Mahasihanadasutta 1.3

1.3

‘No, Kassapa. Those who said so were not following my words. On the contrary, they were reporting me falsely, and at variance with the fact.
‘Herein, O Kassapa, I am wont to be aware, with vision bright and purified, seeing beyond what men can see, how some men given to asceticism, living a hard life, are reborn, on the dissolution of the body, after death, into some unhappy, fallen state of misery and woe; while others, living just so, are reborn into some happy state, or into a heavenly world—how some men given to asceticism, but living a life less hard, are equally reborn, on the dissolution of the body, after death into some unhappy, fallen state of misery and woe; while others, living just so, are reborn in some happy state, or into a heavenly world. How then could I, O Kassapa, who am thus aware, as they really are, of the states whence men have come, and whither they will go, as they pass away from one form of existence, and take shape in another—how could I disparage all penance; or bluntly revile and find fault with every ascetic, with every one who lives a life that is hard?