[255] Sakavādī: There is no living of the holy life (brahmacariyavāsa) among the devas?
Paravādī: Yes.
S.: Are all devas dull-witted, deaf-and-dumb (eḷamūga), undiscerning, communicating by hand-signs (hatthasaṃvācika), incapable of understanding the meaning of what is well spoken and ill spoken? Do all devas lack confidence in the Buddha, lack confidence in the Dhamma, lack confidence in the Saṅgha; do they not attend upon the Buddha, the Blessed One; do they not ask the Buddha, the Blessed One, questions; are they not delighted when a question has been answered by the Buddha, the Blessed One? Are all devas possessed of the obstruction of kamma (kammāvaraṇa), possessed of the obstruction of defilements (kilesāvaraṇa), possessed of the obstruction of result (vipākāvaraṇa) — without faith, without zeal, of weak wisdom, incapable of entering upon the fixed course of rightness (sammatta-niyāma) in wholesome phenomena (dhammā)? Are all devas matricides, patricides, slayers of Arahants, shedders of [a Tathāgata's] blood (ruhiruppādaka), creators of schism in the Saṅgha? Are all devas killers of living beings, takers of what is not given, wrongdoers in sensual pleasures, speakers of false speech, speakers of malicious speech, speakers of harsh speech, speakers of frivolous talk, covetous (abhijjhālu), of a mind of ill will (byāpannacitta), holders of wrong view?
P.: It should not be said thus. …
S.: Are there not devas who are not dull-witted, not deaf-and-dumb, who are discerning, who do not communicate by hand-signs, who are capable of understanding the meaning of what is well spoken and ill spoken? Are there not devas who have confidence in the Buddha, confidence in the Dhamma, confidence in the Saṅgha, who attend upon the Buddha, the Blessed One, who ask the Buddha, the Blessed One, questions, and who are delighted when a question has been answered by the Buddha, the Blessed One? Are there not devas who are not possessed of the obstruction of kamma, not possessed of the obstruction of defilements, not possessed of the obstruction of result — who have faith, have zeal, are wise, and are capable of entering upon the fixed course of rightness in wholesome phenomena? Are there not devas who are not matricides, not patricides, not slayers of Arahants, not shedders of [a Tathāgata's] blood, not creators of schism in the Saṅgha? Are there not devas who are not killers of living beings, not takers of what is not given, not wrongdoers in sensual pleasures, not speakers of false speech, not speakers of malicious speech, not speakers of harsh speech, not speakers of frivolous talk, not covetous — whose minds are free from ill will, and who are holders of right view?
P.: Yes.
S.: If there are devas who are not dull-witted, not deaf-and-dumb, who are discerning, who do not communicate by hand-signs, who are capable of understanding the meaning of what is well spoken and ill spoken … if there are devas who have confidence in the Buddha … who are holders of right view — then indeed, good sir, it should not be said that "there is no living of the holy life among the devas."
English translation from the Pali (Siam Raṭṭha edition) — under review, not for citation.