Udāna
1 4: Huhuṅka Suttaɱ
Awakening (1)
Translated from the Pali by Thanissaro Bhikkhu.
For free distribution only.
[I-4.1] I have heard that on one occasion, the Blessed One was staying at Uruvelā on the bank of the Nerañjarā River at the root of the Bodhi tree — the tree of awakening — newly awakened. And on that occasion he sat at the root of the Bodhi tree for seven days in one session, sensitive to the bliss of release. At the end of seven days, he emerged from that concentration.
Then a certain overbearing brahman went to the Blessed One and, on arrival, exchanged courteous greetings with him. After an exchange of friendly greetings and courtesies, he stood to one side. As he was standing there, he said to the Blessed One, "To what extent, Master Gotama, is one a brahman? And which are the qualities that make one a brahman?"
Then, on realizing the significance of that, the Blessed One on that occasion exclaimed:
Any brahman
who has banished evil qualities,[1]
— not overbearing,
not stained,
his mind controlled —
gone to the end of wisdom,[2]
the holy life completed:[3]
Rightly would that brahman
speak the holy teaching.
He has no swelling of pride[4]
anywhere in the world.
[1] This line contains a wordplay on the words brāhmaṇa and bāhita(banished) — the same wordplay used in Dhp 388 and Ud 1.5.
[2] This line plays with the term vedanta, which can mean "end of wisdom," "end of the Vedas," or "supplement to the Vedas." In the latter two cases, it would be a term referring to a brahman-by-birth who has studied all the Vedas and their supplements, but the Buddha is obviously giving this term a different meaning here.
[3] Here and two lines down, the word "holy" translates brahma.
