ud1.9:0.1Heartfelt Sayings 1.9
ud1.9:0.2Matted Hair Ascetics
ud1.9:1.1So I have heard.
ud1.9:1.2At one time the Buddha was staying near Gayā on Gayā Head.
ud1.9:1.3Now at that time—during the cold spell when the snow falls in the January winter—many matted hair ascetics plunged in and out of the Gayā river. Plunging and showering, they served the sacred flame, thinking:
ud1.9:1.4“Through this there is purity.”
ud1.9:2.1The Buddha saw them plunging in and out.
ud1.9:3.1Then, understanding this matter, on that occasion the Buddha expressed this heartfelt sentiment:
ud1.9:4.1“Purity doesn’t come from water,
ud1.9:4.2no matter how many people bathe there.
ud1.9:4.3One who has truth and principle,
ud1.9:4.4they are pure, they are brahmins.”