Dhammapada Verse 393 - Jatilabrahmana Vatthu

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Source: Adapted from the original translation by Daw Mya Tin, M.A.

Dhammapada Verse 393 - Jatilabrahmana Vatthu
Na jatahi na gottena

na jacca hoti brahmano

yamhi saccanca(1) dhammo(2) ca

so suci so ca brahmano.

Verse 393: Not by wearing matted hair, nor by lineage, nor by caste, does one become a brahmana; only he who realizes the Truth and the Dhamma is pure; he is a brahmana.

1. sacca: the Four Noble Truths.

2. dhamma : the nine Transcendentals, viz., the four Maggas, the four Phalas and Nibbana.

The Story of Jatila, the Brahmin

While residing at the Jetavana monastery, the Buddha uttered Verse (393) of this book, with reference to Jatila, a brahmin ascetic who wore matted hair.

Once, a brahmin ascetic thought to himself that the Buddha called his disciples 'brahmanas' and that he being a brahmin by birth should also be called a 'brahmana'. Thinking thus, he went to see the Buddha and put forward his view. But the Buddha rejected his view and said, "O brahmin, I do not call one a brahmana because he keeps his hair matted or simply because of his birth; I call one a brahmana only if he fully comprehends the Four Noble Truths."

Then the Buddha spoke in verse as follows:

Verse 393: Not by wearing matted hair, nor by lineage, nor by caste, does one become a brahmana; only he who realizes the Truth and the Dhamma is pure; he is a brahmana.

Credits
Translated by Daw Mya Tin, M.A.

Edited by Editorial Committee, Burma Tipitaka Association Rangoon, Burma, 1986

Courtesy of Nibbana.com

For free distribution only, as a gift of dhamma.

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