[1712] On one occasion the Blessed One was dwelling at Kosambī in a sīsapā grove. Then the Blessed One took up a few sīsapā leaves in his hand and addressed the bhikkhus: "What do you think, bhikkhus, which is more numerous: the few sīsapā leaves that I have taken up in my hand, or those overhead in the sīsapā grove?" "Venerable sir, the sīsapā leaves that the Blessed One has taken up in his hand are few; those overhead in the sīsapā grove are indeed far more numerous." "So too, bhikkhus, that which I have directly known but have not declared to you is far more. And why, bhikkhus, has it not been declared by me? Because, bhikkhus, it is not connected with the goal, it does not belong to the fundamentals of the holy life, and it does not lead to disenchantment, to dispassion, to cessation (nirodha), to peace, to direct knowledge, to full awakening, to Nibbāna (nibbāna). Therefore it has not been declared by me."
English translation from the Pali (Siam Raṭṭha edition) — under review, not for citation.