Suppose a man was to build a ladder at the crossroads for climbing up to a stilt longhouse. They’d say to him, ‘My man, that stilt longhouse for which you’re building a ladder—do you know whether it’s to the north, south, east, or west? Or whether it’s tall or short or medium?’ Asked this, he’d say, ‘No.’

They’d say to him, ‘My man, are you building a ladder for a longhouse that you’ve never even known or seen?’ Asked this, he’d say, ‘Yes.’ What do you think, Vāseṭṭha? This being so, doesn’t that man’s statement turn out to have no demonstrable basis?” “Clearly that’s the case, worthy Gotama.”