[289] Bhikkhus, there are these two assemblies (parisā). What two? The assembly without the foremost (anaggavatī parisā) and the assembly with the foremost (aggavatī parisā).
And what, bhikkhus, is the assembly without the foremost? Here, bhikkhus, in whatever assembly the elder bhikkhus live in abundance (bāhullikā) and are lax (sāthalikā), leaders in backsliding, discarding the burden with regard to seclusion (paviveka), and do not arouse energy (vīriya) for the attainment of what has not been attained, for the achievement of what has not been achieved, for the realization of what has not been realized — the later generation follows their example (diṭṭhānugati): it too lives in abundance and is lax, a leader in backsliding, discarding the burden with regard to seclusion, and does not arouse energy for the attainment of what has not been attained, for the achievement of what has not been achieved, for the realization of what has not been realized. This, bhikkhus, is called the assembly without the foremost.
And what, bhikkhus, is the assembly with the foremost? Here, bhikkhus, in whatever assembly the elder bhikkhus do not live in abundance and are not lax, but discard the burden with regard to backsliding and are leaders in seclusion, and arouse energy for the attainment of what has not been attained, for the achievement of what has not been achieved, for the realization of what has not been realized — the later generation follows their example: it too does not live in abundance and is not lax, but discards the burden with regard to backsliding and is a leader in seclusion, and arouses energy for the attainment of what has not been attained, for the achievement of what has not been achieved, for the realization of what has not been realized. This, bhikkhus, is called the assembly with the foremost.
These, bhikkhus, are the two assemblies. Of these two assemblies, this is the foremost, namely, the assembly with the foremost.
English translation from the Pali (Siam Raṭṭha edition) — under review, not for citation.