[233] Then it occurred to the Venerable Channa: "This Venerable Ānanda is dwelling at Kosambī in Ghositārāma, praised by the Teacher and esteemed by his wise companions in the holy life. The Venerable Ānanda is capable of teaching me the Dhamma in such a way that I might see the Dhamma; and I have that much trust and intimacy with the Venerable Ānanda. Suppose I were to approach the Venerable Ānanda."
Then the Venerable Channa, having set his lodging in order and taken his bowl and robe, approached the Venerable Ānanda at Ghositārāma in Kosambī. Having approached, he exchanged greetings with the Venerable Ānanda, and when the courteous and memorable talk was concluded, he sat down to one side. Sitting to one side, the Venerable Channa said this to the Venerable Ānanda:
"On one occasion, friend Ānanda, I was dwelling at Bārāṇasī in the Deer Park at Isipatana. Then, friend, having emerged from seclusion in the evening, I took a key and went from dwelling to dwelling, and I said to the elder bhikkhus: 'Let the venerable elders exhort me; let the venerable elders instruct me; let the venerable elders give me a talk on Dhamma in such a way that I might see the Dhamma.' When this was said, friend, the elder bhikkhus said to me: 'Form (rūpa), friend Channa, is impermanent; feeling (vedanā)...; perception...; volitional formations...; consciousness is impermanent. Form is non-self ... consciousness is non-self. All formations are impermanent; all dhammas are non-self.'
"Then, friend, it occurred to me: 'I too think thus: form is impermanent ... consciousness is impermanent; form is non-self; feeling...; perception...; volitional formations...; consciousness is non-self; all formations are impermanent; all dhammas are non-self. And yet my mind (citta) does not leap forward, does not gain confidence, does not become settled, is not liberated in the stilling of all formations, in the relinquishment of all acquisitions (upadhi), in the destruction of craving (taṇhā), in dispassion (virāga), in cessation (nirodha), in Nibbāna. Agitation and clinging (paritassanā-upādāna) arise, and the mind turns back, thinking: "Then what indeed is my self?" But this does not happen to one who sees the Dhamma. Who, now, could teach me the Dhamma in such a way that I might see the Dhamma?'
"Then, friend, it occurred to me: 'This Venerable Ānanda is dwelling at Kosambī in Ghositārāma, praised by the Teacher and esteemed by his wise companions in the holy life. The Venerable Ānanda is capable of teaching me the Dhamma in such a way that I might see the Dhamma; and there is that much trust and intimacy with the Venerable Ānanda. Suppose I were to approach the Venerable Ānanda.'
"Let the Venerable Ānanda exhort me; let the Venerable Ānanda instruct me; let the Venerable Ānanda give me a talk on Dhamma in such a way that I might see the Dhamma."
English translation from the Pali (Siam Raṭṭha edition) — under review, not for citation.