[1726] Bhikkhus, once in the past a battle between the devas and the asuras was arrayed. In that battle, bhikkhus, the devas won and the asuras were defeated. And the asuras, defeated and frightened, entered the asura city by way of the lotus stalk, utterly bewildering the devas. Therefore, bhikkhus, do not think thoughts about the world: "The world is eternal" or "the world is not eternal"; "the world is finite" or "the world is infinite"; "the soul and the body are the same" or "the soul is one thing, the body another"; "the Tathāgata exists after death" or "the Tathāgata does not exist after death" or "the Tathāgata both exists and does not exist after death" or "the Tathāgata neither exists nor does not exist after death." For what reason? Because, bhikkhus, that thinking is not connected with the goal, does not belong to the fundamentals of the holy life, and does not lead to disenchantment, to dispassion, to cessation, to peace, to direct knowledge, to full awakening, to Nibbāna.
English translation from the Pali (Siam Raṭṭha edition) — under review, not for citation.