[171] "Then, friends, listen and attend well; I will speak."
"Yes, friend," those bhikkhus replied to the Venerable Ānanda. The Venerable Ānanda said this:
"Friends, that synopsis (uddesa) which the Blessed One recited in brief, and, without analyzing the meaning in detail, rose from his seat and entered the dwelling — namely: 'Bhikkhus, I do not say that the end of the world is to be known, seen, or reached by traveling; yet, bhikkhus, neither do I say that the making of an end of suffering (dukkha) comes without reaching the end of the world' — of this synopsis, friends, recited in brief by the Blessed One without its meaning being analyzed in detail, I understand the meaning in detail.
"That, friends, by which one is a perceiver of the world and a conceiver of the world in the world — this is called 'the world' in the Noble One's discipline. And by what, friends, is one a perceiver of the world and a conceiver of the world in the world? By the eye, friends, one is a perceiver of the world and a conceiver of the world in the world. By the ear, friends … By the nose, friends … By the tongue, friends, one is a perceiver of the world and a conceiver of the world in the world. By the body, friends … By the mind, friends, one is a perceiver of the world and a conceiver of the world in the world. That, friends, by which one is a perceiver of the world and a conceiver of the world in the world — this is called 'the world' in the Noble One's discipline.
"Friends, that synopsis which the Blessed One recited in brief, and, without analyzing the meaning in detail, rose from his seat and entered the dwelling — namely: 'Bhikkhus, I do not say that the end of the world is to be known, seen, or reached by traveling; yet, bhikkhus, neither do I say that the making of an end of suffering comes without reaching the end of the world' — of this synopsis, friends, recited in brief by the Blessed One without its meaning being analyzed in detail, it is in this way that I understand the meaning in detail. But if you wish, venerable ones, you may approach the Blessed One himself and question him about this matter; as the Blessed One explains it to you, so should you bear it in mind."
English translation from the Pali (Siam Raṭṭha edition) — under review, not for citation.