Bhikkhus, this samsara is without conceivable beginning. No first point is discerned of beings roaming and wandering (in samsara), hindered by ignorance and fettered by craving. Just as a dog, tethered by a leash and Lied Lo a stout pole or post, keeps running and circling around that same pole or post, in the same way, bhikkhus, the uninstructed worldling, who is without regard for the noble ones … considers material form as self … or self as in conscious ness. He keeps running and circling around that same material form, that same feeling, that same perception, those same mental formations, that same consciousness. Running and circling thus, he is not released from material form, feeling, perception, mental formations, and consciousness; he is not released from birth, aging and death, from sorrow, lamentation, pain, grief, and despair, he is
not released from suffering, I declare. (S.X XII,99; iii, 150)
From Mahanindana sutta (bodhi translation p.95)
31 COULD (THE IDEA) “I AM THIS” OCCUR THERE?
CY. What has been explained so far? The round of existence has
been explained. For the Exalted One sometimes explains the round under
the heading of ignorance, sometimes under the heading of craving, and sometimes under the heading of views.Therein, in the passage: “Bhikkhus, no first point of ignorance is discerned, of which it could be said: ‘Before this there was no ignorance, afterwards it came into being.’ Nevertheless, ignorance has a specific condition” (A.X,61; v, 115)-the round is explained under the heading of ignorance. In the passage: “Bhikkhus, no first point of the craving for existence is discerned, of which it could be said: ‘Before this there was no craving for existence, afterwards it came into being.’ Nevertheless, the craving for existence has a specific condition” (A.X,62; v, 116)-the round is explained under the heading of craving. In the passage: “Bhikkhus, no first point of the view of existence is discerned, of which it could be said: ‘Before this there was no view of existence, afterwards it came into being.’ Nevertheless, the view of existence has a specific condition” (untraced)-the round is explained under the heading of views. Here, too, the round is explained under the heading of views. For the theorist, having taken pleasant feeling, etc. to be self, misapprehends them through ego-conceptions and conceptions of “mine”; be cause of this, passing away and re-arising from one state to another in all the realms of existence, modes of origin, destinations, stations for consciousness, and abodes of beings, he continually and constantly re volves like a ship on the ocean driven by a storm, unable lo lift his
head out from the round.
SUB. CY. Admittedly, in the earlier part of the sutta too (the part on dependent arising), the round of existence was explained. But here, by demonstrating the theorist’s inability to lift his head out from the round, the explanation reveals the extremely pernicious nature of wrong view. “No first point of ignorance is discerned”: (the Buddha is saying) "Since a beginning is non-existent, even my unobstructed omniscient knowledge does not discern one, of which it could be said: ‘Ignorance arose in the time of such and such a Buddha or universal monarch and did not exist before that time.’ " The specific condition for ignorance is the cankers, etc. “Craving for existence” is the craving which becomes the fetter to existence. The “view of existence” is the eternalist view.
So, does this mean there is no beginning of samsara? I guess it makes sense to me if I think about dependent origination in reverse. Since there is mentality and materiality now, there is a cause which is ignorance, so if someone discerns their past lives, they will always keep finding more and more past lives because as long as there are conditions in the present, there was a cause for those conditions in the past. So, each past lives has a cause from the farther past that caused these lives. As such, it’s impossible to discern the “first” life in samsara because that “first” life would have a cause which would mean there was a life before the “first” life, so there is no first life in samsara. It has no beginning.
“no beginning” would not describe what the Sutta transports.
How ever, more practical, or say in addition, aside of the factor of saṃvega, the required light, the Gems:
"Avijjā has it’s cause, it’s not so that it hasn’t. And what’s the cause of Avijjā? The five Nivarana’s should be said… [the line goes on till “Adhamma association” then it’s cause “inadmirable friends”. The other way around is also very helpful to figure out where the training stucks. AN 10.61, Avijjā Sutta. (no engl. transl. in the Sangha’s sphere)
Oh, Good Bhante gave out one: dhammatalks*org/suttas/AN/AN10_61.html