"When the cosmos comes to an end and contracts, and before a new cosmos begins, beings are mostly born in the Abhassara Brahma world. These luminous beings live for a long time, feeding on nothing but delight. And while the cosmos has contracted, there are no suns or stars, planets or moons.
"In the last contraction, in time an earth formed, beautiful and fragrant and sweet to taste. Beings who tasted the earth began to crave it. They sat gorging themselves on the sweet earth, and their luminescence disappeared. The light that left their bodies became the moon and sun, and in this way, night and day were distinguished, and months, and years, and seasons.
"As the beings stuffed themselves with sweet earth, their bodies became coarser. Some of them were handsome, but others were ugly. The handsome ones despised the ugly ones and became arrogant, and as a result, the sweet earth disappeared. And they were all very sorry.
"Then a fungus, something like a mushroom, grew, and it was wonderfully sweet. So they began stuffing themselves again, and again their bodies grew coarser. And, again, the more handsome ones grew arrogant, and the fungus disappeared. After that, they found sweet creepers, with the same result.
"Then rice appeared in abundance. Whatever rice they took for a meal had grown again by the next meal, so there was always food for everyone. During this time their bodies developed sex organs, which led to lust. Those who engaged in sex were despised by the others, and they were driven out of the villages. But then the exiles built their own villages.
"The beings who had given in to lust grew lazy, and they decided to not gather rice at every meal. Instead, they would gather enough rice for two meals, or five, or sixteen. But the rice they were hoarding grew mold, and the rice in the fields stopped growing back as quickly. The rice shortages caused the beings to distrust each other, so they divided up the fields into separate properties.
"Eventually a man took a plot that belonged to another and lied about it. In this way, theft and lying were born. People who were angry with the man hit him with fists and sticks, and punishment was born.