[776] "Sisters, suppose a skilled butcher or a butcher's apprentice, having slaughtered a cow, were to carve up the cow with a sharp butcher's knife — without damaging the inner mass of flesh and without damaging the outer mass of hide — and whatever inner muscle, inner sinew, and inner ligament lay in between there, all that he would cut through, cut away, and cut all around with the sharp butcher's knife; and having cut through, cut away, and cut all around, having stripped off the outer mass of hide, he were to cover that cow with that very same hide and say: 'This cow is joined to this hide just as before' — speaking thus, sisters, would he be speaking rightly?"
"No, venerable sir."
"Why is that?"
"Because, venerable sir, that skilled butcher or butcher's apprentice, having slaughtered a cow, might carve up the cow with a sharp butcher's knife — without damaging the inner mass of flesh and without damaging the outer mass of hide — and whatever inner muscle, inner sinew, and inner ligament lay in between there, all that he might cut through, cut away, and cut all around with the sharp butcher's knife; and having cut through, cut away, and cut all around, having stripped off the outer mass of hide, he might cover that cow with that very same hide; yet even though he might say, 'This cow is joined to this hide just as before,' still that cow is disjoined from that very hide."
English translation from the Pali (Siam Raṭṭha edition) — under review, not for citation.