[779] On one occasion the Venerable Sāriputta and the Venerable Mahākoṭṭhita were dwelling at Bārāṇasī, in the Deer Park at Isipatana. Then, in the evening, the Venerable Sāriputta, having emerged from seclusion, approached the Venerable Mahākoṭṭhita; having approached, he exchanged greetings with the Venerable Mahākoṭṭhita, and when the courteous and amiable talk was concluded, he sat down to one side. Seated to one side, the Venerable Sāriputta said this to the Venerable Mahākoṭṭhita: "How is it, friend Mahākoṭṭhita — does the Tathāgata exist after death?" … "But how is it, friend — does the Tathāgata neither exist nor not exist after death?" Being asked thus, you say: "This too, friend, has not been declared (abyākata) by the Blessed One: 'The Tathāgata neither exists nor does not exist after death.'" What now, friend, is the cause, what is the reason, why this has not been declared by the Blessed One?
English translation from the Pali (Siam Raṭṭha edition) — under review, not for citation.