[447] The Blessed One said this: "Bhikkhus, this round of rebirth (saṃsāra) is without discoverable beginning. A first point is not discerned of beings hindered by ignorance (avijjā) and fettered by craving (taṇhā), running on and wandering. What do you think, bhikkhus: which is more — the blood you have shed and spilled as you ran on and wandered through this long course, your heads being cut off, or the water in the four great oceans?"
"Venerable sir, as we understand the Dhamma taught by the Blessed One, this alone is more: the blood we have shed and spilled as we ran on and wandered through this long course, our heads being cut off — not the water in the four great oceans."
English translation from the Pali (Siam Raṭṭha edition) — under review, not for citation.