[27] Bhikkhus, there are some ascetics and brahmins who are speculators about the past (pubbantakappikā), holding views following the past, who, with reference to the past, assert various propositions of conviction (adhimuttipadāni) on eighteen grounds. And relying on what, with reference to what, do those honorable ascetics and brahmins, being speculators about the past, holding views following the past, with reference to the past, assert various propositions of conviction on eighteen grounds?
Bhikkhus, there are some ascetics and brahmins who are eternalists (sassatavādā), who declare the self (attā) and the world to be eternal on four grounds. And relying on what, with reference to what, do those honorable ascetics and brahmins, being eternalists, declare the self and the world to be eternal on four grounds?
Here, bhikkhus, some ascetic or brahmin — by means of ardor, by means of exertion, by means of application, by means of diligence, by means of right attention — attains such concentration of mind (cetosamādhi) that, when the mind (citta) is concentrated (purified, cleansed, unblemished, rid of defilements), he recollects his manifold former abodes (pubbenivāsa); that is: one birth, two births, three births, four births, five births, ten births, twenty births, thirty births, forty births, fifty births, a hundred births, a thousand births, a hundred thousand births, many hundreds of births, many thousands of births, many hundreds of thousands of births: 'There I had such a name, such a clan, such an appearance, such food; I experienced such pleasure and pain; such was the limit of my life span. Passing away from there, I arose in that other place. There too I had such a name, such a clan, such an appearance, such food; I experienced such pleasure and pain; such was the limit of my life span. Passing away from there, I was reborn here.' Thus with its modes and particulars he recollects his manifold former abodes.
He says thus: 'The self and the world are eternal, barren, standing steadfast as a mountain peak, standing firm as a pillar; and though these beings run on and wander in saṃsāra, pass away and re-arise, yet there is that which remains just the same for all eternity. Why is that? Because I — by means of ardor, by means of exertion, by means of application, by means of diligence, by means of right attention — attain such concentration of mind that, when the mind is concentrated, I recollect my manifold former abodes; that is: one birth, two births, three births, four births, five births, ten births, twenty births, thirty births, forty births, fifty births, a hundred births, a thousand births, a hundred thousand births, many hundreds of births, many thousands of births, many hundreds of thousands of births: "There I had such a name, such a clan, such an appearance, such food; I experienced such pleasure and pain; such was the limit of my life span. Passing away from there, I arose in that other place. There too I had such a name, such a clan, such an appearance, such food; I experienced such pleasure and pain; such was the limit of my life span. Passing away from there, I was reborn here." Thus with its modes and particulars I recollect my manifold former abodes. By this I know: the self and the world are eternal, barren, standing steadfast as a mountain peak, standing firm as a pillar; and though these beings run on and wander in saṃsāra, pass away and re-arise, yet there is that which remains just the same for all eternity.'
This, bhikkhus, is the first ground, relying on which, with reference to which, some ascetics and brahmins, being eternalists, declare the self and the world to be eternal.
English translation from the Pali (Siam Raṭṭha edition) — under review, not for citation.