[416] "Then, Aggivessana, a third simile occurred to me, spontaneous (anacchariyā), never heard before. Suppose, Aggivessana, there were a dry, sapless piece of wood lying on land, away from water. Then a man would come along bringing an upper fire-stick, thinking: 'I shall produce fire, I shall make heat appear.' What do you think, Aggivessana? Could that man, taking the upper fire-stick and rubbing it against that dry, sapless piece of wood lying on land far from water, produce fire and make heat appear?"
"He could, worthy Gotama. Why is that? Because, worthy Gotama, that wood is dry and sapless, and moreover it is lying on land far from water."
"So too, Aggivessana, whatever ascetics or brahmins dwell withdrawn in body from sensual pleasures, and in whom sensual desire (kāmacchanda) for sensual pleasures, sensual affection, sensual infatuation, sensual thirst, and sensual fever have been well abandoned and well stilled internally—even if those worthy ascetics and brahmins feel painful, sharp, severe, acute feelings (vedanā) due to exertion, they are indeed capable of knowledge (ñāṇa), of vision, of the supreme awakening; and even if those worthy ascetics and brahmins do not feel painful, sharp, severe, acute feelings due to exertion, they are indeed capable of knowledge, of vision, of the supreme awakening. This, Aggivessana, was the third simile that occurred to me, spontaneous, never heard before. These, Aggivessana, were the three similes that occurred to me, spontaneous, never heard before."
English translation from the Pali (Siam Raṭṭha edition) — under review, not for citation.