Ud 1.5

Brāhmaṇasutta

Evaṁ me sutaṁ— ekaṁ samayaṁ bhagavā sāvatthiyaṁ viharati jetavane anāthapiṇḍikassa ārāme. Tena kho pana samayena āyasmā ca sāriputto āyasmā ca mahāmoggallāno āyasmā ca mahākassapo āyasmā ca mahākaccāno āyasmā ca mahākoṭṭhiko āyasmā ca mahākappino āyasmā ca mahācundo āyasmā ca anuruddho āyasmā ca revato āyasmā ca nando yena bhagavā tenupasaṅkamiṁsu.

The Brahmin

So I have heard. At one time the Buddha was staying near Sāvatthī in Jeta’s Grove, Anāthapiṇḍika’s monastery. Now at that time a number of senior monks approached the Buddha—the venerables Sāriputta, Mahāmoggallāna, Mahākassapa, Mahākaccāna, Mahākoṭṭhita, Mahākappina, Mahācunda, Anuruddha, Revata, and Nanda.

Addasā kho bhagavā te āyasmante dūratova āgacchante; disvāna bhikkhū āmantesi: “ete, bhikkhave, brāhmaṇā āgacchanti; ete, bhikkhave, brāhmaṇā āgacchantī”ti. Evaṁ vutte, aññataro brāhmaṇajātiko bhikkhu bhagavantaṁ etadavoca: “kittāvatā nu kho, bhante, brāhmaṇo hoti, katame ca pana brāhmaṇakaraṇā dhammā”ti?

The Buddha saw them coming off in the distance, and addressed the mendicants: “These, mendicants, are brahmins coming! These are brahmins coming!” When he said this, a certain mendicant who was brahmin by birth asked the Buddha, “Sir, 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:

“Bāhitvā pāpake dhamme, ye caranti sadā satā; Khīṇasaṁyojanā buddhā, te ve lokasmi brāhmaṇā”ti.

“Having banished bad qualities, those who live always mindful, with fetters ended, awakened, they are the world’s true brahmins.”