[562] Saying, "Good, venerable sir," Citta the householder asked a further question: "But why, venerable sir, are in-breathing and out-breathing the bodily formation (kāyasaṅkhāra)? Why are thought and examination (vitakka-vicāra) the verbal formation (vacīsaṅkhāra)? Why are perception and feeling (vedanā) the mental formation (cittasaṅkhāra)?"
"In-breathing and out-breathing, householder, are bodily; these are states bound up with the body. Therefore in-breathing and out-breathing are the bodily formation. Having first thought and examined, householder, one afterwards breaks into speech; therefore thought and examination are the verbal formation. Perception and feeling are mental; these are states bound up with the mind (citta). Therefore perception and feeling are the mental formation."
English translation from the Pali (Siam Raṭṭha edition) — under review, not for citation.