ud1.4:0.1Heartfelt Sayings 1.4
ud1.4:0.2The Mystic Syllable Huṁ
ud1.4:1.1So I have heard.
ud1.4:1.2At one time, when he was first awakened, the Buddha was staying in Uruvelā at the goatherd’s banyan tree on the bank of the Nerañjarā River.
ud1.4:1.3There the Buddha sat cross-legged for seven days without moving, experiencing the bliss of freedom.
ud1.4:1.4When seven days had passed, the Buddha emerged from that state of immersion.
ud1.4:2.1Then a certain brahmin, one of those who murmured the mystic syllable huṁ, huṁ, went up to the Buddha and exchanged greetings with him.
ud1.4:2.2When the greetings and polite conversation were over, he stood to one side and said,
ud1.4:2.3“Worthy Gotama, how do you define a brahmin? And what are the things that make one a brahmin?”
ud1.4:3.1Then, understanding this matter, on that occasion the Buddha expressed this heartfelt sentiment:
ud1.4:4.1“Any brahmin who has banished bad qualities—
ud1.4:4.2not murmuring the mystic syllable huṁ, unstained, self-controlled,
ud1.4:4.3a complete knowledge master who has completed the spiritual journey—
ud1.4:4.4they may legitimately proclaim the divine doctrine;
ud1.4:4.5who have no pretensions about anything in the world.”