user16489: Below is from Ariyapariyesana Sutta

"Monks, there are these two searches: ignoble search & noble search.
  And what is ignoble search? There is the case where a person, being
  subject himself to birth, seeks [happiness in] what is likewise
  subject to birth. Being subject himself to aging... illness...
  death... sorrow... defilement, he seeks [happiness in] what is
  likewise subject to illness... death... sorrow... defilement.
"And what may be said to be subject to aging... illness... death...
  sorrow... defilement? Spouses & children... men & women slaves...
  goats & sheep... fowl & pigs... elephants, cattle, horses, & mares...
  gold & silver [2] are subject to aging... illness... death...
  sorrow... defilement. Subject to aging... illness... death...
  sorrow... defilement are these acquisitions, and one who is tied to
  them, infatuated with them, who has totally fallen for them, being
  subject to birth, seeks what is likewise subject to aging...
  illness... death... sorrow... defilement. This is ignoble search.
"And what is the noble search? There is the case where a person,
  himself being subject to birth, seeing the drawbacks of birth, seeks
  the unborn, unexcelled rest from the yoke: Unbinding. Himself being
  subject to aging... illness... death... sorrow... defilement, seeing
  the drawbacks of aging... illness... death... sorrow... defilement,
  seeks the aging-less, illness-less, deathless, sorrow-less, undefiled,
  unexcelled rest from the yoke: Unbinding. This is the noble search.

When this is closely read, it seems the word Birth which is relevant to  Buddha's noble search (and this comes in the first Noble Truth of Dukkha as well)  is not about birth from a mother -- because if it is, then how come the gold & silver are there?
Although this footnote 2 says ...

The Burmese, Sri Lankan, and PTS editions of the Canon exclude gold and silver from the list of objects subject to illness, death, and sorrow, apparently on the grounds that they themselves do not grow ill, die, or feel sorrow.

... however it's not excluded in Sri Lankan editions of the Canon, no it is not. And who can do such a change? Only Buddha or Arhat only can understand this totally, isn't it?
And in the last paragraph, it's very clear that noble search is concluded to unexcelled rest from the yoke: Unbinding. Is it unbinding from birth? Yes (because that's told). But birth of what? it's not the someone's birth is it? It should be birth of Yoke.
And this yoke is generated on the mentioned objects (Spouses & children... men & women slaves... goats & sheep... fowl & pigs... elephants, cattle, horses, & mares... gold & silver) thinking they are worth or nice.
Then what we should think: Birth is dukkha, or Yoke is dukkha? Because birth, ageing or death can be a pleasurable things for some people, while some other people suffer (Dukkha) on that (e.g. death of a terrorist is not a suffer, birth of a baby is not a suffer to his parents, ageing is not a suffer to 17 years old boy...)
What do you think, am I mistaken on this? If so please explain why the gold & silver is there? And why Birth, Age, Death are treated as Dukkha?

user254: I think that Ven. Sariputta defines birth, ageing, and death -- as an analysis of the first noble truth -- in MN 141

Now what, friends, is the noble truth of stress? Birth is stressful, aging is stressful, death is stressful; sorrow, lamentation, pain, distress, & despair are stressful; not getting what is wanted is stressful.[2] In short, the five clinging-aggregates are stressful.
"And what is birth? Whatever birth, taking birth, descent, coming-to-be, coming-forth, appearance of aggregates, & acquisition of [sense] spheres of the various beings in this or that group of beings, that is called birth.
"And what is aging? Whatever aging, decrepitude, brokenness, graying, wrinkling, decline of life-force, weakening of the faculties of the various beings in this or that group of beings, that is called aging.
"And what is death? Whatever deceasing, passing away, breaking up, disappearance, dying, death, completion of time, break up of the aggregates, casting off of the body, interruption in the life faculty of the various beings in this or that group of beings, that is called death.
"And what is sorrow? Whatever sorrow, sorrowing, sadness, inward sorrow, inward sadness of anyone suffering from misfortune, touched by a painful thing, that is called sorrow.

There are other translations.

Piya Tan's


(1) And what, avuso, is birth?
  Being born, becoming, descending [into a womb], [arising,]25 generating, manifesting of the
  aggregates, obtaining the sense-bases of various beings, in various groups of beings, here and there.
  —This, avuso, is called birth.26
(2) And what, avuso, is decay?
  27
  Ageing, decaying, broken teeth, grey hair, wrinkled skin, the dwindling away of one’s years, the
  weakness of the sense-faculties, in various beings, in various groups of beings, here and there.28
  —This, avuso, is called decay.
(3) And what, avuso, is death?
  Falling away, passing away, breaking up, disappearance, death, dying, one’s time being up29
  [completion of one’s time], breaking up of the aggregates, discarding of the body, [uprooting of the
  life-faculty,]30 in various beings, in various groups of beings, here and there.31
  —This, avuso, is called death.
(4a) And what, avuso, is sorrow?
  One’s being touched [affected] by one thing or other of a painful nature, by any kind of misfortune, sorrow, grief, distress, inner grief, inner woe, here and there.
  32 [D 2:306]
  —This, avuso, is called sorrow.


Ven. Sujato's

And what is the noble truth of suffering? Rebirth is suffering; old age is suffering; death is suffering; sorrow, lamentation, pain, sadness, and distress are suffering; association with the disliked is suffering; separation from the liked is suffering; not getting what you wish for is suffering. In brief, the five grasping aggregates are suffering.
And what is rebirth? The rebirth, inception, conception, reincarnation, manifestation of the aggregates, and acquisition of the sense fields of the various sentient beings in the various orders of sentient beings. This is called rebirth.
And what is old age? The old age, decrepitude, broken teeth, grey hair, wrinkly skin, diminished vitality, and failing faculties of the various sentient beings in the various orders of sentient beings. This is called old age.
And what is death? The passing away, perishing, disintegration, demise, mortality, death, decease, breaking up of the aggregates, laying to rest of the corpse, and cutting off of the life faculty of the various sentient beings in the various orders of sentient beings. This is called death.
And what is sorrow? The sorrow, sorrowing, state of sorrow, inner sorrow, inner deep sorrow in someone who has undergone misfortune, who has experienced suffering. This is called sorrow.


As for "gold" being subject to birth, I assume that means that the existence of "gold" in an aggregate (e.g. as a sense-object etc.) depends on birth.
The bit you quotes says (with my emphasis added):

And what may be said to be subject to birth? Spouses & children are subject to birth. Men & women slaves... goats & sheep... fowl & pigs... elephants, cattle, horses, & mares... gold & silver are subject to birth. Subject to birth are these acquisitions, and one who is tied to them, infatuated with them, who has totally fallen for them, being subject to birth, seeks what is likewise subject to birth.

I take that as saying that gold is an "acquisition" (and/or is the object of an ignoble search) -- and that "acquisitions" are subject to birth and death.
That interpretation more-or-less fits with the footnote 2 which you quoted, which says,

The Thai edition of the Canon includes gold and silver in the list of objects subject to illness, death, and sorrow in the sense that any happiness based on them is subject to change because of one's own illness, death, and sorrow.

There's another sutta, SN 12.67, in which Ven. Sariputta clarifies that "birth" etc. isn't a characteristic that's inherent in a thing -- that birth is a result of clinging and becoming.

I think that people also say that (notwithstanding Ven. Sariputta's seemingly-physical definition) "birth" is used to describe the arising of self-views -- for example, "I am the owner of this gold" is a self-view, the arising of that view might be considered a "birth" (and is subject to illness and death and so on).
It might be helpful to remember that the world according to Buddhism is maybe more subjective than today's view -- it's the world of experience -- in which gold may not have an independent existence of its own, but exists as an (impermanent) experience.

Incidentally, in this version of the sutta, gold and money are listed as being subject to corruption -- but not as being subject to "birth... aging... illness... death... sorrow... defilement".
My guess is that's because of the way in which suttas are memorised and recited -- perhaps they ...

List a lot of things subject to birth
List again the same lot of things subject to aging
List again the same lot of things subject to illness
Etc.

... without noticing that automatic repetition may not entirely make sense, is perhaps less readily understood, for one of the things in the list.

user43: Here, "X is subject to birth, aging... illness... death... sorrow... defilement" - means that X has beginning and end, that X changes with time and slowly falls apart, that X depends on external conditions to be just right for its existence, - and that therefore X is not 100% reliable, so you can't use X as foundation for building 100% stable peace and happiness. That X is never really what it looks like, so if you build your happiness on top of X, it will betray and disappoint you. Even if association with X may seem like bringing happiness on the short term, on the long term it will definitely bring eventual suffering. That's what this means.
Gold and silver are there as examples of worldly pursuits and worldly possessions. No matter how much you have, you can't buy happiness, can't buy health, and can't buy eternal life. At their best they can only bring intermittent short-term happiness mixed with troubles and pain, ending in eventual destruction.
So Birth here is coming together of any form (samskara) - and Aging-and-Death is its falling apart. Bhava is the continuity and cohesiveness we imagine in between the two.
Births and Deaths are not dukkha if there is no attachment: craving, grasping, denying - either "for" or "against". Attachment, in turn, comes from getting stuck on a certain mental context. If you stop getting stuck you can learn to be free. This is what they call Unbinding.
Not being stuck means things are just such, regardless of births and deaths. Being wrong against some definition of right is the nature of dukkha. Being just such is the nature of peace.

16489: <p>Below is from <a href="https://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/mn/mn.026.than.html" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Ariyapariyesana Sutta</a></p>

<blockquote>
  <p>"Monks, there are these two searches: ignoble search &amp; noble search.
  And what is ignoble search? There is the case where a person, being
  subject himself to birth, seeks [happiness in] what is likewise
  subject to birth. Being subject himself to aging... illness...
  death... sorrow... defilement, he seeks [happiness in] what is
  likewise subject to illness... death... sorrow... defilement.</p>
  
  <p>"And what may be said to be subject to aging... illness... death...
  sorrow... defilement? Spouses &amp; children... men &amp; women slaves...
  goats &amp; sheep... fowl &amp; pigs... elephants, cattle, horses, &amp; mares...
  gold &amp; silver <strong><a href="https://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/mn/mn.026.than.html#fn-2" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><code>[2]</code></a></strong> are subject to aging... illness... death...
  sorrow... defilement. Subject to aging... illness... death...
  sorrow... defilement are these acquisitions, and one who is tied to
  them, infatuated with them, who has totally fallen for them, being
  subject to birth, seeks what is likewise subject to aging...
  illness... death... sorrow... defilement. This is ignoble search.</p>
  
  <p>"And what is the noble search? There is the case where a person,
  himself being subject to birth, seeing the drawbacks of birth, seeks
  the unborn, unexcelled rest from the yoke: Unbinding. Himself being
  subject to aging... illness... death... sorrow... defilement, seeing
  the drawbacks of aging... illness... death... sorrow... defilement,
  seeks the aging-less, illness-less, deathless, sorrow-less, undefiled,
  unexcelled rest from the yoke: Unbinding. This is the noble search.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>When this is closely read, it seems the word <code>Birth</code> which is relevant to  Buddha's noble search (and this comes in the first Noble Truth of Dukkha as well)  is not about birth from a mother -- because if it is, then how come the <code>gold &amp; silver</code> are there?</p>

<p>Although <a href="https://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/mn/mn.026.than.html#fn-2" rel="nofollow noreferrer">this footnote 2</a> says ...</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>The Burmese, Sri Lankan, and PTS editions of the Canon exclude gold and silver from the list of objects subject to illness, death, and sorrow, apparently on the grounds that they themselves do not grow ill, die, or feel sorrow.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>... however it's not excluded in Sri Lankan editions of the Canon, no it is not. And who can do such a change? Only Buddha or Arhat only can understand this totally, isn't it?</p>

<p>And in the last paragraph, it's very clear that noble search is concluded to <code>unexcelled rest from the yoke: Unbinding</code>. Is it unbinding from birth? Yes (because that's told). But birth of what? it's not the someone's birth is it? It should be birth of Yoke.</p>

<p>And this yoke is generated on the mentioned objects (<code>Spouses &amp; children... men &amp; women slaves... goats &amp; sheep... fowl &amp; pigs... elephants, cattle, horses, &amp; mares... gold &amp; silver</code>) thinking they are worth or nice.</p>

<p>Then what we should think: Birth is dukkha, or Yoke is dukkha? Because birth, ageing or death can be a pleasurable things for some people, while some other people suffer (<code>Dukkha</code>) on that (e.g. death of a terrorist is not a suffer, birth of a baby is not a suffer to his parents, ageing is not a suffer to 17 years old boy...)</p>

<p>What do you think, am I mistaken on this? If so please explain why the gold &amp; silver is there? And why Birth, Age, Death are treated as Dukkha?</p>
 254: <p>I think that Ven. Sariputta defines birth, ageing, and death -- as an analysis of the first noble truth -- in <a href="https://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/mn/mn.141.than.html" rel="nofollow noreferrer">MN 141</a></p>

<blockquote>
  <p>Now what, friends, is the noble truth of stress? Birth is stressful, aging is stressful, death is stressful; sorrow, lamentation, pain, distress, &amp; despair are stressful; not getting what is wanted is stressful.[2] In short, the five clinging-aggregates are stressful.</p>
  
  <p>"And what is birth? Whatever birth, taking birth, descent, coming-to-be, coming-forth, appearance of aggregates, &amp; acquisition of [sense] spheres of the various beings in this or that group of beings, that is called birth.</p>
  
  <p>"And what is aging? Whatever aging, decrepitude, brokenness, graying, wrinkling, decline of life-force, weakening of the faculties of the various beings in this or that group of beings, that is called aging.</p>
  
  <p>"And what is death? Whatever deceasing, passing away, breaking up, disappearance, dying, death, completion of time, break up of the aggregates, casting off of the body, interruption in the life faculty of the various beings in this or that group of beings, that is called death.</p>
  
  <p>"And what is sorrow? Whatever sorrow, sorrowing, sadness, inward sorrow, inward sadness of anyone suffering from misfortune, touched by a painful thing, that is called sorrow.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>There are other translations.</p>

<ul>
<li><p><a href="http://www.themindingcentre.org/dharmafarer/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/1.11-Ariya-Pariyesana-S-m26.pdf" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Piya Tan's</a></p>

<blockquote>
  <ol start="11">
  <li>(1) And what, avuso, is birth?
  Being born, becoming, descending [into a womb], [arising,]25 generating, manifesting of the
  aggregates, obtaining the sense-bases of various beings, in various groups of beings, here and there.
  —This, avuso, is called birth.26</li>
  <li>(2) And what, avuso, is decay?
  27
  Ageing, decaying, broken teeth, grey hair, wrinkled skin, the dwindling away of one’s years, the
  weakness of the sense-faculties, in various beings, in various groups of beings, here and there.28
  —This, avuso, is called decay.</li>
  <li>(3) And what, avuso, is death?
  Falling away, passing away, breaking up, disappearance, death, dying, one’s time being up29
  [completion of one’s time], breaking up of the aggregates, discarding of the body, [uprooting of the
  life-faculty,]30 in various beings, in various groups of beings, here and there.31
  —This, avuso, is called death.</li>
  <li>(4a) And what, avuso, is sorrow?
  One’s being touched [affected] by one thing or other of a painful nature, by any kind of misfortune, sorrow, grief, distress, inner grief, inner woe, here and there.
  32 [D 2:306]
  —This, avuso, is called sorrow.</li>
  </ol>
</blockquote></li>
<li><p><a href="https://suttacentral.net/mn141/en/sujato" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Ven. Sujato's</a></p>

<blockquote>
  <p>And what is the noble truth of suffering? Rebirth is suffering; old age is suffering; death is suffering; sorrow, lamentation, pain, sadness, and distress are suffering; association with the disliked is suffering; separation from the liked is suffering; not getting what you wish for is suffering. In brief, the five grasping aggregates are suffering.</p>
  
  <p>And what is rebirth? The rebirth, inception, conception, reincarnation, manifestation of the aggregates, and acquisition of the sense fields of the various sentient beings in the various orders of sentient beings. This is called rebirth.</p>
  
  <p>And what is old age? The old age, decrepitude, broken teeth, grey hair, wrinkly skin, diminished vitality, and failing faculties of the various sentient beings in the various orders of sentient beings. This is called old age.</p>
  
  <p>And what is death? The passing away, perishing, disintegration, demise, mortality, death, decease, breaking up of the aggregates, laying to rest of the corpse, and cutting off of the life faculty of the various sentient beings in the various orders of sentient beings. This is called death.</p>
  
  <p>And what is sorrow? The sorrow, sorrowing, state of sorrow, inner sorrow, inner deep sorrow in someone who has undergone misfortune, who has experienced suffering. This is called sorrow.</p>
</blockquote></li>
</ul>

<p>As for "gold" being subject to birth, I assume that means that the existence of "gold" in an aggregate (e.g. as a sense-object etc.) depends on birth.</p>

<p>The bit you quotes says (with my emphasis added):</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>And what may be said to be subject to birth? Spouses &amp; children are subject to birth. Men &amp; women slaves... goats &amp; sheep... fowl &amp; pigs... elephants, cattle, horses, &amp; mares... gold &amp; silver are subject to birth. <strong>Subject to birth are these acquisitions</strong>, and one who is tied to them, infatuated with them, who has totally fallen for them, being subject to birth, seeks what is likewise subject to birth.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>I take that as saying that gold is an "acquisition" (and/or is the object of an ignoble search) -- and that "acquisitions" are subject to birth and death.</p>

<p>That interpretation more-or-less fits with the <a href="https://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/mn/mn.026.than.html#fn-2" rel="nofollow noreferrer">footnote 2</a> which you quoted, which says,</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>The Thai edition of the Canon includes gold and silver in the list of objects subject to illness, death, and sorrow in the sense that any happiness based on them is subject to change because of one's own illness, death, and sorrow.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>There's another sutta, <a href="https://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/sn/sn12/sn12.067.than.html" rel="nofollow noreferrer">SN 12.67</a>, in which Ven. Sariputta clarifies that "birth" etc. isn't a characteristic that's inherent in a thing -- that birth is a result of clinging and becoming.</p>

<hr>

<p>I think that people also say that (notwithstanding Ven. Sariputta's seemingly-physical definition) "birth" is used to describe the arising of self-views -- for example, "I am the owner of this gold" is a self-view, the arising of that view might be considered a "birth" (and is subject to illness and death and so on).</p>

<p>It might be helpful to remember that the world according to Buddhism is maybe more subjective than today's view -- it's the world of experience -- in which gold may not have an independent existence of its own, but exists as an (impermanent) experience.</p>

<hr>

<p>Incidentally, in <a href="https://suttacentral.net/mn26/en/sujato" rel="nofollow noreferrer">this version</a> of the sutta, gold and money are listed as being subject to corruption -- but not as being subject to "birth... aging... illness... death... sorrow... defilement".</p>

<p>My guess is that's because of the way in which suttas are memorised and recited -- perhaps they ...</p>

<ul>
<li>List a lot of things subject to birth</li>
<li>List again the same lot of things subject to aging</li>
<li>List again the same lot of things subject to illness</li>
<li>Etc.</li>
</ul>

<p>... without noticing that automatic repetition may not entirely make sense, is perhaps less readily understood, for one of the things in the list.</p>
 43: <p>Here, "X is subject to birth, aging... illness... death... sorrow... defilement" - means that X has beginning and end, that X changes with time and slowly falls apart, that X depends on external conditions to be just right for its existence, - and that therefore X is not 100% reliable, so you can't use X as foundation for building 100% stable peace and happiness. That X is never really what it <em>looks</em> like, so if you build your happiness on top of X, it will betray and disappoint you. Even if association with X may seem like bringing happiness on the short term, on the long term it will definitely bring eventual suffering. That's what this means.</p>

<p>Gold and silver are there as examples of worldly pursuits and worldly possessions. No matter how much you have, you can't buy happiness, can't buy health, and can't buy eternal life. At their best they can only bring intermittent short-term happiness mixed with troubles and pain, ending in eventual destruction.</p>

<p>So Birth here is coming together of any form (samskara) - and Aging-and-Death is its falling apart. Bhava is the continuity and cohesiveness we imagine in between the two.</p>

<p>Births and Deaths are not dukkha if there is no attachment: craving, grasping, denying - either "for" or "against". Attachment, in turn, comes from getting stuck on a certain mental context. If you stop getting stuck you can learn to be free. This is what they call Unbinding.</p>

<p>Not being stuck means things are just such, regardless of births and deaths. Being wrong against some definition of right is the nature of dukkha. Being just such is the nature of peace.</p>
