[74] "What then, Sāriputta? As to those who in the past were Arahants, Perfectly Enlightened Ones — have you, encompassing their minds with your own mind (citta), known of all those Blessed Ones: 'Such was the virtue of those Blessed Ones; such were the qualities of those Blessed Ones; such was the wisdom of those Blessed Ones; such was the abiding of those Blessed Ones; such was the liberation of those Blessed Ones'?"
"No indeed, venerable sir."
"What then, Sāriputta? As to those who in the future will be Arahants, Perfectly Enlightened Ones — have you, encompassing their minds with your own mind, known of all those Blessed Ones: 'Such will be the virtue of those Blessed Ones; such the qualities …; such the wisdom …; such the abiding …; such will be the liberation of those Blessed Ones'?"
"No indeed, venerable sir."
"What then, Sāriputta? As to myself, at present the Arahant, the Perfectly Enlightened One — have you, encompassing my mind with your own mind, known: 'Such is the virtue of the Blessed One; such the qualities …; such the wisdom …; such the abiding …; such is the liberation of the Blessed One'?"
"No indeed, venerable sir."
"So here, Sāriputta, you have no knowledge encompassing the minds (cetopariyañāṇa) of the Arahants, the Perfectly Enlightened Ones of the past, the future, and the present. Why then, Sāriputta, have you uttered this grand, bull-like utterance, roared this lion's roar taken up categorically: 'Venerable sir, I have such confidence in the Blessed One that there has not been, there will not be, and there is not now found another ascetic or brahmin with direct knowledge surpassing that of the Blessed One, that is, with respect to perfect enlightenment (sambodhi)'?"
"Venerable sir, I have indeed no knowledge encompassing the minds of the Arahants, the Perfectly Enlightened Ones of the past, the future, and the present; yet I have known this by inference from the Dhamma (dhammanvaya). Suppose, venerable sir, there were a king's frontier city, with strong embankments, with strong walls and arched gateways, and with a single gate; and there a gatekeeper — wise, competent, and intelligent — who keeps out those unknown and admits those known. As he walks along the path encircling that city all around, he would not see a joint in the wall or an opening in the wall even so much as would allow a cat to slip out. It would occur to him: 'Whatever creatures of larger build enter or leave this city, all of them enter or leave by this very gate.' Even so, venerable sir, I have known this by inference from the Dhamma: those who in the past were Arahants, Perfectly Enlightened Ones — all those Blessed Ones, having abandoned the five hindrances (nīvaraṇa), the corruptions of the mind that weaken wisdom, with minds well established in the four establishments of mindfulness (satipaṭṭhāna), having developed the seven factors of awakening (bojjhaṅga) as they really are, were fully awakened to the unsurpassed perfect enlightenment. Those too, venerable sir, who in the future will be Arahants, Perfectly Enlightened Ones — all those Blessed Ones, having abandoned the five hindrances, the corruptions of the mind that weaken wisdom, with minds well established in the four establishments of mindfulness, having developed the seven factors of awakening as they really are, will be fully awakened to the unsurpassed perfect enlightenment. 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, with mind well established in the four establishments of mindfulness, having developed the seven factors of awakening as they really are, has been fully awakened to the unsurpassed perfect enlightenment.
"Here, venerable sir, I approached the Blessed One to hear the Dhamma. To me, venerable sir, the Blessed One taught the Dhamma — ever higher, ever more excellent, the dark and the bright together with their counterparts. In whatever way, venerable sir, the Blessed One taught me the Dhamma — ever higher, ever more excellent, the dark and the bright together with their counterparts — in just that way, having directly known a certain teaching here among those teachings, I came to a conclusion regarding the teachings; I gained confidence in the Teacher: 'The Blessed One is perfectly enlightened; the Dhamma is well proclaimed by the Blessed One; the Saṅgha is practicing well.'"
English translation from the Pali (Siam Raṭṭha edition) — under review, not for citation.