[381] "So it seems, Vāseṭṭha, that these brahmins versed in the three Vedas are encumbered with possessions (sapariggahā), while Brahmā is without possessions. Now would brahmins versed in the three Vedas who are encumbered with possessions join together and converge with Brahmā, who is without possessions?"
"No indeed, worthy Gotama."
"Good, Vāseṭṭha. That those brahmins versed in the three Vedas, being encumbered with possessions, should, upon the breaking up of the body, after death, attain to companionship with Brahmā, who is without possessions — this is not possible.
"So it seems, Vāseṭṭha, that these brahmins versed in the three Vedas have minds (citta) full of enmity, while Brahmā's mind is without enmity. Now would brahmins versed in the three Vedas whose minds are full of enmity join together and converge with Brahmā, whose mind is without enmity?"
"No indeed, worthy Gotama."
"So it seems, Vāseṭṭha, that these brahmins versed in the three Vedas have minds full of ill will, while Brahmā's mind is without ill will; these brahmins versed in the three Vedas have defiled minds, while Brahmā's mind is undefiled; these brahmins versed in the three Vedas do not wield power, while Brahmā wields power. Now would brahmins versed in the three Vedas who do not wield power join together and converge with Brahmā, who wields power?"
"No indeed, worthy Gotama."
"Good, Vāseṭṭha. That those brahmins versed in the three Vedas, who do not wield power, should, upon the breaking up of the body, after death, attain to companionship with Brahmā, who wields power — this is not possible.
"But here, Vāseṭṭha, these brahmins versed in the three Vedas, having run aground, sink down; having sunk down, they come to ruin — imagining, I suppose, that they are crossing over with ease. Therefore this [threefold Vedic knowledge] of the brahmins versed in the three Vedas is called 'the barren waste of the three Vedas,' it is called 'the desolate wilderness of the three Vedas,' and it is called 'the disaster of the three Vedas.'"
English translation from the Pali (Siam Raṭṭha edition) — under review, not for citation.