[262] Bhikkhus, just as, when a carpenter (phalabhaṇḍa) or a carpenter's apprentice looks at his adze handle, the marks of his fingers and the mark of his thumb are seen upon it, yet he does not have the knowledge (ñāṇa): "So much of my adze handle has worn away today, so much yesterday, so much before that" — rather, when it has worn away, he has simply the knowledge that it has worn away; so too, bhikkhus, when a bhikkhu dwells devoted to development (bhāvanānuyoga), although he does not have the knowledge: "So much of my taints (āsava) has been destroyed today, so much yesterday, so much before that" — yet when they are destroyed, he has simply the knowledge that they are destroyed.
Bhikkhus, just as, when a seagoing ship bound together with rattan lashings has spent six months in the water and is then hauled up onto dry land for the winter, its rattan lashings, weathered by wind and sun and drenched by the rain-bearing clouds, easily give way and become rotten; so too, bhikkhus, when a bhikkhu dwells devoted to development, the fetters easily subside and become rotten.
English translation from the Pali (Siam Raṭṭha edition) — under review, not for citation.