Brahmajalasutta 1.31
Brahmajala Sutta (Dialogues of the Buddha) 1.31
- Language
- English
1.31
‘In the first place, brethren, some recluse or Brahman by means of ardour, of exertion, of application, of earnestness, of careful thought, reaches up to such rapture of heart that, rapt in heart, he calls to mind his various dwelling-places in times gone by-in one birth, or in two, or three, or four, or five, or ten, or twenty, or thirty, or forty, or fifty, or a hundred, or a thousand, or in several hundreds or thousands or laks of births-to the effect that " There I had such and such a name, was of such and such a lineage and caste, lived on such and such food, experienced such and such pains and pleasures, had such and such a span of years. And when I fell from thence I was reborn in such and such a place tinder such and such a name, in such and such a lineage and caste, living on such and such food, experiencing such and such pains and pleasures, with such and such a span of years. And when I fell from thence I was reborn here.” Thus does he recollect, in full detail both of condition and of custom, his various dwelling places in times zone by. And he says to himself: “Eternal is the soul; and the world, giving birth to nothing new, is stedfast as a mountain peak, as a pillar firmly fixed. and though these living creatures transmigrate and pass away, fall from one state of existence and spring up in another, yet they ale forever and ever. And why must that be so? Because I, by means of ardour of exertion of application of earnestness of careful thought, can reach up to such rapture of heart that, rapt in heart, I can call to mind, and in full detail both of condition and of custom, my various dwelling-places in times gone by-by that is it that I know this-that the soul is eternal; and that the world, giving birth to nothing new, is stedfast as a mountain peak, as a pillar firmly fixed; and that though these living creatures transmigrate and pass away, fall from one state of existence and spring up in another, yet they are forever and ever.”
‘This, brethren, is the first state of things on account of which, starting from which, some recluses and Brahmans are Eternalists, and maintain that both the soul and the world are eternal.
1.31.n1
Gotra, literally ‘cow-stall.’ The history of this word has yet to be written. It probably meant at the time this Sutta was written a family or lineage traced through the father. On the meaning of gotraja (the gentiles of Roman Law) in the later law-books see West and Bühler, ‘Hindu Law of Inheritance,’ p.17 I.
1.31.n2
Vaṇṇa, literally colour.’ Gogerly renders it ‘appearance,’ and Neumann ‘Beruf.’ I have chosen caste (though it is not caste in its strictest sense) because it no doubt refers to the cattāro vaṇṇā mentioned so often in the Suttas. it is true that these-Khattiyas, Brahmans, Vessas, and Suddas-were not castes, but four divisions of the people, each consisting of many subdivisions (by customs as to connubium and commensality) which afterwards hardened into castes.,,See J. R. A. S., 1897, PP. SO-,90.
Linked texts (1)
- Brahmajālasutta — Pāli