The Religions of India c19.122

c19.122

When it is said that Buddha preaches to a new convert ‘in due course,’ it means always that he gave him first a lecture on morality and religion, and then possibly, but not necessarily, on the ‘system.’ And Buddha has no narrow-minded aversion to Brahmans; he accepts ‘Brahman’ as he accepts ‘Brahmā,’ only he wants it to be understood what is a real Brahman: ‘A certain Brahman once asked Buddha how one becomes a Brahman, — what are the characteristics that make a man a Brahman. And the Blessed One said: “The Brahman who has removed all sinfulness, who is free from haughtiness, free from impurity, self-restrained, who is an accomplished master of knowledge, who has fulfilled the duties of holiness, — such a Brahman justly calls himself a Brahman.”’¹ The *Mahāvagga*, from which this is taken, is full of such sentiments. As here, in i. 2, so in i. 7: “The Blessed One preached to Yasa, the noble youth, ‘in due course,’” that is to say, “he talked about the merit obtained by alms-giving, the duties of morality, about heaven, about the evils of vanity and sinfulness of desire,” and when the Blessed One saw that the mind of Yasa, the noble youth, was prepared, “then he preached the principal doctrine of the Buddhists, namely, suffering, the cause of suffering, the cessation of suffering, the Path;” and “just as a clean cloth takes the dye, thus Yasa, the noble youth, even while sitting there, obtained the knowledge that whatsoever is subject to birth is also subject to death.”²