Udāna 1: Bodhivaggo
The Chapter (including the Discourses) about the Awakening (Tree)

5: The Discourse about the Elders

Thus I heard:
at one time the Fortunate One was dwelling near Sāvatthī, in Jeta’s Wood, at Anāthapiṇḍika’s monastery.

Then at that time venerable Sāriputta, venerable Mahāmoggallāna, venerable Mahākassapa, venerable Mahākaccāyana, venerable Mahākoṭṭhita, venerable Mahākappina, venerable Mahācunda, venerable Anuruddha, venerable Revata, and venerable Nanda went to the Fortunate One. Ānando in BJT. Nando in ChS, which is to be preferred, as all the bhikkhus who are named are Arahants (Brāhmaṇas), while Ānanda was still a sekha (trainee).

The Fortunate One saw those venerable ones coming while still far away, Wijesekera, Syntax §131c has shown that dūrato in these contexts does not mean from afar (which makes it sound like they had come a long way, but while they were still a distance away (from him), which I follow in the translation here. and having seen (them), he addressed the monks (saying): “These brāhmaṇas are coming, monks; these brāhmaṇas are coming, monks.” Repetition as here is a common form of emphasis in the Pāḷi discourses.

After that was said, a certain monk who was a brāhmaṇa by birth, said to the Fortunate One: “To what extent, dear Gotama, is one a brāhmaṇa? And again what things make one a brāhmaṇa?”

Then the Fortunate One, having understood the significance of it, on that occasion uttered this exalted utterance:

last updated: November 2011