Heartfelt Sayings 1.4

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1. Heartfelt Sayings 1.4
2. The Mystic Syllable Huṁ
3. So I have heard.
4. At one time, when he was first awakened, the Buddha was staying in Uruvelā at the goatherd’s banyan tree on the bank of the Nerañjarā River.
5. There the Buddha sat cross-legged for seven days without moving, experiencing the bliss of freedom.
6. When seven days had passed, the Buddha emerged from that state of immersion.
7. Then a certain brahmin, one of those who murmured the mystic syllable <i lang='pi' translate='no'>huṁ</i>, <i lang='pi' translate='no'>huṁ</i>, went up to the Buddha and exchanged greetings with him.
8. When the greetings and polite conversation were over, he stood to one side and said,
9. “Worthy Gotama, how do you define a brahmin? And what are the things that make one a brahmin?”
10. Then, understanding this matter, on that occasion the Buddha expressed this heartfelt sentiment:
11. “Any brahmin who has banished bad qualities—
12. not murmuring the mystic syllable <i lang='pi' translate='no'>huṁ</i>,
    unstained, self-controlled,
13. a complete knowledge master
    who has completed the spiritual journey—
14. they may legitimately proclaim the divine doctrine;
15. who have no pretensions about anything in the world.”