[282] When this was said, a certain bhikkhu said to the Blessed One: "Venerable sir, might there be agitation (paritassanā) about what is non-existent externally?"
"There might be, bhikkhu," the Blessed One said. "Here, bhikkhu, someone thinks thus: 'Ah, I had it! Ah, I have it no longer! Ah, may I have it! Ah, I do not get it!' He sorrows, is distressed, laments, weeps beating his breast, and falls into confusion. Thus, bhikkhu, there is agitation about what is non-existent externally."
"But, venerable sir, might there be non-agitation about what is non-existent externally?"
"There might be, bhikkhu," the Blessed One said. "Here, bhikkhu, someone does not think thus: 'Ah, I had it! Ah, I have it no longer! Ah, may I have it! Ah, I do not get it!' He does not sorrow, is not distressed, does not lament, does not weep beating his breast, and does not fall into confusion. Thus, bhikkhu, there is non-agitation about what is non-existent externally."
"Might there be, venerable sir, agitation about what is non-existent internally?"
"There might be, bhikkhu," the Blessed One said. "Here, bhikkhu, someone has this view: 'That is the world, that is the self; after death I shall be that—permanent, stable, eternal, not subject to change; I shall endure the same as eternity itself.' He hears the Tathāgata, or a disciple of the Tathāgata, teaching the Dhamma for the uprooting of all standpoints for views, adherences, obsessions, insistences, and underlying tendencies; for the stilling of all formations, for the relinquishment of all acquisitions, for the destruction of craving (taṇhā), for dispassion, for cessation (nirodha), for Nibbāna. It occurs to him thus: 'So I shall be annihilated! So I shall perish! So I shall be no more!' He sorrows, is distressed, laments, weeps beating his breast, and falls into confusion. Thus, bhikkhu, there is agitation about what is non-existent internally."
"But, venerable sir, might there be non-agitation about what is non-existent internally?"
"There might be, bhikkhu," the Blessed One said. "Here, bhikkhus, someone does not have this view: 'That is the world, that is the self; after death I shall be that—permanent, stable, eternal, not subject to change; I shall endure the same as eternity itself.' He hears the Tathāgata, or a disciple of the Tathāgata, teaching the Dhamma for the uprooting of all standpoints for views, adherences, obsessions, insistences, and underlying tendencies; for the stilling of all formations, for the relinquishment of all acquisitions, for the destruction of craving, for dispassion, for cessation, for Nibbāna. It does not occur to him thus: 'So I shall be annihilated! So I shall perish! So I shall be no more!' He does not sorrow, is not distressed, does not lament, does not weep beating his breast, and does not fall into confusion. Thus, bhikkhu, there is non-agitation about what is non-existent internally."
English translation from the Pali (Siam Raṭṭha edition) — under review, not for citation.