‘Well, good fellow, if you have directly known that which does not fall within the scope of experience characterized by all, may that not be vacuous and hollow for you!

Consciousness where no form appears, infinite, radiant all-round. That is what does not fall within the scope of experience characterized by earth, water, fire, air, creatures, gods, the Progenitor, the Divinity, the gods of sublime luminosity, the gods of universal beauty, the gods of abundant fruit, the Vanquisher, and the all.

Come then, good fellow, see me vanish from you!’ ‘Come on then, Divinity, vanish from me—if you can.’ Then Baka the Divinity said, ‘I will vanish from the ascetic Gotama! I will vanish from the ascetic Gotama!’ But he was unable to vanish from me. So I said to him, ‘Come then, Divinity, see me vanish from you!’ ‘Come on then, good fellow, vanish from me—if you can.’ Then I used my psychic power to will that my voice would extend so that divinity, his assembly, and his retinue would hear me, but they would not see me. And while vanished I spoke this verse:

‘Seeing the danger in existence—that life in any existence will cease to be—I didn’t affirm any kind of existence, and didn’t grasp at relishing.’