Introduction

While the Buddha was staying in the village of Manasakata, He stayed in a mango grove by the Aciravati River. At that time, many noble and wealthy brahmins resided in Manasakata. Each in his own way, they preached the teachings of the Three Vedas (the Vedas are ancient sacred scriptures consisting primarily of chants accompanying rituals. The study and chanting of Vedic texts was practiced among the Brahmins).
Two young brahmins, Vasettha and Bharadvaja, had a dispute over which of the renowned brahmins' paths led to the attainment of truth and union with Brahma after death. They decided to resolve their dispute with the help of the hermit Gotama. They approached him and asked whose path was straight, and whether these paths led to the goal.

Buddha's Questions to the Young Brahmins

The way the young Brahmins pose their questions reveals their doubts about their teachers' knowledge and their trust in the Buddha's. Therefore, the conversation is marked by mutual trust. The Buddha's questions allow the young Brahmins to shed the sense of superiority characteristic of those belonging to the Brahmin caste.

The question of direct acquaintance with Brahma

First, the Buddha asks the young Brahmins whether any of their teachers had seen or directly known Brahma. Receiving a negative answer, the Buddha then asks whether any of their predecessors, who composed the Vedic poems, knew Brahma or communicated with Brahma directly. The answer is still negative. Then the Buddha gives the example of a man approaching the Aciravati River and begging, imploring, the other bank of the river to come to him. Will the other bank of the river come to this man in response to his prayers and requests? Vasettha and Bharadvaja answer in the negative. The Buddha then asserts that the knowledge of those who preach what neither they nor their teachers have personally experienced is baseless. They themselves are like a procession of blind men leading one another.

The question of the qualities of Brahma in comparison with the qualities of the Brahmins

The Buddha asks Vasetthu and Bharadvaja about the qualities of Brahma: Does Brahma possess property? Is Brahma hostile in thought? Is Brahma defiled (by sensual desires)? Is Brahma self-controlled?

Vasettha and Bharadvaja answer thus: Brahma has no property, He is not hostile, not contaminated (by sensual desires), Brahma is self-controlled (restrained).

Then the Buddha inquired about the manifestation of the same qualities in the Brahmins who preached the Three Vedas. The young Brahmins responded as follows: they possessed property, were hostile in their thoughts, were defiled (by sensual desires), and lacked self-control.

How, the Buddha asks, can these Brahmins unite with Brahma after the dissolution of the visible body? Isn't this impossible? And again, the Buddha's interlocutors agree.

In conclusion, the Buddha says that the Three Vedas do not lead to liberation. Therefore, relying on them is tantamount to wandering in a barren desert or thicket, risking death.

Vasettha's Question about Buddha's Knowledge

Vasettha asks the Buddha whether He knows the way to union with Brahma.

Buddha's answer to the question about the path to union with Brahma

The Buddha responds to Vasettha's question with an ironic counter-question: could a person born and living in the village of Manasakata explain the way there? Just as it is easy for this person to explain the way to his native village, so it is easy for an Arhat, an Awakened One, to explain the way to Brahma. What is this Path?

The Buddha expounds three sets of teachings in sequence (for a summary of these, see the Subha Sutta, Digha Nikaya 10). This summary constitutes the main part of the sutta, as it does in all of the first 13 suttas of the Digha Nikaya.

After explaining the three sets of precepts, the Buddha describes the state of a person who has realized them in their behavior of body, mind, and speech. Such a person abides, permeating all directions with a mind filled with loving kindness. Their purified mind is like the sound of a conch shell blown by a strong man. This sound permeates everything. Along with goodwill, this person's mind is filled with compassion, the joy of associating with virtuous friends, and serenity. The good qualities of this person's mind (brahmavihara) permeate the world from top to bottom, so that no dimension remains untouched by this beautiful and sublime purity. A person in such a state has no need to accumulate possessions, is not hostile, is not defiled by desires, and is self-controlled. Therefore, possessing the qualities of Brahma, after death they attain union with Brahma.

The young Brahmins, accepting the profound explanations of the Buddha, become His lay followers.

Brahmaviharas

Literally, brahmavihara is the abode of Brahma. The four brahmaviharas at the center of the Buddhist Dhamma are metta, karuna, mudita, and upekkha. In the text, we have settled on this way of interpreting them: kindness, compassion, joy in the company of virtuous friends, and serenity. Interpretations of the meanings of the brahmaviharas, as well as the term itself, are ambiguous. Perhaps the best way to approach these concepts is to understand that they are not limited by the number four, nor by precise, fixed meanings. Since the brahmaviharas are descriptions of a perfect state of consciousness in emotional language, it makes sense to seek inspiration in them rather than ultimate certainty.

Differences in the descriptions of the state of Brahma in the suttas of the Digha Nikaya

It is interesting to compare the description of Brahma's state in the Tevijja Sutta with that in the Kevaddha Sutta (Digha Nikaya 11)and the Brahmajjala Sutta (Digha Nikaya 1). Only in the Tevijja Sutta is the state of Brahma presented as identical to Arhatship, which is achieved by fulfilling the three sets of precepts. The striking difference in descriptions stems from the different levels of development of the Buddha's listeners. In the Brahmajjala Sutta, the Buddha explains the subtlest understanding of Brahma to his close disciple Ananda. In the Kevaddha Sutta, the Buddha has an ironic conversation with his inexperienced lay follower, Kevaddha. In the Tevijja Sutta, the Buddha's interlocutors are two young brahmins who take refuge in the Buddha, Dhamma, and Sangha only after the sermon. Their spiritual ideal is merging with Brahma, so the Buddha, in the language of Chinese stratagems, abandons the house and replaces its columns. The Buddha abandons the Brahmins' belief that the highest state is merging with Brahma. Instead of arguing over the name and definition of this state, the Buddha explains the qualities of the state of liberation itself. Therefore, the teaching on Arhatship and nirvana in this sutta takes the form of a teaching on the Brahmaviharas—the Four Immeasurable Feelings.