Reading guide
The same question, this time addressed to the Buddha directly
Confirmed by direct comparison, this brahmin's own question is worded identically to Bhadda's own question at SN 47.22 — but here it is put directly to the Buddha rather than to Ānanda, and the discourse's own opening omits the courteous “good, good... your approach and eloquence are excellent” exchange found in SN 47.21 and SN 47.22.
An identical answer, differently delivered
The Buddha's own answer is confirmed by direct comparison to be worded identically to Ānanda's own answer at SN 47.22 — the same cause (developing or not developing the four kinds of mindfulness meditation) for the same two outcomes, here delivered by the Buddha himself rather than relayed through a senior disciple.
A conversion this discourse's own predecessor does not have
Confirmed by direct reading, this discourse closes with an outcome absent from SN 47.22: the brahmin, moved by the Buddha's own answer, asks to be remembered “as a lay follower who has gone for refuge for life” — a genuinely new element this discourse's own encounter with a brahmin (rather than a fellow mendicant) makes possible.
Key terms
The text
§1 — the brahmin's own questionSo I have heard. At one time the Buddha was staying near Sāvatthī in Jeta’s Grove, Anāthapiṇḍika’s monastery. Then a certain brahmin went up to the Buddha, and exchanged greetings with him. When the greetings and polite conversation were over, he sat down to one side and said to the Buddha: “What is the cause, worthy Gotama, what is the reason why the true teaching does not last long after the final quenching of the Realized One? And what is the cause, what is the reason why the true teaching does last long after the final quenching of the Realized One?”
§2 — the Buddha's own answer“Brahmin, it’s because of not developing and cultivating the four kinds of mindfulness meditation that the true teaching doesn’t last long after the final quenching of the Realized One. It’s because of developing and cultivating the four kinds of mindfulness meditation that the true teaching does last long after the final quenching of the Realized One.
§3 — the fourfold formula, and the answer restatedWhat four? It’s when a mendicant meditates by observing an aspect of the body—keen, aware, and mindful, rid of covetousness and displeasure for the world. They meditate observing an aspect of feelings … mind … principles—keen, aware, and mindful, rid of covetousness and displeasure for the world. It’s because of not developing and cultivating these four kinds of mindfulness meditation that the true teaching doesn’t last long after the final quenching of the Realized One. It’s because of developing and cultivating these four kinds of mindfulness meditation that the true teaching does last long after the final quenching of the Realized One.”
§4 — the brahmin's own conversionWhen he said this, the brahmin said to the Buddha, “Excellent, worthy Gotama! Excellent! … From this day forth, may the worthy Gotama remember me as a lay follower who has gone for refuge for life.”
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