[427] "Then, Aggivessana, having eaten solid food and regained strength, quite secluded from sensual pleasures, secluded from unwholesome states, I entered upon and dwelt in the first jhāna, which is accompanied by applied thought and sustained thought, with rapture (pīti) and happiness born of seclusion. But even such pleasant feeling (vedanā), when it arose, did not remain overwhelming my mind (citta). With the subsiding of applied thought and sustained thought, [I entered upon and dwelt in] the second jhāna, which has internal confidence and unification of mind, is without applied thought and without sustained thought, with rapture and happiness born of concentration (samādhi) … the third jhāna … I entered upon and dwelt in the fourth jhāna. But even such pleasant feeling, when it arose, did not remain overwhelming my mind.
"When my mind was thus concentrated, purified, bright, unblemished, rid of defilement, malleable, wieldy, steady, and attained to imperturbability, I directed my mind to the knowledge (ñāṇa) of the recollection of past abodes. I recollected my manifold past abodes, that is: one birth, two births … Thus, with their aspects and particulars, I recollected my manifold past abodes. This, Aggivessana, was the first true knowledge attained by me in the first watch of the night: ignorance was dispelled, true knowledge arose; darkness was dispelled, light arose — as happens for one who dwells diligent, ardent, and resolute. But even such pleasant feeling, when it arose, did not remain overwhelming my mind."
English translation from the Pali (Siam Raṭṭha edition) — under review, not for citation.