[669] "They lead to the state of wisdom that has none near it (assāmantapaññā)" — what is wisdom that has none near it?
That person by whom, through the defining of meaning, the discrimination of meanings (atthapaṭisambhidā) has been attained, realized, and touched by wisdom; by whom, through the defining of dhamma, the discrimination of dhammas (dhammapaṭisambhidā) has been attained, realized, and touched by wisdom; by whom, through the defining of language, the discrimination of language (niruttipaṭisambhidā) has been attained, realized, and touched by wisdom; by whom, through the defining of ready wit, the discrimination of ready wit (paṭibhāṇapaṭisambhidā) has been attained, realized, and touched by wisdom — no one else is able to surpass him in meaning, in dhamma, in language, or in ready wit, and he is not one to be surpassed by any other: this is wisdom that has none near it.
The wisdom of the good worldling is far, very far, exceedingly far from the wisdom of the Eighth (aṭṭhamaka); it is not near, not adjacent. Compared with the good worldling, the Eighth is one whose wisdom has none near it. The wisdom of the Eighth is far, very far, exceedingly far from the wisdom of the Stream-Enterer (sotāpanna); it is not near, not adjacent. Compared with the Eighth, the Stream-Enterer is one whose wisdom has none near it. The wisdom of the Stream-Enterer is far, very far, exceedingly far from the wisdom of the Once-Returner (sakadāgāmī); it is not near, not adjacent. Compared with the Stream-Enterer, the Once-Returner is one whose wisdom has none near it. The wisdom of the Once-Returner is far, very far, exceedingly far from the wisdom of the Non-Returner (anāgāmī); it is not near, not adjacent. Compared with the Once-Returner, the Non-Returner is one whose wisdom has none near it. The wisdom of the Non-Returner is far, very far, exceedingly far from the wisdom of the Arahant; it is not near, not adjacent. Compared with the Non-Returner, the Arahant is one whose wisdom has none near it. The wisdom of the Arahant is far, very far, exceedingly far from the wisdom of the Paccekabuddha; it is not near, not adjacent. Compared with the Arahant, the Paccekabuddha is one whose wisdom has none near it. Compared with the Paccekabuddha and with the world together with its devas, the Tathāgata, the Arahant, the Fully Self-Enlightened One, is the foremost, one whose wisdom has none near it — skilled in the classifications of wisdom, of analytic knowledge (ñāṇa), having attained the discriminations, having reached the four intrepidities (vesārajja), bearer of the ten powers, a bull among men, a lion among men, a nāga among men, a thoroughbred among men, a burden-bearer among men, of infinite knowledge, of infinite splendor, of infinite fame; rich, of great wealth, wealthy; a leader, a guide, an instructor, one who makes known, one who sets [beings] pondering, one who sets them looking on, one who inspires confidence. For that Blessed One is the arouser of the unarisen path, the producer of the unproduced path, the declarer of the undeclared path; the knower of the path, the discoverer of the path, the one skilled in the path; and his disciples now dwell following the path, having come after [him].
For that Blessed One, knowing, knows; seeing, sees. He has become vision, become knowledge, become Dhamma, become Brahmā; he is the proclaimer, the expounder, the elucidator of the meaning, the giver of the Deathless, the lord of the Dhamma, the Tathāgata. There is nothing unknown by that Blessed One, nothing unseen, uncognized, unrealized, untouched by wisdom. Taking in past, future, and present, all dhammas in all their modes come into range at the door of knowledge of the Buddha, the Blessed One. Whatever there is called "the knowable" (neyya), any meaning-and-dhamma that should be known — one's own good, or the good of others, or the good of both; the good pertaining to this present life or the good pertaining to the life to come; shallow meaning or profound meaning; hidden meaning or concealed meaning; meaning to be inferred or meaning already drawn out; blameless meaning, or defilement-free meaning, or purified meaning, or ultimate meaning — all of that revolves within the Buddha's knowledge. All bodily action follows in accordance with the Buddha's knowledge; all verbal action follows in accordance with the Buddha's knowledge; all mental action follows in accordance with the Buddha's knowledge. In regard to the past the Buddha's knowledge is unobstructed; in regard to the future the Buddha's knowledge is unobstructed; in regard to the present the Buddha's knowledge is unobstructed. As far as the knowable extends, so far extends knowledge; as far as knowledge extends, so far extends the knowable. Knowledge has the knowable as its limit; the knowable has knowledge as its limit. Knowledge does not proceed beyond the knowable, nor is there any pathway of the knowable beyond knowledge. Those states stand with each other as mutual limits. Just as, with the two halves of a casket exactly fitted together, the lower casket-half does not exceed the upper, and the upper casket-half does not exceed the lower — they stand with each other as mutual limits — even so, the knowable and the knowledge of the Buddha, the Blessed One, stand with each other as mutual limits. As far as the knowable extends, so far extends knowledge; as far as knowledge extends, so far extends the knowable. Knowledge has the knowable as its limit; the knowable has knowledge as its limit. Knowledge does not proceed beyond the knowable, nor is there any pathway of the knowable beyond knowledge. Those states stand with each other as mutual limits.
The Buddha's knowledge proceeds with regard to all dhammas. All dhammas are bound up with the adverting of the Buddha, the Blessed One; bound up with his wish; bound up with his attention; bound up with the arising of his mind (citta). The Buddha's knowledge proceeds with regard to all beings. The Buddha knows the disposition (āsaya) of all beings, knows their latent tendency (anusaya), knows their conduct, knows their resolve (adhimutti); he knows beings with little dust in their eyes and with much dust in their eyes, of keen faculties and of dull faculties, of good disposition and of bad disposition, easy to instruct and hard to instruct, capable and incapable. The world with its devas, with its Māras, with its Brahmās, this generation with its ascetics and brahmins, with its devas and humans, revolves within the Buddha's knowledge. Just as whatever fishes and turtles, even down to the timi and the timiṅgala, move about within the great ocean, even so the world with its devas, with its Māras, with its Brahmās, this generation with its ascetics and brahmins, with its devas and humans, revolves within the Buddha's knowledge. Just as whatever birds, even down to the garuḷa, Vinatā's son (venateyya), move about within a region of the sky, even so, Sāriputta, even those beings possessed of wisdom move about within a region of the Buddha's knowledge. The Buddha's knowledge stands, having pervaded and overwhelmed the questions of devas and humans.
Those learned khattiyas, learned brahmins, learned householders, and learned ascetics — subtle, practiced in disputation with others, like hair-splitting [archers] — go about demolishing views, as it were, with the course of their wisdom. Having composed questions, they approach the Tathāgata and ask them, both hidden and concealed. Those questions, when spoken to and answered by the Blessed One, have their grounds pointed out, and those [questioners] become won over to the Blessed One. Then indeed the Blessed One shines forth all the more there — that is, in wisdom — as the foremost, one whose wisdom has none near it. "They lead to the state of wisdom that has none near it": this is wisdom that has none near it.
English translation from the Pali (Siam Raṭṭha edition) — under review, not for citation.