[77] Then the Blessed One, having stayed at Ambalaṭṭhikā for as long as he pleased, addressed the Venerable Ānanda: "Come, Ānanda, let us go to Nāḷandā." "Even so, venerable sir," the Venerable Ānanda replied to the Blessed One. Then the Blessed One, together with a great Saṅgha of bhikkhus, arrived at Nāḷandā. There the Blessed One stayed at Nāḷandā, in the Pāvādika Mango Grove.
Then the Venerable Sāriputta approached the Blessed One; having approached and paid homage to the Blessed One, he sat down at one side. Seated at one side, the Venerable Sāriputta said this to the Blessed One: "Venerable sir, I have such confidence (pasanna) in the Blessed One that there has not been, there will not be, and there does not now exist any other ascetic or brahmin of greater direct knowledge (abhiññā) than the Blessed One with respect to full awakening (sambodhi)."
"Lofty indeed, Sāriputta, is this bull-like utterance (āsabhivācā) you have spoken; you have grasped the matter categorically and roared a lion's roar, saying: 'Venerable sir, I have such confidence in the Blessed One that there has not been, there will not be, and there does not now exist any other ascetic or brahmin of greater direct knowledge than the Blessed One with respect to full awakening.' What then, Sāriputta—as to all those Blessed Ones, Arahants, Perfectly Enlightened Ones who existed in the past: have they been known to you, having encompassed their minds with your own mind, thus: 'Those Blessed Ones were of such virtue (sīla), thus; of such qualities; of such wisdom (paññā); of such abiding; those Blessed Ones were of such liberation, thus'?"
"Not so, venerable sir."
"What then, Sāriputta—as to all those Blessed Ones, Arahants, Perfectly Enlightened Ones who will exist in the future: have they been known to you, having encompassed their minds with your own mind, thus: 'Those Blessed Ones will be of such virtue, thus; of such qualities; of such wisdom; of such abiding; those Blessed Ones will be of such liberation, thus'?"
"Not so, venerable sir."
"What then, Sāriputta—as to me, the Arahant, the Perfectly Enlightened One at present: have I been known to you, having encompassed my mind with your own mind, thus: 'The Blessed One is of such virtue, thus; of such qualities; of such wisdom; of such abiding; the Blessed One is of such liberation, thus'?"
"Not so, venerable sir."
"So then, Sāriputta, in this matter you have no knowledge (ñāṇa) encompassing the minds of the Arahants, the Perfectly Enlightened Ones of the past, the future, and the present. That being so, why now, Sāriputta, have you spoken this lofty bull-like utterance, grasped the matter categorically, and roared a lion's roar, saying: 'Venerable sir, I have such confidence in the Blessed One that there has not been, there will not be, and there does not now exist any other ascetic or brahmin of greater direct knowledge than the Blessed One with respect to full awakening'?"
"Venerable sir, I have no knowledge encompassing the minds of the Arahants, the Perfectly Enlightened Ones of the past, the future, and the present; but I have known it by inference from the Dhamma (dhammanvaya). Suppose, venerable sir, there were a king's frontier city with strong gates, with strong ramparts and arched gateways, and with a single gate; and there were a gatekeeper there—wise, competent, and intelligent—who keeps out those unknown and lets in those known. Walking along the path that circles all around that city, he would not see a joint in the ramparts or a gap in the ramparts even so much as would let a cat slip out. It would occur to him: 'Whatever sizable creatures enter or leave this city, all of them enter or leave by this very gate.' Even so, venerable sir, have I known it by inference from the Dhamma: all those Blessed Ones, Arahants, Perfectly Enlightened Ones who existed in the past, venerable sir—all those Blessed Ones, having abandoned the five hindrances (nīvaraṇa), the corruptions of the mind that weaken wisdom, their minds (citta) well established in the four establishments of mindfulness (satipaṭṭhāna), having developed the seven factors of awakening (bojjhaṅga) as they really are, awakened to the unsurpassed perfect awakening. And all those Blessed Ones, Arahants, Perfectly Enlightened Ones who will exist in the future, venerable sir—all those Blessed Ones, having abandoned the five hindrances, the corruptions of the mind that weaken wisdom, their minds well established in the four establishments of mindfulness, having developed the seven factors of awakening as they really are, will awaken to the unsurpassed perfect awakening. And the Blessed One too, venerable sir, at present the Arahant, the Perfectly Enlightened One, having abandoned the five hindrances, the corruptions of the mind that weaken wisdom, his mind well established in the four establishments of mindfulness, having developed the seven factors of awakening as they really are, has awakened to the unsurpassed perfect awakening."
And there too, while staying at Nāḷandā in the Pāvādika Mango Grove, the Blessed One frequently gave this Dhamma discourse to the bhikkhus: "Such is virtue, such is concentration (samādhi), such is wisdom. Concentration imbued with virtue is of great fruit and great benefit; wisdom imbued with concentration is of great fruit and great benefit; the mind imbued with wisdom is rightly liberated from the taints (āsava), namely, the taint of sensuality, the taint of existence, and the taint of ignorance."
English translation from the Pali (Siam Raṭṭha edition) — under review, not for citation.