[791] Then the wanderer Vacchagotta rose from his seat and approached the Blessed One; having approached, he exchanged greetings with the Blessed One, and when the courteous and memorable talk was concluded, he sat down to one side. Seated to one side, the wanderer Vacchagotta said to the Blessed One: "How is it, Master Gotama — is the world eternal?"
"Vaccha, this has not been declared by me: 'The world is eternal.'" …
"But how is it, Master Gotama — does the Tathāgata neither exist nor not exist after death?"
"This too, Vaccha, has not been declared by me: 'The Tathāgata neither exists nor does not exist after death.'"
"What then, Master Gotama, is the cause, what is the reason, why the wanderers of other sects, when questioned thus, answer thus: 'The world is eternal,' … or 'The Tathāgata neither exists nor does not exist after death'? And what, Master Gotama, is the cause, what is the reason, why Master Gotama, when questioned thus, does not answer thus: 'The world is eternal,' … or 'The Tathāgata neither exists nor does not exist after death'?"
English translation from the Pali (Siam Raṭṭha edition) — under review, not for citation.