With Poṭṭhapāda 31.1-11

31.1

Atha kho te paribbājakā acirapakkantassa bhagavato poṭṭhapādaṃ paribbājakaṃ samantato vācā sannitodakena sañjhabbharimakaṃsu:

Soon after the Buddha left, those wanderers beset Poṭṭhapāda on all sides with sneering and jeering.

31.2

“evameva panāyaṃ bhavaṃ poṭṭhapādo yaññadeva samaṇo gotamo bhāsati, taṃ tadevassa abbhanumodati:

“No matter what the ascetic Gotama says, Poṭṭhapāda agrees with him:

31.3

‘evametaṃ, bhagavā, evametaṃ, sugatā’ti.

‘That’s so true, Blessed One! That’s so true, Holy One!’

31.4

Na kho pana mayaṃ kiñci samaṇassa gotamassa ekaṃsikaṃ dhammaṃ desitaṃ ājānāma:

We understand that the ascetic Gotama didn’t give any categorical teaching at all regarding whether the cosmos is eternal and so on.”

31.5

‘sassato loko’ti vā, ‘asassato loko’ti vā, ‘antavā loko’ti vā, ‘anantavā loko’ti vā, ‘taṃ jīvaṃ taṃ sarīran’ti vā, ‘aññaṃ jīvaṃ aññaṃ sarīran’ti vā, ‘hoti tathāgato paraṃ maraṇā’ti vā, ‘na hoti tathāgato paraṃ maraṇā’ti vā, ‘hoti ca na ca hoti tathāgato paraṃ maraṇā’ti vā, ‘neva hoti na na hoti tathāgato paraṃ maraṇā’ti vā”ti.

31.6

Evaṃ vutte, poṭṭhapādo paribbājako te paribbājake etadavoca:

When they said this, Poṭṭhapāda said to them,

31.7

“ahampi kho, bho, na kiñci samaṇassa gotamassa ekaṃsikaṃ dhammaṃ desitaṃ ājānāmi:

“I too understand that the ascetic Gotama didn’t give any categorical teaching at all regarding whether the cosmos is eternal and so on.

31.8

‘sassato loko’ti vā, ‘asassato loko’ti vā …pe…

31.9

‘neva hoti na na hoti tathāgato paraṃ maraṇā’ti vā;

31.10

api ca samaṇo gotamo bhūtaṃ tacchaṃ tathaṃ paṭipadaṃ paññapeti dhammaṭṭhitataṃ dhammaniyāmataṃ.

Nevertheless, the practice that he describes is true, real, and accurate. It is the regularity of natural principles, the surety of natural principles.

31.11

Bhūtaṃ kho pana tacchaṃ tathaṃ paṭipadaṃ paññapentassa dhammaṭṭhitataṃ dhammaniyāmataṃ, kathañhi nāma mādiso viññū samaṇassa gotamassa subhāsitaṃ subhāsitato nābbhanumodeyyā”ti?

So how on earth could a sensible person such as I not agree that what was well spoken by the ascetic Gotama was in fact well spoken?”