Saṃyutta Nikāya · Discourse 45.37

The Brahmin Life (1st)

Brahmaññasutta — Paṭipattivagga

Setting
Sāvatthī
Speakers
The Buddha, addressing the mendicants directly
Form
The third cell of this vagga's own 3×2 matrix, changing the path's own name rather than the target
Length
<1 minute to read
Northern parallel
No individual parallel confirmed by this project's own check
Difficulty
★☆☆☆☆ — very short, a direct pairing

Why this discourse

The identical fruits-based structure as SN 45.35, but applied to a different identity term: brahmañña (“life as a brahmin,” or brahminhood), reappropriated exactly as sāmañña was — not birth or ritual status, but the eightfold path itself, with the identical four fruits.

Reading guide

A birth-based term, reappropriated as practice

Brahmañña ordinarily concerns a brahmin's own inherited status and ritual role; here it is defined purely as the eightfold path, exactly paralleling how SN 45.35 redefined sāmañña away from any external ascetic marker — confirmed by direct comparison, this project's own second instance of the identical rhetorical move within this vagga alone.

Identical structure to SN 45.35, only the name changed

Every element of this discourse — the teach-you announcement, the eightfold-path definition, the four named fruits — matches SN 45.35's own wording exactly except for the substituted term, confirmed by direct comparison of both discourses' own text.

Key terms

brahmañña — “life as a brahmin” or brahminhood — this discourse's own term, reappropriated from birth-based status to mean the eightfold path itself
brahmaññaphala — “the fruits of life as a brahmin” — identical in content to SN 45.35's own sāmaññaphala
sotāpattiphalaṁ sakadāgāmiphalaṁ anāgāmiphalaṁ arahattaphalaṁ — “stream-entry, once-return, non-return, and perfection” — the four fruits, unchanged from SN 45.35's own
ariyo aṭṭhaṅgiko maggo — the noble eightfold path, this discourse's own definition of "life as a brahmin" itself
brāhmaṇa — “brahmin” — ordinarily a birth-based social category, the term this discourse reappropriates entirely toward practice

The text

The complete discourse. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).

§1At Sāvatthī. “Mendicants, I will teach you life as a brahmin and the fruits of life as a brahmin. Listen … And what is life as a brahmin? It is simply this noble eightfold path, that is: right view, right purpose, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right immersion. This is called life as a brahmin. And what are the fruits of life as a brahmin? The fruits of stream-entry, once-return, non-return, and perfection. These are called the fruits of life as a brahmin.”

· · ·

Self-check quiz

3 questions. Click an answer to see immediate feedback. No score is recorded — this is for your own checking.

Question 1 of 3
How does this discourse define "life as a brahmin" (brahmañña)?
Correct: A. Reappropriated exactly as SN 45.35 redefined sāmañña — practice, not inherited status.
Question 2 of 3
What fruits does this discourse name, compared to SN 45.35's own?
Correct: A. Confirmed by direct comparison — every element matches SN 45.35's own except the substituted term.
Question 3 of 3
What rhetorical move does this discourse repeat from SN 45.35?
Correct: A. This project's own second instance of this identical move within this vagga alone.
Answered 0 of 3 · Correct 0