[322] 51. Then the Venerable Ānanda approached the Venerable Sāriputta; having approached, he exchanged greetings with the Venerable Sāriputta, and when the courteous and memorable talk was concluded, he sat down to one side. Sitting to one side, the Venerable Ānanda said this to the Venerable Sāriputta: "To what extent, friend Sāriputta, does a bhikkhu hear a teaching he has not heard before, and the teachings he has heard do not go to confusion, and those teachings previously contacted by his mind recur to him, and he comes to understand what he had not understood?"
"The Venerable Ānanda is one of great learning. Let it occur to the Venerable Ānanda himself."
"Then, friend Sāriputta, listen to the Dhamma and attend carefully; I shall speak."
"Yes, friend," the Venerable Sāriputta replied to the Venerable Ānanda. The Venerable Ānanda said this:
"Here, friend Sāriputta, a bhikkhu masters the Dhamma—the discourses (sutta), the mixed prose and verse (geyya), the prose expositions (veyyākaraṇa), the verses (gāthā), the inspired utterances (udāna), the thus-said discourses (itivuttaka), the birth stories (jātaka), the marvellous accounts (abbhutadhamma), and the questions-and-answers (vedalla). He teaches the Dhamma in detail to others as he has heard it and as he has learned it; he makes others recite the Dhamma in detail as he has heard it and as he has learned it; he himself recites the Dhamma in detail as he has heard it and as he has learned it; he thinks over, ponders upon, and mentally examines the Dhamma as he has heard it and as he has learned it. And in whatever dwelling place there live elder bhikkhus of great learning, versed in the scriptural collections, bearers of the Dhamma, bearers of the Vinaya, bearers of the summaries (mātikā), in that dwelling place he enters upon the rains. Approaching them from time to time, he inquires and questions them: 'How is this, venerable sirs? What is the meaning of this?' Those venerable ones disclose to him what has not been disclosed, make clear what has not been made clear, and dispel his doubt regarding the many things that are grounds for doubt. It is to this extent, friend Sāriputta, that a bhikkhu hears a teaching he has not heard before, and the teachings he has heard do not go to confusion, and those teachings previously contacted by his mind recur to him, and he comes to understand what he had not understood."
"It is wonderful, friend! It is marvellous, friend, how well this has been spoken by the Venerable Ānanda! And we hold that the Venerable Ānanda is endowed with these six qualities. For the Venerable Ānanda masters the Dhamma—the discourses, the mixed prose and verse, the prose expositions, the verses, the inspired utterances, the thus-said discourses, the birth stories, the marvellous accounts, and the questions-and-answers. The Venerable Ānanda teaches the Dhamma in detail to others as he has heard it and as he has learned it; the Venerable Ānanda makes others recite the Dhamma in detail as he has heard it and as he has learned it; the Venerable Ānanda himself recites the Dhamma in detail as he has heard it and as he has learned it; the Venerable Ānanda thinks over, ponders upon, and mentally examines the Dhamma as he has heard it and as he has learned it. And in whatever dwelling place there live elder bhikkhus of great learning, versed in the scriptural collections, bearers of the Dhamma, bearers of the Vinaya, bearers of the summaries, in that dwelling place the Venerable Ānanda enters upon the rains. Approaching them from time to time, the Venerable Ānanda inquires and questions them: 'How is this, venerable sirs? What is the meaning of this?' Those venerable ones disclose to the Venerable Ānanda what has not been disclosed, make clear what has not been made clear, and dispel his doubt regarding the many things that are grounds for doubt."
English translation from the Pali (Siam Raṭṭha edition) — under review, not for citation.