[184] Then the brahmin Soṇadaṇḍa approached the Blessed One; having approached, he exchanged greetings with the Blessed One, and when the courteous and memorable talk was concluded, he sat down to one side. As for the brahmins and householders of Campā, some paid homage to the Blessed One and sat down to one side; some exchanged greetings with the Blessed One, and when the courteous and memorable talk was concluded, sat down to one side; some raised their joined palms in salutation toward the Blessed One and sat down to one side; some announced their name and clan and sat down to one side; some sat down to one side in silence.
Now while seated there, the brahmin Soṇadaṇḍa kept pondering chiefly this thought: "If I should ask the ascetic Gotama a question, and if the ascetic Gotama should say to me, 'Brahmin, that question ought not to be asked thus; brahmin, that question ought to be asked in this way,' this assembly might disparage me on that account, thinking: 'The brahmin Soṇadaṇḍa is a fool, incompetent; he was not able to ask the ascetic Gotama a question in a proper manner.' And whomever this assembly disparages, his fame would decline; and whose fame declines, his wealth too would decline; for our wealth is obtained through fame. Or if the ascetic Gotama should ask me a question, and I should not satisfy his mind with my answer to the question, and if the ascetic Gotama should say to me, 'Brahmin, that question ought not to be answered thus; brahmin, that question ought to be answered in this way,' this assembly might disparage me on that account, thinking: 'The brahmin Soṇadaṇḍa is a fool, incompetent; he was not able to satisfy the ascetic Gotama's mind with his answer to the question.' And whomever this assembly disparages, his fame would decline; and whose fame declines, his wealth too would decline; for our wealth is obtained through fame. Oh, if only the ascetic Gotama would ask me a question on my own teacher's doctrine, the threefold Vedic knowledge! Then surely I could satisfy his mind with my answer to the question."
English translation from the Pali (Siam Raṭṭha edition) — under review, not for citation.