[130] "Venerable sir, what now is birth (jāti), and whose is this birth?"
"The question is not fitting," the Blessed One said. "Bhikkhu, whether one should say, 'What is birth, and whose is this birth?' or whether one should say, 'Birth is one thing, and this birth belongs to another' — both of these are the same in meaning, differing only in the phrasing. Bhikkhu, when there is the view 'the soul (jīva) and the body are the same,' there is no living of the holy life (brahmacariya); and, bhikkhu, when there is the view 'the soul is one thing, the body another,' there is no living of the holy life. Bhikkhu, without veering toward either of these two extremes, the Tathāgata teaches the Dhamma by the middle: 'With existence (bhava) as condition, birth.'"
English translation from the Pali (Siam Raṭṭha edition) — under review, not for citation.