very difficult and the time span will be astronomical and could be uncountable years”.

Buddha replied, “Bhikkhus, it is easier for the blind turtle to put his head through that yoke with a single hole in it than an ignorant person, once born in a lower realm, to come back to the human plane.”

According to Buddha teachings, human birth is considered to be rare and precious because it provides us with an opportunity to practice the spiritual path and cultivate positive qualities such as compassion, wisdom, and mindfulness.

Buddha explained that it is only through the great accumulation of positive karma that a being is able to get a human birth and hence one should use every single second of human life for liberation from all suffering.

Should you have any questions, feel free to write and I would be happy to answer.

May you be happy and peaceful. 🙏