[29] And in the third case, on what do those honorable ascetics and brahmins rely, on what grounds do they proceed, that, being eternalists (sassatavāda), they declare the self and the world to be eternal? Bhikkhus, here some ascetic or brahmin — by means of ardor (ātappa), by means of exertion, by means of application, by means of diligence, by means of right attention — attains a concentration of mind (cetosamādhi) of such a kind that, when the mind (citta) is concentrated, he recollects his manifold past abodes (pubbenivāsa); that is to say, ten eons of contraction and expansion (saṃvaṭṭavivaṭṭa), twenty eons of contraction and expansion, thirty eons of contraction and expansion, forty eons of contraction and expansion: 'There I was of such a name, of such a clan, of such an appearance, of such food, experiencing such pleasure and pain, with such a limit to my lifespan; passing away from there, I arose in such another place; there too I was of such a name, of such a clan, of such an appearance, of such food, experiencing such pleasure and pain, with such a limit to my lifespan; passing away from there, I was reborn here.' Thus he recollects his manifold past abodes with their modes and particulars. He speaks thus: 'The self and the world are eternal, barren, standing firm like a mountain peak, standing steadfast like a pillar; and though these beings run on, wander in the round, pass away, and reappear, yet there is that which exists forever the same. 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 a concentration of mind of such a kind that, when the mind is concentrated, I recollect my manifold past abodes; that is to say, ten eons of contraction and expansion, twenty eons of contraction and expansion, thirty eons of contraction and expansion, forty eons of contraction and expansion: "There I was of such a name, of such a clan, of such an appearance, of such food, experiencing such pleasure and pain, with such a limit to my lifespan; passing away from there, I arose in such another place; there too I was of such a name, of such a clan, of such an appearance, of such food, experiencing such pleasure and pain, with such a limit to my lifespan; passing away from there, I was reborn here." Thus I recollect my manifold past abodes with their modes and particulars. By this I know this: that the self and the world are eternal, barren, standing firm like a mountain peak, standing steadfast like a pillar; and though these beings run on, wander in the round, pass away, and reappear, yet there is that which exists forever the same.' This, bhikkhus, is the third ground, relying on which, proceeding from 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.