Brāhmaṇa sutta: The Brahmin

So I have heard. At one time the Buddha was staying near Sāvatthī in Jeta’s Grove, Anāthapiṇḍika’s monastery. Now at that time a number of senior monks approached the Buddha—the venerables Sāriputta, Mahāmoggallāna, Mahākassapa, Mahākaccāna, Mahākoṭṭhita, Mahākappina, Mahācunda, Anuruddha, Revata, and Nanda.

The Buddha saw them coming off in the distance, and addressed the mendicants: “These, mendicants, are brahmins coming! These are brahmins coming!” When he said this, a certain mendicant who was brahmin by birth asked the Buddha, “Sir, how do you define a brahmin? And what are the things that make one a brahmin?”

Then, understanding this matter, on that occasion the Buddha expressed this heartfelt sentiment:

“Having banished bad qualities,
those who live always mindful,
with fetters ended, awakened,
they are the world’s true brahmins.”