18.2 The Story about a Certain Brahmin

Dhp 239

Burlingame: Little by Little

A Brahmin saw the bhikkhus waiting to go for alms, and each day improved the conditions where they gathered, until eventually he built a hall for them, and invited the Buddha and the bhikkhus for a meal; when the Buddha heard of his endeavours he spoke a verse.

Keywords: Offerings, Merit

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“The sage gradually,” [30.119] this Dhamma teaching was given by the Teacher while he was in residence at Jetavana with reference to a certain Brahmin.

It seems that early one morning this Brahmin went out of the city, stopped at the place where the bhikkhus put on their robes, and stood and watched them as they put on their robes. Now this place was thickly overgrown with grass. As one of the bhikkhus put on his robe, the skirt of the robe dragged through the grass and became wet with drops of dew. Thought the Brahmin: {3.339} “The grass should be cleared away from this place.”

So on the following day he took his mattock, went there, cleared the place, and made it as clean and smooth as a threshing-floor. The day after, he went to that place again. As the bhikkhus put on their robes, he observed that the skirt of the robe of one of the bhikkhus dropped to the ground and dragged in the dust. Thought the Brahmin: “Sand should be sprinkled here.” So he brought sand and sprinkled it on the ground.

Now one day before breakfast the heat was intense. On this occasion he noticed that as the bhikkhus put on their robes, sweat poured from their bodies. Thought the Brahmin: “Here I ought to cause a pavilion to be erected.” Accordingly he caused a pavilion to be erected.

Again one day, early in the morning, it rained. On this occasion also, as the Brahmin watched the bhikkhus, he noticed that their robes got wet from the drops of rain. Thought the Brahmin: “Here I ought to cause a hall to be erected.” So there he caused a hall to be erected. When the hall was finished, he thought to himself: “Now I will hold a festival in honor of the completion of the hall.” Accordingly he invited the Saṅgha of bhikkhus presided over by the Buddha, {3.340} seated the bhikkhus within and without the hall, and gave alms.

At the conclusion of the meal he took the Teacher’s bowl to permit him to pronounce the words of thanksgiving. “Venerable Sir,” he said, “as I stood in this place when the bhikkhus were putting on their robes and watched them, I saw this and that, and I did this and that.” And beginning at the beginning, he told the Teacher the whole story.

The Teacher listened to his words and then said: “Brahmin, a wise man by doing good works, time after time, little by little, [30.120] gradually removes the stains of his own bad deeds.” So saying, he pronounced the following verse:

239. Anupubbena medhāvī, thokathokaṁ khaṇe khaṇe,
kammāro rajatasseva, niddhame malam-attano.

The intelligent person gradually,
little by little, moment by moment,
like a smith removes the stain from silver
should surely remove the stain from himself. {3.341}

At the end of the teaching that Brahmin was established in the fruition of Stream-entry, and many people also had benefit from the Dhamma teaching.