[237] Sāvatthī. There … [1] Bhikkhus, suppose a mountain river, sweeping downward, going far, with a swift current. If kāsa grasses were to grow on both its banks, they would overhang it; if kusa grasses were to grow, they would overhang it; if babbaja reeds were to grow, they would overhang it; if bīraṇa grasses were to grow, they would overhang it; if trees were to grow, they would overhang it. And a man being carried along by its current — if he were to grasp the kāsa grasses, they would break away, and on that account he would come to calamity and disaster; if he were to grasp the kusa grasses … if he were to grasp the babbaja reeds … if he were to grasp the bīraṇa grasses … if he were to grasp the trees, they would break away, and on that account he would come to calamity and disaster.
Even so, bhikkhus, the uninstructed worldling — who has no regard for the noble ones, is unskilled in the Dhamma of the noble ones, undisciplined in the Dhamma of the noble ones; who has no regard for good persons, is unskilled in the Dhamma of good persons, undisciplined in the Dhamma of good persons — regards form (rūpa) as self, or self as possessing form, or form as in self, or self as in form. That form of his crumbles away, and on that account he comes to calamity and disaster. He regards feeling (vedanā) … perception … volitional formations … consciousness as self, or self as possessing consciousness, or consciousness as in self, or self as in consciousness. That consciousness of his crumbles away, and on that account he comes to calamity and disaster.
English translation from the Pali (Siam Raṭṭha edition) — under review, not for citation.