Once the Buddha was staying near Rājagaha, on the Vulture’s Peak Mountain. Now at that time several very well-known wanderers were residing in their monastery on the bank of the Serpentine River. They included Annabhāra, Varadhara, Sakuludāyī, and other very well-known wanderers. Then in the late afternoon, the Buddha came out of retreat and went to the monastery for the wanderers on the bank of the Serpentine River.

Now at that time this discussion came up while those wanderers of other religions were sitting together, “The truths of the brahmins are like this; the truths of the brahmins are like that.” Then the Buddha went up to those wanderers, sat down on the seat spread out, and said to them,

“Wanderers, what were you sitting talking about just now? What conversation was left unfinished?” “Well, worthy Gotama, this discussion came up among us while we were sitting together: ‘The truths of the brahmins are like this; the truths of the brahmins are like that.’”

“Wanderers, I declare these four truths of the brahmins, having realized them with my own insight. What four? Take a brahmin who says: ‘No sentient beings should be killed.’ In speaking like this, a brahmin speaks the truth, not lies. But they don’t think of themselves as an ‘ascetic’ or ‘brahmin’ because of that. Nor do they think ‘I’m better’ or ‘I’m equal’ or ‘I’m worse’. Rather, they simply practice out of kindness and sympathy for living creatures, having had insight into the truth of that.