33. The Brāhmana (UV-KG33)

He who, though having ornamental apparel, is righteous, controlled, quiet, restrained, leading a life of holiness (brahmacharya), who neither harms or kills any living thing, he is a Brāhmana, a Śramana, he is a Bhixu.

It is not by nakedness, by long hair, by dirt, by fasting, or by sleeping on the bare ground, not by dust and dirt, or by devoting oneself to sitting motionless, that men become pure and leave their doubts behind.

Whatever Śramanas and Brāhmanas there be who have passions, they will not put an end to sinfulness (the āsravas), and will experience the suffering of passing from life to life (transmigrating).

Whatever Śramanas and Brāhmanas there be who have passions, they will not put an end to sensation (vedanā), and will experience the suffering of passing from life to life.

Whatever Śramanas and Brāhmanas there be who have passions, and who have but a foolish object in view, they will experience the suffering of passing from life to life.

Whatever Śramanas and Brāhmanas there be who have passions, the foolish, stupid men will experience the suffering of passing from life to life.

Whatever Śramanas and Brāhmanas there be who have passions, they will not find the blessed ideal (nirvāṇa), and will experience the suffering of passing from life to life.

O fool! what is the use of thy long locks? what is the use of thy garment of skin? Within thee there abides darkness; the outside thou makest clean.

One does not become a Brāhmana by his family, by his long locks, by his lineage; he who possesses the law of truth and who is pure, he is a Brāhmana.

One does not become a Brāhmana by his family, by his long locks, by his lineage; he who casts away all sins both great and small, him, because he has cast away sin, I call a Brāhmana.

A man is not a Śramana on account of his shaven head, a man is not a Brāhmana because he says “Om!” He who knows what is virtue, and who is pure, he is a Brāhmana.

A man is not a Śramana on account of his shaven head; a man is not a Brāhmana because he says “Om!” He who casts away all sins both great and small, he, because he has cast away sins, is a Śramana, a Brāhmana.

One does not become pure by washing, as do the common of mortals in this world; he who casts away every sin both great and small, he, because he has cast away sins, is a Śramana, a Brāhmana.

He who has cast off all sinfulness, who devotes himself to continual reflection, who has the perfect enlightenment of the destruction of all attachment, he in the (three) worlds is a Brāhmana.

The Brāhmana who has cast off all sinfulness, who is without hypocrisy, and who leads a pure life, has reached the perfection (set forth in) the Vedas; his life is a life of holiness (brahmacharya), and when he does speak, his speech is holy.

He who is not given to deceiving, who is without selfishness, who is without passions, without expectation, who has conquered hatred, who is on the way to nirvāṇa (the extinction of sorrow), he is a Brāhmana, a Śramana, he is a Bhixu.

He who has been born of woman, if he has great possessions, he may be called “Bhovadi,” but I call him not a Brāhmana; he who possesses nothing, who accepts nothing, him I call a Brāhmana.

He who does nothing sinful in body, speech, and mind, who has the three parts well controlled, he, I declare, is a Brāhmana.

He who uses not harsh words, who speaks what is right (true) and pleasing, who is without sinfulness, he, I declare, is a Brāhmana.

He who patiently endures stripes, bonds, and abuse, in whose manner is patience, which gives the strength of a host, he, I declare, is a Brāhmana.

He who is without anger, who observes the precepts, well-behaved, without desires, who has now a body for the last time, he, I declare, is a Brāhmana.

He who no longer dwells among either the clergy or the laity, who has few desires, who frequents not houses, he, I declare, is a Brāhmana.

He for whom there are no pleasures in the future, who feels no pain on account of those he has left behind, who has thrown off the bond of voluptuousness, who has conquered in the fight (against Māra), he, I declare, is a Brāhmana.

He for whom there are no pleasures in the future, who feels no pain on account of those he has left behind, who is immaculate, dispassionate, without sorrow, he, I declare, is a Brāhmana.

He who nourishes not the smallest desire, who is subdued, who is devoted to (acquiring) the chief thing (nirvāṇa), who has destroyed sinfulness (āsravas), who is cleansed from stains, he, I declare, is a Brāhmana.

He for whom there is neither this side nor that side, who has reached the end of all conditions, he, I declare, is a Brāhmana.

He for whom there is neither this side or that side, who is without fondness for the three objects, he, I declare, is a Brāhmana.

He who takes nothing in this world, whether it be short or long, thin or thick, good or bad, he, I declare, is a Brāhmana.

He then who, having wisdom, puts an end to his suffering, being without passions, free from everything, he, I declare, is a Brāhamana.

He who has cast off both virtue and vice, who is divested of everything, who is without passion (rāga), at peace, he, I declare, is a Brāhmana.

He who has left behind all fondness for virtue and vice, who has left fondness behind, who is perfectly emancipated, he, I declare, is a Brāhmana.

He for whom there is no behind, before, and between, who is without passion (rāga), freed from bondage, he, I declare, is a Brāhmana.

He who, like water on the leaf of a lotus, like a mustard seed on the end of a reed, does not adhere to vice, he, I declare, is a Brāhmana.

He who, like water on the leaf of a lotus, like a mustard seed on the end of a reed, does not adhere to pleasures, he, I declare, is a Brāhmana.

He who, like water on the leaf of a lotus, like a mustard seed on the end of a reed, has thrown off delight in existence, he, I declare, is a Brāhmana.

He who, like the moon, is chaste, pure, undefiled, perfectly clear, who has stripped off sinfulness, he, I declare is a Brāhmana.

He who, like the moon, is chaste, pure, undefiled, perfectly clear, who has cast off all delight in existence, he, I declare, is a Brāhmana.

He who is stripped of sinfulness, as is the heaven of mire and the moon of dust, he, I declare, is a Brāhmana.

He who is stripped of desires, as is the heaven of mire and the moon of dust, he, I declare, is a Brāhmana.

He who has cast off all delight in existence, as does the heaven mire and the moon dust, he, I declare, is a Brāhmana.

He who dwells (in solitude), free from passion (rāga), meditating, without sin (āsrava), having done what ought to be done, subdued, having his last body, he, I declare, is a Brāhmana.

He whose knowledge is deep, whose mind is well directed, who knows the right and the wrong way, who has found the greatest blessing (the way to nirvāṇa), he, I declare, is a Brāhmana.

The men, whoever they be, who live solely on alms, who have nothing that is their own, who do no harm, who are steadfast, who live a life of holiness (brahmatcharya), who, being perfectly wise (themselves), teach the law (the nidānas), they, I declare, are Brāhmanas.

He who casts off desires, who becomes homeless on entering the priesthood, who puts an end to the sin of desire, he, I declare, is a Brāhmana.

He who does not harm any living creature, who does not kill or take part in killing, he, I declare, is a Brāhmana.

He who is tolerant with the intolerant, who patiently endures punishment, who is merciful to all creatures, he, I declare, is a Brāhmana.

As a mustard seed on the point of a reed (drops off), so he who keeps passions, hatred, and selfishness under control, he, I declare, is a Brāhmana.

He who passes beyond this stronghold of affections and the river of transmigration, who having crossed over (i.e., having found the way to nirvāṇa), has not both his mind and thoughts preoccupied about going to the other shore, who has left behind attachment (upādāna), he, I declare, is a Brāhmana.

He who has no desire for this world or for the other, who has put an end to all fondness for existence, he, I declare, is a Brāhmana.

He who is without love for this world or for the other, who is without love, who has completely cast it off, he, I declare, is a Brāhmana.

He who, casting off what is pleasant and unpleasant, has become cool {i.e., has found contentment), who is without sin, who has overcome the whole world, who is steadfast, he, I declare, is a Brāhmana.

He who, having cast off human attachment, has left behind the attachment of the gods, he who is free from all attachment, he, I declare, is a Brāhmana.

He whose way the Devas, Gandharvas, and men comprehend not, he whose passiveness mankind does not comprehend, he, I declare, is a Brāhmana.

He for whom there exists no law that is not known and understood, he who sees to the remotest parts of knowledge, he, I declare, is a Brāhmana.

He who, knowing his former abodes (existences), perceives heaven (svarga) and hell, the Muni who has found the way to put an end to birth, who is perfected in knowledge, who knows the termination of suffering, he, I declare, is a Brāhmana.

He whose mind is perfectly emancipated, who is wise, who is delivered from all passions, who possesses the triple knowledge (trividyā), he, I declare, is a Brāhmana.

He who understands the deaths, changes, and births of all sentient creatures, who has the all-penetrating eye (sammanta chakkhu), who is perfectly enlightened (Buddha), he, I declare, is a Brāhmana.

He who has left all attachment behind, who is without affliction, without joy, who is reflective, and who teaches (others), he, I declare, is a Brāhmana.

He who is a Muni, a conqueror (djina), the greatest of Rischis, the chief of chiefs, the greatest of bulls (usabham), who has nought to seek for, who has been washed clean, who is perfectly enlightened (Buddha), he, I declare, is a Brāhmana.

He who has given up existence, who has conquered everything, who has crossed the stream, who is well away (from the world), who has cast off everything, and has reached the other shore, he, I declare, is a Brāhmana.

He who thinks not of what is sinful, who does not speak inconsiderately, who lives, his mind free from passion, (rāga), he, I declare, is a Brāhmana.

He whose clothes come from piles of rubbish, who learns to be modest, who is without desires, who lives near a tree, he, I declare, is a Brāhmana.

He who, having cast away all suffering, is at rest, and who gives himself up to meditating on the holy eightfold way, he, I declare, is a Brāhmana.

He who has given up everything (worldly), who is enlightened, without doubt and misery, who perceives the perfect state free from death (akkhara?—i.e., nirvāṇa), he, I declare, is a Brāhmana.

He who is without a body, who lives in a cave, who wanders about alone, who controls the fleeting mind which is hard to control, he, I declare, is a Brāhmana.

He who comprehends the immaterial (arūpa) which cannot be seen, the infinite (ananta) which cannot possibly be seen, the subtile, the fundamental, who is always reflective, who has put an end to all attachment (yoga), who is perfectly enlightened (Buddha), he, in this world, is a Brāhmana.

He who has destroyed the fastenings (?) and the cords, who by cutting the cords and the ropes has thrown off all affliction and is enlightened, he, I declare, is a Brāhmana.

He who has destroyed desires for (worldly) goods, sinfulness, the bonds of the eye of the flesh, who has torn up desire by the very root, he, I declare, is a Brāhmana.

He who by earnestness has cut the stream, who has overcome all desires, who knows the end of the sanskāra, who is without sin, he is a Brāhmana.

He who has killed father and mother and two pure (śuxi) kings, and who has conquered their kingdoms with the inhabitants, is without sin, is a Brāhmana.

He who has killed father and mother and two pure kings, and who has killed an irresistible tiger (veyyaggha, i.e., cruelty), is without sin, is a Brāhmana.

He who stupidly drives away a virtuous Brāhmana, is wicked; one should not strike Brāhmanas; one should not drive away Brāhmanas.

He who perfectly understands the laws should be honoured and respected by both young and old, as the Brāhmana does the holy fire (aggihuttam).

He who perfectly understands the laws should be honoured and reverentially approached by both old and young, as does the Brāhmana the holy fire.

He who perfectly understands the law taught by the perfect Buddha, should be honoured and respected, as the Brāhmana does the holy fire.

He who perfectly understands the law taught by the perfect Buddha should be honoured and reverentially approached, as does the Brāhmana the holy fire.

When the Brāhmana has reached the other shore of existence, then he stands alone, having left far behind (all fear) of Piśātchas (and Rākchas like) Vakula.

When the Brāhmana has reached the other shore of existence (lit. of the law), then he sees, and all the perceptions (vedanā) vanish from his sight.

When the Brāhmana has reached the other shore of existence, then he sees, and all causes (hetu) vanish.

When the Brāhmana has reached the other shore of existence, then he sees, and all attachment (yoga) vanishes.

When the Brāhmana has reached the other shore of existence, then he leaves behind him birth, old age, and death.

(387, 1st part). The sun shines by day, the moon shines by night, the suit of armour of the king doth shine, the Brāhmana shines in his meditation.

(387, 2nd part). The sun shines by day, the moon shines by night, continually, day and night, does the luminous (form of the) Buddha shine.

As Brāhmanas and the like have left behind everything that is disagreeable, as my mind has consequently left behind (all passions), I have truly put an end to all pettiness.

When the ardent, meditative Brāhmana has perfectly understood the (different) conditions (dharma) and their causes (the twelve nidānas), and when these ideas have

When the ardent, meditative Brāhmana has perfectly understood suffering and its cause, and when this idea (dharma) has become perfectly clear to him, then he casts away every particle of perplexity.

When the ardent, meditative Brāhmana has discovered the destruction of sensation (vedanā), and when this idea has become perfectly clear to him, then he casts away every particle of perplexity.

When the ardent, meditative Brāhmana has discovered the cessation of all causes (hetu), and (when) this idea has become perfectly clear to him, then he casts away every particle of perplexity.

When the ardent, meditative Brāhmana has discovered the cessation of sinfulness (āsravas), and when this idea has become perfectly clear to him, then he casts away every particle of perplexity.

When to the ardent, meditative Brāhmana all these ideas have become perfectly clear, he stands lighting up all the worlds (or the whole world) as the sun illuminates the sky.

When to the ardent, meditative Brāhmana, who by knowledge has become emancipated from all attachment (yoga), all these ideas have become perfectly clear, he stands, having dispelled the hosts of Māra (like the sun that illuminates the sky?).

Chapter on the Brāhmana, the Thirty-third.

The Udānavarga compiled by Dharmatrāta is finished.

Translated by Woodville Rockhill.

1975, Udânavarga: a collection of verses from the Buddhist canon compiled by Dharmatrâta, Oriental Press, Amsterdam (reprint of original from 1883).

Translated (into Tibetan) by the Indian Pandit Vidyaprabhakara and the Lotsāva Bande-rin-tchen-mtchog; revised and arranged by the corrector, the Lotsāva Bande-dpal-brtsegs.

Original taken from University of Oslo, faculty of humanities.

Prepared for SuttaCentral by Yasoj and Ayya Vimala.