[800] "It is indeed fitting for you to be perplexed, Vaccha, fitting for you to doubt; doubt (vicikicchā) has arisen in you concerning a matter that is truly doubtful. Vaccha, I declare reappearance (upapatti) for one with fuel (sa-upādāna), not for one without fuel. Just as, Vaccha, a fire burns with fuel, not without fuel, even so, Vaccha, I declare reappearance for one with fuel, not for one without fuel."
"But, Master Gotama, at the time when a flame, flung by the wind, travels even a long distance — what does Master Gotama declare to be its fuel then?"
"Vaccha, at the time when a flame, flung by the wind, travels a long distance, I declare that it is fueled by the wind; for on that occasion, Vaccha, the wind is its fuel."
"And, Master Gotama, at the time when a being has laid down this body but has not yet been reborn in another body — what does Master Gotama declare to be its fuel then?"
"Vaccha, at the time when a being has laid down this body but has not yet been reborn in another body, I say that it is fueled by craving (taṇhā); for on that occasion, Vaccha, craving is its fuel."
The Ninth.
English translation from the Pali (Siam Raṭṭha edition) — under review, not for citation.