[425] "By what is the world shrouded?" (thus said the Venerable Ajita)
"By what does it not shine forth?
What do you say is its besmearing?
What is its great peril?"
"The world is shrouded by ignorance (avijjā)." ("Ajita," said the Blessed One)
"Through avarice (through heedlessness) it does not shine forth.
Hankering (jappā), I say, is its besmearing;
suffering (dukkha) is its great peril."
"Streams (sotā) flow everywhere." (thus said the Venerable Ajita)
"What is the barrier (nivāraṇa) against the streams?
Tell me the restraint (saṃvara) of the streams:
by what are the streams shut off?"
"Whatever streams there are in the world," ("Ajita," said the Blessed One)
"mindfulness (sati) is the barrier against them.
This I declare the restraint of the streams;
by wisdom (paññā) they are shut off."
"Wisdom and mindfulness," (thus said the Venerable Ajita)
"and name-and-form (nāmarūpa), dear sir —
asked by me, declare this:
where does this cease?"
"This question that you have asked,
Ajita, I tell it to you:
where name and form
cease without remainder —
with the cessation (nirodha) of consciousness (viññāṇa),
there this ceases."
"Those who have comprehended the Dhamma (saṅkhātadhammā),
and the many learners (sekhā) here —
asked by me, O prudent one,
declare their manner of conduct, dear sir."
"One should not be greedy for sensual pleasures,
nor should one be turbid in mind;
skilled in all dhammas,
a bhikkhu should wander forth, mindful."
The Questions of the Young Man Ajita (Ajitamāṇavakapañhā), the First.
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In the Suttanipāta, in the fifth chapter, the Pārāyanavagga:
The Questions of Tissametteyya, the Second
English translation from the Pali (Siam Raṭṭha edition) — under review, not for citation.