[666] "But, brahmin, does the whole world grant this to the brahmins: 'Let them prescribe these four kinds of wealth'?"
"Indeed not, Master Gotama."
"Brahmin, just as if, to a man who is poor, owning nothing, destitute, they were against his will to hang up a portion of meat, saying: 'Good man, this meat must be eaten by you, and the price must be paid' — even so, brahmin, the brahmins prescribe these four kinds of wealth without the consent of those ascetics and brahmins.
But I, brahmin, declare the noble, supramundane (lokuttara) Dhamma to be a person's own wealth (sadhana). Yet when he recollects his ancient family lineage on his mother's and father's side, wherever his individual existence (attabhāva) comes to rebirth, by that very [family] he is reckoned. If his individual existence comes to rebirth in a khattiya family, he is reckoned simply as a khattiya; if his individual existence comes to rebirth in a brahmin family, he is reckoned simply as a brahmin; if his individual existence comes to rebirth in a vessa family, he is reckoned simply as a vessa; if his individual existence comes to rebirth in a sudda family, he is reckoned simply as a sudda.
Just as, brahmin, whatever the condition dependent upon which a fire burns, by that very condition it is reckoned: if a fire burns dependent on logs, it is reckoned simply as a log fire; if a fire burns dependent on chips, it is reckoned simply as a chip fire; if a fire burns dependent on grass, it is reckoned simply as a grass fire; if a fire burns dependent on cow-dung, it is reckoned simply as a cow-dung fire — even so, brahmin, I declare the noble, supramundane Dhamma to be a person's own wealth. Yet when he recollects his ancient family lineage on his mother's and father's side, wherever his individual existence comes to rebirth, by that very [family] he is reckoned. If his individual existence comes to rebirth in a khattiya family, he is reckoned simply as a khattiya; if his individual existence comes to rebirth in a brahmin family, he is reckoned simply as a brahmin; if his individual existence comes to rebirth in a vessa family, he is reckoned simply as a vessa; if his individual existence comes to rebirth in a sudda family, he is reckoned simply as a sudda."
English translation from the Pali (Siam Raṭṭha edition) — under review, not for citation.