[468] **Who reveals the past.** *Who (yo)*: that Blessed One who is self-become (sayambhū), without a teacher, who by himself fully awakened to the truths among dhammas unheard of before, and who therein attained omniscience and mastery over the powers. **Reveals the past**: the Blessed One reveals the past of himself and of others; he reveals the future also; he reveals the present also.
How does the Blessed One reveal his own past? The Blessed One reveals one birth (jāti) of his own, he reveals two births, he reveals three births, he reveals four births, he reveals five births, he reveals ten births, he reveals twenty births, he reveals thirty births, he reveals forty births, he reveals fifty births, a hundred births, a thousand births, a hundred thousand births; he reveals many aeons of world-contraction (saṃvaṭṭakappa), many aeons of world-expansion (vivaṭṭakappa), many aeons of world-contraction and expansion: "There I was, of such a name, of such a clan, of such an appearance, with such nutriment, experiencing such pleasure and pain, with such a life-span; passing away from there, I arose in another place; there too I was, of such a name, of such a clan, of such an appearance, with such nutriment, experiencing such pleasure and pain, with such a life-span; passing away from there, I was reborn here." Thus he reveals his manifold past abodes with their aspects and their particulars. It is in this way that the Blessed One reveals his own past.
How does the Blessed One reveal the past of others? The Blessed One reveals one birth of others, he reveals two births … he reveals many aeons of world-contraction and expansion: "There you were, of such a name, of such a clan, of such an appearance, with such nutriment, experiencing such pleasure and pain, with such a life-span; passing away from there, you arose in another place; there too you were, of such a name, of such a clan, of such an appearance, with such nutriment, experiencing such pleasure and pain, with such a life-span; passing away from there, you were reborn here." Thus he reveals the manifold past abodes with their aspects and their particulars. It is in this way that the Blessed One reveals the past of others.
The Blessed One, in speaking the five hundred birth-stories (jātaka), reveals the past of himself and of others; in speaking the Mahādhaniya Sutta, he reveals the past of himself and of others; in speaking the Mahāsudassana Sutta, he reveals the past of himself and of others; in speaking the Mahāgovinda Sutta, he reveals the past of himself and of others; in speaking the Maghadeva Sutta, he reveals the past of himself and of others.
For this was said by the Blessed One: "Concerning the past, Cunda, the Tathāgata possesses the knowledge (ñāṇa) that follows upon memory: as far as he wishes, so far does he recollect. Concerning the future, Cunda … Concerning the present, Cunda, there arises in the Tathāgata the knowledge born of awakening: 'This is the last birth; now there is no renewed existence.'" The knowledge of the superiority and inferiority of the faculties of beings is a Tathāgata-power of the Tathāgata; the knowledge of the dispositions and latent tendencies of beings is a Tathāgata-power of the Tathāgata; the knowledge of the twin miracle is a Tathāgata-power of the Tathāgata; the knowledge of the attainment of great compassion is a Tathāgata-power of the Tathāgata; the knowledge of omniscience is a Tathāgata-power of the Tathāgata; the unobstructed knowledge is a Tathāgata-power of the Tathāgata; the knowledge that is everywhere unattached, unimpeded, and unobstructed is a Tathāgata-power of the Tathāgata. Thus the Blessed One reveals the past of himself and of others, reveals the future also, reveals the present also; he tells it, teaches it, makes it known, establishes it, discloses it, analyzes it, makes it plain, and proclaims it. Hence, "who reveals the past."
**So said the venerable Posāla.** *So (icca)*: this is a verbal connective. *Venerable (āyasmā)*: this is a term of affection. *Posāla*: this is that brahmin's name … a designation. Hence, "so said the venerable Posāla."
English translation from the Pali (Siam Raṭṭha edition) — under review, not for citation.