The Great Discourse on the Origin from the Madhyama Āgama

(IV) Original Text: Ananda, it is so. A monk whose mind is liberated does not inquire whether the Tathāgata exists after death. If he clings to that statement, he is not correct. He does not inquire whether the Tathāgata does not exist after death. If he clings to that statement, he is not correct. He does not inquire whether the Tathāgata both exists and does not exist after death. If he clings to that statement, he is not correct. He does not inquire whether the Tathāgata neither exists nor does not exist after death. If he clings to that statement, he is not correct. For what reason is this? Ananda, it is because the monk, having realized liberation within this very scope, comprehends the path of designations, the path of speech, the path of conceptualization, and the domain of wisdom. Having transcended the cycle of rebirth and transmigration, he is liberated. Regarding a monk who comprehends such liberation, those who are ignorant and unseeing, clinging to such views, are not correct.

Explanation: Ananda, it is so. A monk whose mind is liberated does not ask the Tathāgata whether the Arhat has any dharma remaining after death. If the monk clings to the notion that there is still existence, he has not entered the correct position; he is not an Arhat. A monk whose mind is liberated also does not ask the Tathāgata whether the Arhat becomes nothing at all after death. If the monk clings to the notion that the Arhat becomes nothing after death, he has not attained liberation; he has not entered the correct position of an Arhat. A monk whose mind is liberated also does not ask the Tathāgata whether the Arhat both exists and does not exist after death. If he clings to the notion that the Arhat both exists and does not exist after death, he has not entered the correct position of an Arhat; he has not attained complete liberation. A monk whose mind is liberated does not ask the Tathāgata whether the Arhat neither exists nor does not exist after death. If he still clings to the notion that the Arhat neither exists nor does not exist after death, he has not entered the correct position of an Arhat; he has not attained complete liberation.

An Arhat who has entered the correct position of the fourth fruition, with mind liberated and all things liberated, has extinguished all clinging. His mind no longer clings to any dharma. Whether clinging to the notion that he exists after death, does not exist, both exists and does not exist, or neither exists nor does not exist—all such thoughts and clingings are extinguished. Only then is he completely liberated. At the end of his life, he enters Nirvana without residue. If his mind harbors dharma or clinging, he will not completely sever the existence within the three realms and enter Nirvana without residue.