[289] "Venerable sir, is perception (saññā) a person's self (attā), or is perception one thing and the self another?"
"But what self do you believe in, Poṭṭhapāda?"
"Venerable sir, I believe in a gross self — having form, composed of the four great elements (cātummahābhūta), feeding on solid food (kavaḷīkāra)."
"Suppose, Poṭṭhapāda, your self were gross — having form, composed of the four great elements, feeding on solid food. That being so, Poṭṭhapāda, perception would be one thing and the self another. By this method too, Poṭṭhapāda, it may be understood how perception would be one thing and the self another: even while this gross self — having form, composed of the four great elements, feeding on solid food — remains just as it is, still one perception arises in this person and another perception ceases. By this method, Poṭṭhapāda, it may be understood how perception would be one thing and the self another."
English translation from the Pali (Siam Raṭṭha edition) — under review, not for citation.