Dictionary of Pali Proper Names v2.c35.647

v2.c35.647

Vasala Sutta.—The seventh sutta of the Uragavagga of the Sutta Nipāta. It was preached at Sāvatthi to the brahmin Aggikabhāradvāja,¹ who reviled the Buddha, calling him outcaste (vasala) when the Buddha went to his house for alms. The Buddha replied that the brahmin knew neither the meaning of vasala, nor what makes a man such. At the request of the brahmin he preached this sutta, the burden of which is that it is not by birth that one is an outcaste or a brāhmaṇa, but by one's deeds.² The Sutta is also included in the Parittas (q.v.).