[28] And in the second case, on what basis, with reference to what, do those honorable ascetics and brahmins, being eternalists (sassatavādā), declare the self and the world to be eternal? Bhikkhus, here some ascetic or brahmin — through ardor, through exertion, through application, through diligence, through right attention — attains such concentration of mind (cetosamādhi) that, with the mind (citta) thus concentrated, he recollects his manifold past abodes (pubbenivāsa); that is: one eon of contraction and expansion, two eons of contraction and expansion, three eons of contraction and expansion, four eons of contraction and expansion, five eons of contraction and expansion, ten eons of contraction and expansion: "There I was so named, of such a clan, of such appearance, such was my food, such my experience of pleasure and pain, such the limit of my lifespan; passing away from there, I arose in another place; there too I was so named, of such a clan, of such appearance, such was my food, such my experience of pleasure and pain, such the limit of my lifespan; passing away from there, I arose here." Thus with its modes and particulars he recollects his manifold past abodes.
He says thus: "The self and the world are eternal, barren, standing firm like a mountain peak, standing steady like a pillar; and though these beings run on, wander in saṃsāra, pass away, and re-arise, yet there exists that which remains just the same for all eternity. Why is that? Because I, through ardor, through exertion, through application, through diligence, through right attention, attain such concentration of mind that, with the mind thus concentrated, I recollect my manifold past abodes; that is: one eon of contraction and expansion, two eons of contraction and expansion, three eons of contraction and expansion, four eons of contraction and expansion, five eons of contraction and expansion, ten eons of contraction and expansion: 'There I was so named, of such a clan, of such appearance, such was my food, such my experience of pleasure and pain, such the limit of my lifespan; passing away from there, I arose in another place; there too I was so named, of such a clan, of such appearance, such was my food, such my experience of pleasure and pain, such the limit of my lifespan; passing away from there, I arose here.' Thus with its modes and particulars I recollect my manifold past abodes. By this I know how the self and the world are eternal, barren, standing firm like a mountain peak, standing steady like a pillar; and though these beings run on, wander in saṃsāra, pass away, and re-arise, yet there exists that which remains just the same for all eternity."
Bhikkhus, this is the second ground, on the basis of 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.