On 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:

“How is it, friend Sāriputta, does the Tathagata exist after death?”

“Friend, the Blessed One has not declared this: ‘The Tathagata exists after death.’”

As in the preceding sutta down to:

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

“How is this, friend? When asked, ‘How is it, friend, does the Tathagata exist after death?’ … And when asked, ‘Then, friend, does the Tathagata 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?”

“‘The Tathagata exists after death’: this, friend, is an involvement with form. ‘The Tathagata does not exist after death’: this is an involvement with form. ‘The Tathagata both exists and does not exist after death’: this is an involvement with form. ‘The Tathagata neither exists nor does not exist after death’: this is an involvement with form.

“‘The Tathagata exists after death’: this, friend, is an involvement with feeling … an involvement with perception … an involvement with volitional formations … an involvement with consciousness. ‘The Tathagata does not exist after death’: this is an involvement with consciousness. ‘The Tathagata both exists and does not exist after death’: this is an involvement with consciousness. ‘The Tathagata 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.”