Sandaka sutta wrote:
An arhat’s knowledge of his liberated state
Sandaka: “Now, master Ānanda, a monk who is an arhat with influxes destroyed, who has lived the holy life, done what had to be done, laid down the burden, reached their own goal, destroyed the fetters of becoming, liberated through his own direct knowledge — is his knowledge and vision that his mental influxes are destroyed continuously and constantly present before him, whether he is walking, standing, sleeping, or awake?”
Ānanda: “Now, Sandaka, I shall give you a parable, for some wise persons here understand the meaning of a statement by means of a parable.
Suppose, Sandaka, a person’s hands and feet have been cut off. Whether he is walking, standing, sleeping, or awake, would he know continuously and constantly that his hands and feet have been cut off, or would he know this only when he reviews that they have been cut off?”
Sandaka: “Master Ānanda, that person would not know continuously and constantly that his hands and feet are cut off, but he would know it only when he reviews that they have been cut off.”
Ānanda: “Even so, Sandaka, an arhat with influxes destroyed, who have lived the holy life, done what had to be done, laid down the burden, reached their own goal, destroyed the fetters of being, liberated through his own direct knowledge — his knowledge and vision that his mental influxes are destroyed are not continuously and constantly present before him, whether he is walking, standing, sleeping, or awake, but when he reviews it, he know that they are destroyed.”