[474] Then the Blessed One, having taken up a small stone the size of his palm, addressed the bhikkhus: "What do you think, bhikkhus? Which is greater—this small stone, the size of a palm, that I have taken up, or the Himavā, king of mountains?"
"Venerable sir, this small stone, the size of a palm, that the Blessed One has taken up is a trifling thing. Set beside the Himavā, king of mountains, it does not amount even to reckoning, it does not amount even to a fraction, it does not admit even of comparison."
"Even so, bhikkhus, the suffering (dukkha) and grief that a man experiences on that account when being struck with three hundred spears—set beside the suffering of hell (niraya), it does not amount even to reckoning, it does not amount even to a fraction, it does not admit even of comparison."
English translation from the Pali (Siam Raṭṭha edition) — under review, not for citation.