1On one occasion the Venerable Sāriputta and the Venerable Mahakoṭṭhita were dwelling at Baraṇasī in the Deer Park at Isipatana. Then, in the evening, the Venerable Mahakoṭṭhita emerged from seclusion and approached the Venerable Sāriputta. He exchanged greetings with the Venerable Sāriputta and, when they had concluded their greetings and cordial talk, he sat down to one side and said to him:

2"How is it, friend Sāriputta, does the Tathāgata exist after death?"

"Friend, the Blessed One has not declared this: ‘The Tathāgata exists after death.’"

"Then, friend, does the Tathāgata not exist after death?"

"Friend, the Blessed One has not declared this either: ‘The Tathāgata does not exist after death.’"

"How is it then, friend, does the Tathāgata both exist and not exist after death?"

"Friend, the Blessed One has not declared this: ‘The Tathāgata both exists and does not exist after death.’"

"Then, friend, does the Tathāgata neither exist nor not exist after death?"

"Friend, the Blessed One has not declared this either: ‘The Tathāgata neither exists nor does not exist after death.’"

3"How is this, friend? When asked, ‘How is it, friend, does the Tathāgata exist after death?’ … And when asked, ‘Then, friend, does the Tathāgata neither exist nor not exist after death?’—in each case you say: ‘Friend, the Blessed One has not declared this.’ What now, friend, is the cause and reason why this has not been declared by the Blessed One?"

4"‘The Tathāgata exists after death’: this, friend, is an involvement with form. [n.378] Rūpagatam etaṁ. Spk: This is mere form. He shows: "No other being is found here apart from form, but when there is form there is merely this name." Spk-pṭ: What is being rejected here? The self posited by the outside thinkers, spoken of here as "Tathāgata." ‘The Tathāgata does not exist after death’: this is an involvement with form. ‘The Tathāgata both exists and does not exist after death’: this is an involvement with form. ‘The Tathāgata neither exists nor does not exist after death’: this is an involvement with form.

"‘The Tathāgata exists after death’: this, friend, is an involvement with feeling … an involvement with perception … an involvement with volitional formations sn.iv.386 … an involvement with consciousness. ‘The Tathāgata does not exist after death’: this is an involvement with consciousness. ‘The Tathāgata both exists and does not exist after death’: this is an involvement with consciousness. ‘The Tathāgata neither exists nor does not exist after death’: this is an involvement with consciousness.

"This, friend, is the cause and reason why this has not been declared by the Blessed One."

1Ekaṁ samayaṁ āyasmā ca sāriputto, āyasmā ca mahākoṭṭhiko bārāṇasiyaṁ vihāranti isipatane migadāye. Atha kho āyasmā mahākoṭṭhiko sāyanhasamayaṁ paṭisallānā vuṭṭhito yenāyasmā sāriputto tenupasaṅkami; upasaṅkamitvā āyasmatā sāriputtena saddhiṁ sammodi. Sammodanīyaṁ kathaṁ sāraṇīyaṁ vītisāretvā ekamantaṁ nisīdi. Ekamantaṁ nisinno kho āyasmā mahākoṭṭhiko āyasmantaṁ sāriputtaṁ etadavoca:

2"Kiṁ nu kho, āvuso sāriputta, hoti tathāgato paraṁ maraṇā"ti?

"Abyākataṁ kho etaṁ, āvuso, bhagavatā: ‘hoti tathāgato paraṁ maraṇā’"ti.

"Kiṁ panāvuso, na hoti tathāgato paraṁ maraṇā"ti?

"Etampi kho, āvuso, abyākataṁ bhagavatā: ‘Na hoti tathāgato paraṁ maraṇā’"ti.

"Kiṁ nu kho, āvuso, hoti ca na ca hoti tathāgato paraṁ maraṇā"ti?

"Abyākataṁ kho etaṁ, āvuso, bhagavatā: ‘hoti ca na ca hoti tathāgato paraṁ maraṇā’"ti.

"Kiṁ panāvuso, neva hoti na na hoti tathāgato paraṁ maraṇā"ti?

"Etampi kho, āvuso, abyākataṁ bhagavatā: ‘neva hoti na na hoti tathāgato paraṁ maraṇā’"ti.

3"‘Kiṁ nu kho, āvuso, hoti tathāgato paraṁ maraṇā’ti iti puṭṭho samāno, ‘abyākataṁ kho etaṁ, āvuso, bhagavatā – hoti tathāgato paraṁ maraṇā’ti vadesi … pe … ‘kiṁ panāvuso, neva hoti na na hoti tathāgato paraṁ maraṇā’ti iti puṭṭho samāno: ‘etampi kho, āvuso, abyākataṁ bhagavatā – neva hoti na na hoti tathāgato paraṁ maraṇā’ti vadesi. Ko nu kho, āvuso, hetu, ko paccayo yenetaṁ abyākataṁ bhagavatā"ti?

4"Hoti tathāgato paraṁ maraṇāti kho, āvuso, rūpagatametaṁ. Na hoti tathāgato paraṁ maraṇāti, rūpagatametaṁ. Hoti ca na ca hoti tathāgato paraṁ maraṇāti, rūpagatametaṁ. Neva hoti na na hoti tathāgato paraṁ maraṇāti, rūpagatametaṁ.

Hoti tathāgato paraṁ maraṇāti kho, āvuso, vedanāgatametaṁ. Na hoti tathāgato paraṁ maraṇāti, vedanāgatametaṁ. Hoti ca na ca hoti tathāgato paraṁ maraṇāti, vedanāgatametaṁ. Neva hoti na na hoti tathāgato paraṁ maraṇāti, vedanāgatametaṁ. Hoti tathāgato paraṁ maraṇāti kho, āvuso, saññāgatametaṁ. Na hoti tathāgato paraṁ maraṇāti, saññāgatametaṁ. Hoti ca na ca hoti tathāgato paraṁ maraṇāti, saññāgatametaṁ. Neva hoti na na hoti tathāgato paraṁ maraṇāti, saññāgatametaṁ. Hoti tathāgato paraṁ maraṇāti kho, āvuso, saṅkhāragatametaṁ. Na hoti tathāgato paraṁ maraṇāti, saṅkhāragatametaṁ. Hoti ca na ca hoti tathāgato paraṁ maraṇāti, saṅkhāragatametaṁ. Neva hoti na na hoti tathāgato paraṁ maraṇāti, saṅkhāragatametaṁ. Hoti tathāgato paraṁ maraṇāti kho, āvuso, viññāṇagatametaṁ. Na hoti tathāgato paraṁ maraṇāti, viññāṇagatametaṁ. Hoti ca na ca hoti tathāgato paraṁ maraṇāti, viññāṇagatametaṁ. Neva hoti na na hoti tathāgato paraṁ maraṇāti, viññāṇagatametaṁ.

Ayaṁ kho, āvuso, hetu ayaṁ paccayo, yenetaṁ abyākataṁ bhagavatā"ti.

Tatiyaṁ.