Linked Discourses with Brahmins

When a brahmin lady expresses her confidence in the Triple Gem, her husband is annoyed. She encourages him to visit the Buddha, who soothes his anger.

A brahmin visits the Buddha and unleashes a tirade of abuse, but the Buddha refuses to accept it, showing that he remains free of anger.

A brahmin visits the Buddha and abuses him, but the Buddha responds only with patience.

Hearing that a brahmin had gone forth under the Buddha, another brahmin was upset. But once again the Buddha calms him down, pointing out that anger only harms oneself.

A brahmin called “Harmless” visits the Buddha, who teaches him the true meaning of harmlessness.

A brahmin with matted hair asks the Buddha how we can become disentangled. This short set of verses became one of the most important in all of Theravāda Buddhism when it was used as the cornerstone of the commentarial treatise Visuddhimagga (Path of Purification).

The brahmin Suddhika makes the strikingly Buddhist assertion that mere austerities don’t lead to purity; only knowledge and conduct do.

A brahmin conducting a fire sacrifice invites the Buddha to accept the blessed milk-rice, claiming that the Buddha is a true brahmin.

A brahmin conducting a fire sacrifice wishes to offer the sacrificial cake. He sees the Buddha meditating and wants to give it to him, but hesitates when he realizes he is a shaven-headed ascetic. He asks the Buddha’s caste, but the Buddha argues that conduct is the important thing, not caste. The Buddha gives a metaphorical reinterpretation of the elements of brahmanical ritual.

A brahmin is searching for his lost oxen when he sees the Buddha meditating peacefully in the forest. He laments the many sorrows of his life, celebrating the Buddha’s happiness and freedom from such sorrows.

A brahmin farmer criticizes the Buddha for failing to produce food, merely living off the work of others. But the Buddha shows that his true work is spiritual.

A brahmin complains when the Buddha visits for alms again and again. The Buddha takes the chance to point out that all natural phenomena repeat in cycles, and only an awakened one escapes the cycle.

The Buddha is ill and sends his attendant monk Upavāṇa to fetch some hot water. A brahmin gives him not just water, but also molasses to ease his stomach. Later the brahmin visits the Buddha to discuss generosity.

A brahmin in shabby clothes has been kicked out of his home by ungrateful sons. The Buddha gives him a verse to recite in the village council, comparing his faithless sons to his trusty wooden staff. Ashamed, the sons take back their father, bathe and dress him.

A stuck-up brahmin listening to the Buddha teach is awestruck when the Buddha appears to read his mind. To the surprise of the crowd, he bows and kisses the Buddha’s feet. The Buddha tells him to take his seat, and they exchange verses on the topic of conceit.

A brahmin who loves to contradict everyone approaches the Buddha thinking to challenge him. But when he hears the Buddha speak, he cannot find anything to contradict.

A brahmin is enjoying his work in the woods. Seeing the Buddha in meditation, he wonders what sort of work the Buddha enjoys.

Some brahmin students are collecting firewood when they see the Buddha in meditation. They return and inform their teacher, who visits the Buddha to ask him how he is so peaceful in the wild forest.

A brahmin wonders whether the legitimate seeking of alms is a proper way to support his parents.

The Buddha explains that a true mendicant is one who has gone beyond evil.

A brahmin believes that by bathing he can wash away his sins. But the Buddha speaks of the Dhamma as a lake for true purification.

When the Buddha approaches a brahmin council in session, they complain that he is out of order.