[370] The Venerable Sāriputta saw the Venerable Revata and the Venerable Ānanda coming from afar. Having seen them, he said to the Venerable Ānanda: "Let the Venerable Ānanda come! Welcome to the Venerable Ānanda, the attendant of the Blessed One, who dwells in the Blessed One's presence. Delightful, friend Ānanda, is the Gosiṅga sal-tree wood; the night is moonlit; the sal trees are in blossom all over; heavenly fragrances, one would think, are wafting about. By what kind of bhikkhu (bhikkhu), friend Ānanda, would the Gosiṅga sal-tree wood be made to shine?"
"Here, friend Sāriputta, a bhikkhu is of great learning, a bearer of what he has heard, an accumulator of what he has heard. Those teachings that are good in the beginning, good in the middle, and good in the end, with meaning and with phrasing, which proclaim the holy life (brahmacariya) utterly complete and pure — of such teachings he has learned much, retained them, recited them verbally, examined them with the mind, and penetrated them well by view. He teaches the Dhamma to the four assemblies with well-rounded, unbroken words and phrases, for the uprooting of the underlying tendencies (anusaya). By such a bhikkhu, friend Sāriputta, would the Gosiṅga sal-tree wood be made to shine."
English translation from the Pali (Siam Raṭṭha edition) — under review, not for citation.