[794] Then Vacchagotta the wanderer 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. Sitting to one side, Vacchagotta the wanderer said to the Blessed One: "How is it, good Gotama — is the world eternal?"
"That, Vaccha, has been left undeclared (abyākata) by me: 'The world is eternal.' …"
"But how is it, good Gotama — does the Tathāgata neither exist nor not exist after death?"
"That too, Vaccha, has been left undeclared by me: 'The Tathāgata neither exists nor does not exist after death.'"
"What then, good Gotama, is the cause, what is the condition, why, when wanderers of other sects are asked thus, they give such answers as: 'The world is eternal,' … or 'The Tathāgata neither exists nor does not exist after death'? And what, good Gotama, is the cause, what is the condition, why, when the good Gotama is asked thus, he does not give such answers as: '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English translation from the Pali (Siam Raṭṭha edition) — under review, not for citation.