Siebe said: “are you refering to MN102§7 (from Bodhi’s translation):
“That any recluse or brahmin could say: “Apart from material form, apart from feeling, apart from perception,apart from formations, I shall describe the coming and going of consciousness, its passing away and re-appearance, its growth,increase, and maturation” – that is impossible”.
Yes. Thank you for saving my time looking for a reference sutta. Here is the Pali verse from that sutta (Pañcattaya Sutta, Majjhima Nikāya 102):
“aham aññatra rūpā, aññatra vedanāya, aññatra saññāya, aññatra saṅkhārehi, viññāṇassa āgatiṃ vā gatiṃ vā cutiṃ vā upapattiṃ vā vuddhiṃ vā virūḷhiṃ vā vepullaṃ vā paññapessāmī’ti—netaṃ ṭhānaṃ vijjati..”.
There are several suttas with the same or similar phrase.
Siebe said: “..just to be sure…when an arhant dies does the mind survive death, even when there is no rebirth somewhere in the 31 realms? Is there in some way a continuing existence? Or does at the moment of parinibbana nothing continue?”
We can get an answer by looking at a fundamental concept in Abhidhamma:
There are three fundamental entities (paramatta dhamma) in our world of 31 realms: Citta, cetasika, rupa.
Then there is Nibbana, the fourth paramatta dhamma, and Nibbana does not belong to this world.
So, what happens at the Parinibbana (death) of an Arahant is that all three fundamental entities associated with the world of 31 realms cease to exist, and Nibbana is attained. Mind becomes free of rupa and is instantaneously released from the 31 realms.
We do not know what exists in Nibbana, because citta, cetasika, rupa,(and thus our types of feelings, perceptions, etc) do not exist in Nibbana.
But as the Buddha clearly stated, there a “tad ayatana” or a “perfect place” called Nibbana, and it is eternal, and “blissful” (Nibbanic bliss). Again, that Nibbanic bliss cannot be explained with our terminology. It is definitely outside the 31 realms. So, nothing continues IN THIS WORLD. That is all the Buddha has said about Nibbana (as far as I understand), and thus that is all I can say.