Studies in the Origins of Buddhism c8.44

c8.44

Sutta 3-5.—Suttas 3-5 are closely interconnected in subject and style, and all presuppose the sāmaññaphala.° They are long unitary compositions and full of anti-Brahmanic polemic. Compared to the similarly purposed suttas in SN I and Sn, they are more developed, being longer, more aggressive and more dialectical. In the first (i.e., D.N. 2) the theory of the Thirty-two Marks is well-established. There is supernatural intervention in favour of Buddha who himself displays miraculous powers in order to convince a Brāhmaṇa about the two Marks not visible normally from the outside. The ‘sāmaññaphalas’ are divided into ‘caraṇa’ and ‘vijjā’. This corresponds to the ‘sīla-paññā’ dichotomy of the next sutta.