BrahmajÄla Sutta
The first sutta of the DÄ«gha NikÄya. It was taught the paribbÄjaka Suppiya and his disciple Brahmadatta. It first explains the moral precepts (sÄ«lÄ), in three successive sections — concise (cūḷa), medium (majjhima), and elaborate (mahÄ) — and then proceeds to set out in sixty-two divisions various speculations and theories regarding the “soul†(D.i.46). Other names for it are AtthajÄla, DhammajÄla, Diá¹á¹hijÄla, and Saá¹…gÄmavijaya. At the end of the discourse the ten world systems trembled (D.i.46). It is said that once when Piṇá¸apÄtiya Thera recited this sutta at the KalyÄṇiya vihÄra, his mind concentrated on the Buddha, the earth trembled; the same phenomenon occurred when the DÄ«ghabhÄṇaka Theras recited it at the Ambaá¹á¹hikÄ, to the east of the LohapÄsÄda (DA.i.131).
The Brahmaj'Äla was the first sutta taught in SuvaṇṇabhÅ«mi, when Soṇa and Uttara visited it as missionaries (Mhv.xii.51).
The Sutta is often quoted, sometimes even in the Canon, e.g., S.iv. 286, 287.
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