Dighanikaya 2.189

2.189

Sakkā pana, bhante, aññampi diṭṭheva dhammeti idha evamevāti na vuttaṃ. Taṃ kasmāti ce, evamevāti hi vuccamāne pahoti bhagavā sakalampi rattindivaṃ tato vā bhiyyopi evarūpāhi upamāhi sāmaññaphalaṃ dīpetuṃ. Tattha kiñcāpi etassa bhagavato vacanasavane pariyantaṃ nāma natthi, tathāpi attho tādisoyeva bhavissatīti cintetvā upari visesaṃ pucchanto evamevāti avatvā – ‘‘abhikkantatarañca paṇītatarañcā’’ti āha. Tattha abhikkantataranti abhimanāpataraṃ atiseṭṭhataranti attho. Paṇītataranti uttamataraṃ. Tena hīti uyyojanatthe nipāto. Savane uyyojento hi naṃ evamāha. Suṇohīti abhikkantatarañca paṇītatarañca sāmaññaphalaṃ suṇāti.

‘Is it possible, venerable sir, [to show] another visible [fruit] in this very life...’—here, it is not said: ‘Just so.’ If it is asked, ‘Why is that?’—for when ‘Just so’ is said, the Blessed One is able to show the fruit of the contemplative life with similes of this kind for an entire day and night, or even longer than that. Although in that regard there is indeed no end to listening to the words of the Blessed One, still, thinking, ‘The meaning will be just the same,’ inquiring about a higher distinction, without saying ‘Just so,’ he said: ‘more excellent and more sublime.’ There, ‘more excellent’ means more agreeable, exceedingly superior; this is the meaning. ‘More sublime’ means higher. ‘Well then’ is a particle in the sense of urging. For urging him to listen, he spoke thus to him. ‘Listen’ means: listen to the more excellent and more sublime fruit of the contemplative life.