It’s possible that wanderers of other religions might say, ‘The ascetic Gotama demonstrates boundless knowledge and vision of the past, but not of the future. What’s up with that?’ Those wanderers, like incompetent fools, seem to imagine that one kind of knowledge and vision can be demonstrated by means of another kind of knowledge and vision. Regarding the past, the Realized One has knowledge stemming from memory. He recollects as far as he wants. Regarding the future, the Realized One has the knowledge born of awakening: ‘This is my last rebirth; now there’ll be no more future lives.’

If a question about the past is untrue, false, and pointless, the Realized One does not reply. If a question about the past is true and correct, but pointless, he does not reply. If a question about the past is true, correct, and beneficial, he knows the right time to reply. And the Realized One replies to questions about the future or the present in the same way.