Once, Gautam Buddha, during his travels, reached a place that had been gifted to a Brahmin named Sonadanda by the King of Magadha. When the news reached Sonadanda, he came to see the Buddha. Accompanying him were five hundred Brahmins. Sonadanda thought, ‘If I ask the Buddha a question, the Brahmins may think that it is not a proper question and make fun of me. On the other hand, if the Buddha were to ask me a question, my answer might not satisfy him. If he says so, the Brahmins would again make fun of me.’ Worried, he simply greeted the Buddha and sat to one side without saying much.
The Buddha thought, ‘Sonadanda is worried. Let me ask him a question from his own field of expertise as a teacher of the Vedas.’ He said, ‘By how many qualities is one recognised as a Brahmin? How would one truthfully declare, “I am a Brahmin”?’ In those days, the term ‘Brahmin’ referred both to those born into the Brahmin varna and to learned persons. Sonadanda was very happy that a question had been asked in his field of expertise and proceeded to answer, ‘There are five such qualities. A Brahmin should be well-born on both his father’s and mother’s sides for seven generations. He should be a scholar well-versed in mantras. He should be handsome and pleasing. He should be virtuous. He should be learned and wise.’The Buddha said, ‘If one of those five qualities were omitted, could one still be recognised as a true Brahmin?’ Sonadanda said, ‘It is possible. We could leave out appearance, for it does not matter.’
The Buddha again said, ‘But could one of those four qualities be omitted, leaving three as the marks of a true Brahmin?’ Sonadanda said, ‘It is possible. We could leave out mantras, for what do they matter?’ The Buddha said, ‘But could one of these three qualities be omitted?’ Sonadanda said, ‘It is possible. We could leave out birth, for what does it matter? If a person is virtuous and wise, he could truthfully claim to be a Brahmin.’ At this, an uproar arose among the assembled Brahmins. They said, ‘Do not say that, Sonadanda. You are saying that birth, knowledge of mantras and appearance are not marks of a learned man. You are adopting the ascetic Gautam’s words.’ By now, Sonadanda had understood where the Buddha was leading him with his questions. He declared, ‘The only two marks of a good man are wisdom and morality. Just as one hand washes the other, wisdom is purified by morality, and morality is purified by wisdom.’ Saying this, he became a disciple of the Buddha.
