ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Agganna Sutta

Okay kiddo, so the Agganna Sutta is a story told by the Buddha about how the world began. It's like a fairy tale, but the story teaches us important lessons about the way we should live.

Once upon a time, there was no Earth, Sun, Moon, or stars. There was only a vast emptiness filled with water, and a great wind blowing over it. A golden orb appeared in the sky, and as it went around and around, it created heat and light. The wind dried up the water, and the Earth appeared.

Now, the important lesson is that the Earth wasn't created by a god or goddess, but by natural forces. This means that we shouldn't rely on some higher power to fix things for us all the time. We have to take responsibility for our actions and the world we live in.

Next, there were two kinds of beings on the Earth: the "luminous ones" who shone like stars, and the "earthy ones" who had physical bodies like we do. The luminous ones lived in harmony with each other and with nature, but the earthly ones started fighting and it caused a lot of problems.

The Buddha tells us that this is because the earthly ones started to have pride and say "I am better than you" to each other. They became selfish and greedy, wanting more and more for themselves. The luminous ones saw this and decided to leave the Earth and go to a different realm, leaving the Earth to the worldly beings.

Another important lesson here is that pride and greed can cause us to lose what is important in life, like our relationships with others and our connection to nature. We should always try to be humble and content with what we have.

In the end, the story of the Agganna Sutta teaches us that the world we live in was created by natural forces, and that we have a responsibility to take care of it and live in harmony with each other and with nature. We should try to be humble and content, and not let pride and greed get in the way of our relationships and our connection to the world around us.