[743] "Then, Bhāradvāja, a third simile occurred to me, spontaneous, never heard before. Suppose, Bhāradvāja, there were a dry, sapless log, lying on land far from water. Then a man might come along bringing an upper fire-stick, thinking, 'I shall kindle a fire, I shall produce heat.' What do you think, Bhāradvāja? Could that man, taking the upper fire-stick and rubbing it against that dry, sapless log lying on land far from water, kindle a fire and produce heat?"
"He could, worthy Gotama. Why is that? Because, worthy Gotama, that log is dry and sapless, and moreover it is lying on land far from water."
"So too, Bhāradvāja, whatever ascetics or brahmins live withdrawn in body from sensual pleasures, and in whom sensual desire (kāmacchanda), sensual affection, sensual infatuation, sensual thirst, and sensual fever regarding sensual pleasures have been well abandoned and well stilled within — even if those worthy ascetics and brahmins experience painful, racking, sharp feelings (vedanā) due to exertion, they are indeed capable of knowledge (ñāṇa), of vision, of unsurpassed awakening (sambodhi); and even if those worthy ascetics and brahmins do not experience painful, racking, sharp feelings due to exertion, they are still capable of knowledge, of vision, of unsurpassed awakening. This, Bhāradvāja, was the third simile that occurred to me, spontaneous, never heard before. These, Bhāradvāja, 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English translation from the Pali (Siam Raṭṭha edition) — under review, not for citation.