Brāhmaṇa Vagga

383. Strive vigorously, cut off the stream of craving, drive away sensual desires, O holy one! Knowing the destruction of all conditioned things, you will become a knower of the Unconditioned (Nibbāna), O Brahmin!

384. When the holy seeker has gone beyond in two qualities (Samatha and Vipassanā / calm and insight), then all his fetters come to an end through knowing.

385. For whom there is neither the farther shore (external sense objects) nor the near shore (internal sense organs), nor both; who is free from distress and utterly detached—him I call a true Brahmin.

386. Meditative, stainless, seated in serenity, who has done what was to be done, free from mental defilements, having attained the supreme spiritual goal—him I call a true Brahmin.

387. The sun shines by day; the moon illuminates the night; the warrior king shines in his armor; the meditating sage shines in absorption; but all day and all night, the Awakened Buddha shines in radiant spiritual glory.

388. Because he has barred all evil, he is called a Brahmin; because he walks in serene tranquility, he is called a samaṇa; and because he has driven out his own impurities, he is called a pabbajita (renunciant).

389. One should never strike a holy Brahmin, nor should a holy Brahmin ever release wrath against his attacker. Shame on him who strikes a Brahmin, and even more shame on him who releases anger in return!

390. It is of no small advantage to a Brahmin when he holds back his mind from cherished pleasures. As fast as the mind to harm is turned away, so fast does suffering subside.

391. By whom no evil is done through body, speech, or mind; who is restrained in these three portals—him I call a true Brahmin.

392. From whomsoever one learns the Dhamma expounded by the Fully Enlightened One, let one revere that teacher with utmost devotion, as a sacrificial Brahmin reveres the sacred fire.

393. Not by matted hair, nor by lineage, nor by caste birth does one become a Brahmin. In whom there is truth and Dhamma, he is pure, he is a true Brahmin!

394. What is the use of your matted hair, O foolish man? What is the use of your antelope-skin robe? Within you is a tangled thicket of defilements, yet you groom only your outside!

395. The person who wears rag-robes gathered from dust heaps, lean, with veins showing all over his body, who meditates alone in the forest—him I call a true Brahmin.

396. I do not call a person a Brahmin simply because he is born of a Brahmin mother or lineage. He is merely an arrogant addresser ('bho-sayer') if he has worldly possessions and attachments. But him who possesses nothing and clings to nothing—him I call a true Brahmin.

397. Having cut off all fetters, he who trembles not in fear; who has transcended all attachments and is utterly unbound—him I call a true Brahmin.

398. Having cut the strap (hatred), the thong (craving), the rope (sixty-two wrong views) along with the bridle (dormant defilements), and having lifted the cross-bar (ignorance)—the Awakened One—him I call a true Brahmin.

399. He who, without anger, endures abuse, beatings, and imprisonment; whose armed host is patience, and whose power is spiritual forbearance—him I call a true Brahmin.

400. He who is free from anger, observant of spiritual duties, virtuous, free from pride, fully tamed, and bearing his final physical body—him I call a true Brahmin.

401. Like water on a lotus leaf, like a mustard seed on the sharp point of an awl, he who does not cling to sensual pleasures—him I call a true Brahmin.

402. He who understands right here in this world the destruction of his own suffering, who has laid down the heavy burden and is completely unbound—him I call a true Brahmin.

403. He of profound wisdom, intelligent, skilled in discerning the right path from the wrong path, who has attained the supreme spiritual goal—him I call a true Brahmin.

404. Not mingling with householders, nor with the homeless mendicants, wandering without fixed abode and of few wants—him I call a true Brahmin.

405. He who has laid aside the rod toward all living beings, both the frail and the strong; who neither kills nor causes anyone to kill—him I call a true Brahmin.

406. Friendly among the hostile, peaceful among the violent, unattached among those who cling fiercely—him I call a true Brahmin.

407. In whom lust, hatred, pride, and deceit have dropped away like a tiny mustard seed falling off the tip of an awl—him I call a true Brahmin.

408. He who utters words that are gentle, instructive, truthful, and by which he offends no one—him I call a true Brahmin.

409. Whoever in this world takes nothing that is not given, whether long or short, small or large, beautiful or ugly—him I call a true Brahmin.

410. For whom there are no longings, either in this world or in the world beyond; who is desireless and utterly detached—him I call a true Brahmin.

411. For whom there are no lingering attachments, who through direct knowledge is free from all doubts, who has plunged into the Deathless (Nibbāna)—him I call a true Brahmin.

412. Whoever in this world has transcended the clinging bonds of both merit and demerit; who is sorrowless, stainless, and utterly pure—him I call a true Brahmin.

413. Spotless and pure like the moon, serene and undisturbed, in whom delight in rebirth has been utterly destroyed—him I call a true Brahmin.

414. He who has crossed over this quagmire, this difficult path of samsara and delusion; who has crossed over to the farther shore, meditative, unperturbed, free from doubt, cooled through non-clinging—him I call a true Brahmin.

415. Whoever in this world, having abandoned all sensual pleasures, wanders as a homeless ascetic; in whom all sensual becoming has been utterly eradicated—him I call a true Brahmin.

416. Whoever in this world, having abandoned all craving, wanders as a homeless ascetic; in whom craving and becoming have been utterly eradicated—him I call a true Brahmin.

417. Having abandoned human bonds, he has transcended even heavenly bonds; uncoupled from all bonds whatsoever—him I call a true Brahmin.

418. Having abandoned both sensory delight and discontent, cooled, substrate-free, the heroic conqueror of all the worlds—him I call a true Brahmin.

419. He who knows in every detail the death and rebirth of beings, unattached, the Well-Gone (Sugata), the Awakened One (Buddha)—him I call a true Brahmin.

420. Whose spiritual destination neither gods, nor heavenly musicians (gandhabbas), nor humans can trace; whose mental defilements are fully destroyed, the worthy Arahant—him I call a true Brahmin.

421. For whom there is nothing held dear either in the past, in the future, or in the present; who owns nothing and clings to nothing—him I call a true Brahmin.

422. The noble bull among men, the supreme hero, the great Seer, the conqueror of Māra, free from lust, fully cleansed in the holy waters of Dhamma, the Awakened One—him I call a true Brahmin.

423. He who knows his previous existences, who beholds heaven and the woeful planes of suffering, who has reached the total destruction of rebirth, a sage perfected in higher transcendental knowledge, who has completed all that has to be completed—him I call a true Brahmin.