Ud 1.4

Huṁhuṅkasutta

Evaṁ me sutaṁ— ekaṁ samayaṁ bhagavā uruvelāyaṁ viharati najjā nerañjarāya tīre ajapālanigrodhe paṭhamābhisambuddho. Tena kho pana samayena bhagavā sattāhaṁ ekapallaṅkena nisinno hoti vimuttisukhapaṭisaṁvedī. Atha kho bhagavā tassa sattāhassa accayena tamhā samādhimhā vuṭṭhāsi.

The Mystic Syllable Huṁ

So I have heard. At one time, when he was first awakened, the Buddha was staying in Uruvelā at the goatherd’s banyan tree on the bank of the Nerañjarā River. There the Buddha sat cross-legged for seven days without moving, experiencing the bliss of freedom. When seven days had passed, the Buddha emerged from that state of immersion.

Atha kho aññataro huṁhuṅkajātiko brāhmaṇo yena bhagavā tenupasaṅkami; upasaṅkamitvā bhagavatā saddhiṁ sammodi. Sammodanīyaṁ kathaṁ sāraṇīyaṁ vītisāretvā ekamantaṁ aṭṭhāsi. Ekamantaṁ ṭhito kho so brāhmaṇo bhagavantaṁ etadavoca: “kittāvatā nu kho, bho gotama, brāhmaṇo hoti, katame ca pana brāhmaṇakaraṇā dhammā”ti?

Then a certain brahmin, one of those who murmured the mystic syllable huṁ, huṁ, went up to the Buddha and exchanged greetings with him. When the greetings and polite conversation were over, he stood to one side and said, “Worthy Gotama, how do you define a brahmin? And what are the things that make one a brahmin?”

Atha kho bhagavā etamatthaṁ viditvā tāyaṁ velāyaṁ imaṁ udānaṁ udānesi:

Then, understanding this matter, on that occasion the Buddha expressed this heartfelt sentiment:

“Yo brāhmaṇo bāhitapāpadhammo, Nihuṁhuṅko nikkasāvo yatatto; Vedantagū vūsitabrahmacariyo, Dhammena so brahmavādaṁ vadeyya; Yassussadā natthi kuhiñci loke”ti.

“Any brahmin who has banished bad qualities— not murmuring the mystic syllable huṁ, unstained, self-controlled, a complete knowledge master who has completed the spiritual journey— they may legitimately proclaim the divine doctrine; who have no pretensions about anything in the world.”