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Assalayana Sutta

The Assalayana Sutta is a part of Pali Canon. It appears in the Majjhima Nikaya, sutta number 93 of the Sutta Pitaka. This sutta is named after the Brahmin youth Assalayana who debates with the Buddha on the issue of the supremacy of Brahmin caste. In this sutta, the Buddha disputes the supremacy of Brahmins being the highest caste.

Beginning

In the beginning of this sutta, the 500 Brahmins of Savatthi are agitated by the claim that Gautama Buddha prescribes the purity of all the four castes. They think to dispute this claim by some means so they try to convince the Brahmin youth Assalayana of sixteen years old, well versed in the Vedas to debate with Buddha. The Brahmin youth Assalayana rejects the proposal to debate with Gautama Buddha three times by saying that the Buddha is a person who teaches the truth and it is hard to dispute with a person who teaches the truth. In response, the Brahmins of Savatthi convinced the Assalayana by saying: “Don’t be defeated without being defeated in battle.” In the end, the Brahmin youth Assalayana was convinced by the Brahmins and he became ready to debate with Buddha.

The Debate

After being convinced by elder Brahmins, the Brahmin youth with a large group of Brahmins goes to Buddha. He exchanges courteous greetings with him and sits down. As he sat down there he raised his first argument. The first argument he raised in the favour of Brahmin caste being the highest caste was that the Brahmins are born from the mouth of Brahma, created by Brahma and heirs of Brahma. He is quoted as saying: “Master Gotama, the brahmans say, 'Brahmans are the superior caste; any other caste is inferior. Only brahmans are the fair caste; any other caste is dark. Only brahmans are pure, not non-brahmans. Only brahmans are the sons & offspring of Brahma: born of his mouth, born of Brahma, created by Brahma, heirs of Brahma.' What does Master Gotama have to say with regard to that?”

In response the Buddha disputes this claim by saying that the Brahmin women are plainly seen having periods, getting pregnant, giving birth to children and yet being born from the birth canal the Brahmins maintain this claim which has no strength. In the second argument, the Buddha disputes that in the countries like Kamboja and Yana, and other outlying countries there are only two castes (i.e. Master and slave) and a master can become a slave and a slave can become a master. He then further asked the Brahmin youth that what strength is there when a Brahmin claim that a Brahmin is of superior caste.

Assalayana still remains unconvinced. Then the Buddha preaches that if anyone from the four castes commits 10 courses of unwholesome actions would on the break-up of the body, after death, reappears in the plane of deprivation, the bad destination, the lower realms, in hell and if anyone refrains from them would be born on the break-up of the body, after death, reappear in the good destination, the heavenly world. When Assalâyana says he is still unconvinced, the Buddha then says that anyone from the four castes and not only just the brahmins are capable of cultivating loving kindness, compassion and a heart of good will. When the Assalayana still remains unconvinced, the Buddha then narrates a parable in which a noble warrior, a Brahmin and a royal person take the upper stick of sandal wood, saala wood, salala wood, sandalwood, or padumaka wood, produce fire & make heat appear and similarly a person from outcast clan such as a scavenger a trapper, taking an upper fire-stick from a dog's drinking trough, from a pig's trough, from a dustbin, or of castor-oil wood, produce fire & make heat appear then there will be no difference in the fire produced by their respective woods as all fire has flame, colour, & radiance, and is able to do whatever a fire might be needed to do.

Next, the Buddha presents arguments based on the procreation of a human being. The Buddha asks Assalayana that what would be the offspring called if a Brahmin woman goes with a Kshatriya man and if a Kshatriya woman goes with a Brahmin man. In turn, the Assalayana replied that he would belong to both castes. The Buddha then disputes this by claiming that if a mare mates with an ass then the offspring would be called a mule. This parable shows that there is no difference among humans as they belong to one species genetically unlike animals which are different than each other. When two animals belonging to different species mate with each other then they produce a new kind of being but when a human male and a human female mate with each other they produce only a human being which is no different than other human beings.

Finally, Assalayana, the Brahmin youth, was convinced by the Buddha that all four castes can be purified.

The story of Asita Devala the dark.

After the Assalayana was convinced by the Buddha, the Buddha then narrated the story Asita Devala who was cursed by seven Brahmin seers who maintained that Brahmin caste is the highest caste. In response Asita Devala radiated loving kindness and the more the Brahmins cursed the Asita Devala, the more radiant he became. Finally, the Brahmin seers realised their mistake and asked him that who is he. On being asked, he responded that he is Asita Devala.

Asita Devala then asked them to abandon hatred towards him and in response, the Brahmins did so. After this Asita Devala confirmed from the Brahmins that whether they maintain that Brahmin caste is the highest caste or not. The Brahmins replied in the positive. On this, Asita asked the Brahmins that whether they know that their mother went only with a Brahmin and not with a non-brahmin, if their mothers of the mother who bore them — back seven generations of mothers — went only with brahmans, and not with non-brahmans. On this, the Brahmins replied that they don’t know. He further asked that if the father who sired them went only with a brahman woman, and not with a non-brahman woman and if the fathers of the father who bore them — back seven generations of fathers — went only with brahman women, and not with non-brahman women. On being asked, the Brahmins replied that they don’t know.

Then the Asita Devala asked the Brahmins that how there is the descent of an embryo. The Brahmins replied that when the mother & father have come together, the mother is fertile, and a gandhabba [the being about to be reborn] is standing present. The coming together of these three is the descent of the embryo. The Asita then asked the Brahmins that whether the gandhabba is a noble warrior, a brahman, a merchant, or a worker. They Brahmins replied in negative. Lastly the Asita Devala asked that then whether they know that who they are. The Brahmins replied that they really don’t know who they are.

The Buddha then tells Assalayana that when seven Brahmin seer couldn’t defend their own birth statement on being interrogated and rebuked by the Devala then how could he maintain his birth statement.

Assalayana goes to refuge to Buddha.

After being impressed by the Buddha’s statements, the Brahmin Assalayana goes to refuge to Buddha and becomes his lay disciple.