Once, the Buddha was staying in the Bamboo Grove in Rajagaha. At that time, there was a Brahman named Brahmadatta, whose wife, Mahadhammapala, had great faith in the Triple Gem. One day, Mahadhammapala was bringing food to Brahmadatta, and she accidentally fell down. She devoutly recited the Buddha's name three times: "Namo Sakyamuni Buddha! Namo Sakyamuni Buddha! Namo Sakyamuni Buddha!"

As she was reciting the Buddha's name, Brahmadatta said to her, "What are you doing? You're always converting to and praising that bald monk. You wretched woman, I'm going to go and expose his hypocrisy, so that you can see his true colors. I'm going to go and debate with him, and I'm going to make him speechless, and I'm going to expose his ignorance."

Mahadhammapala said, "Brahman, please retract your arrogant words and sincerely repent! The people of the human world, the heavenly world, the demon world, and the Brahma world, the people, gods, demons, monks, practitioners, and the Great Brahma King (the creator god) cannot defeat the World-Honored One in debate. They must all listen to the World-Honored One with reverence and respect, and they must all bow down to the World-Honored One with reverence and respect. But you are here to speak arrogantly and slander the World-Honored One. If you think you really have the ability, then go and debate with the World-Honored One. When you go, you will know that what I say is not empty."

At that time, Brahmadatta was furious and came to the Buddha's residence. When he saw the Buddha, he angrily said to the Buddha, "What can I kill to sleep peacefully? What can I kill to not be sad and sorrowful? What can I kill to not be troubled and painful? What can I kill that you, Gautama (the Buddha), will also praise?"

Then, Brahmadatta said a verse:

"What to kill and sleep peacefully,

What to kill and not to be sad.

What to kill and not to be troubled and painful,

What to kill that you, Gautama, will praise."

The Buddha replied, "Killing anger can sleep peacefully; killing anger can not be sad and sorrowful; killing anger can not be troubled and painful. Brahman, you are now poisoned by anger, but you think you have eaten honey. Hurry up and remove this poisonous root of anger that harms you! Killing anger is a thing that even saints will praise, because after killing and eliminating anger, there will be no sadness and sorrow. After killing and eliminating anger, there will be no trouble and pain."

Then, the Buddha said a verse:

"Killing anger is to sleep peacefully,

Killing anger is not sad.

Brahman's poisonous root,

Think it's the best honey.

The killing of anger,

Saints are praised.

Such a killing method,

Its killing is not sad."

After the Buddha replied to Brahmadatta, Brahmadatta immediately realized that anger is the root of his troubles and pains. So he said to the Buddha, "Great Sage, your answer is just right. You made me aware of my own troubles and pains. I was just now trapped in the troubles of anger, and I didn't know it. Since I still had to find you to debate, I was fortunate that you pulled me out of the flames of anger, otherwise I would have continued to be burned by the flames of anger and suffered unbearably."

"Great Sage, the Dharma you said to me is like straightening the crooked and revealing the hidden; the Dharma you said to me is like guiding the lost to the right path, like lighting a lamp in the dark, so that those in the dark can see things. The other Dharmas you said are also like this, right? Great Sage, please let me convert to you, please let me convert to your Dharma, please let me convert to your Sangha, I am willing to keep the full precepts, I am willing to become your ordained disciple, I am willing to stay here and practice asceticism."

Buddha accepted Brahmadatta's refuge. Brahmadatta took the precepts and began to practice the Dharma according to Buddha's teachings. He lived in seclusion, controlling his body, speech, and mind. He practiced good and abandoned evil, and he made great progress. He left home to seek liberation, and he practiced the pure Dharma of the Buddha. One day, he attained enlightenment and knew that he would never be reborn again. He had completed his practice in the world and had done all that he needed to do. He would no longer experience the suffering of birth, death, and rebirth. He knew that he had attained liberation, and he became one of Buddha's many arhat disciples.

Pali original scripture

7. Brāhmaṇasaṃyuttaṃ

1. Arahantavaggo

SN.7.1/(1) Dhanañjānīsuttaṃ

　　 187. Evaṃ me sutaṃ– ekaṃ samayaṃ bhagavā rājagahe viharati veḷuvane kalandakanivāpe. Tena kho pana samayena aññatarassa bhāradvājagottassa brāhmaṇassa dhanañjānī nāma brāhmaṇī abhippasannā hoti buddhe ca dhamme ca saṅghe ca. Atha kho dhanañjānī brāhmaṇī bhāradvājagottassa brāhmaṇassa bhattaṃ upasaṃharantī upakkhalitvā tikkhattuṃ udānaṃ udānesi–

　　 “Namo tassa bhagavato arahato sammāsambuddhassa;

　　 Namo tassa bhagavato arahato sammāsambuddhassa;

　　 Namo tassa bhagavato arahato sammāsambuddhassā”ti

　　 Evaṃ vutte, bhāradvājagotto brāhmaṇo dhanañjāniṃ brāhmaṇiṃ etadavoca– “evamevaṃ panāyaṃ vasalī yasmiṃ vā tasmiṃ vā tassa muṇḍakassa samaṇassa vaṇṇaṃ bhāsati. Idāni tyāhaṃ, vasali, tassa satthuno vādaṃ āropessāmī”ti. “Na khvāhaṃ taṃ, brāhmaṇa, passāmi sadevake loke samārake sabrahmake sassamaṇabrāhmaṇiyā pajāya sadevamanussāya, yo tassa bhagavato vādaṃ āropeyya arahato sammāsambuddhassa. Api ca tvaṃ, brāhmaṇa, gaccha, gantvā vijānissasī”ti.

　　 Atha kho bhāradvājagotto brāhmaṇo kupito anattamano yena bhagavā tenupasaṅkami; upasaṅkamitvā bhagavatā saddhiṃ sammodi. Sammodanīyaṃ kathaṃ sāraṇīyaṃ vītisāretvā ekamantaṃ nisīdi. Ekamantaṃ nisinno kho bhāradvājagotto brāhmaṇo bhagavantaṃ gāthāya ajjhabhāsi–

　　 “Kiṃsu chetvā sukhaṃ seti, kiṃsu chetvā na socati.

　　 Kissassu ekadhammassa, vadhaṃ rocesi gotamā”ti.

　　 “Kodhaṃ chetvā sukhaṃ seti, kodhaṃ chetvā na socati.

　　 Kodhassa visamūlassa, madhuraggassa brāhmaṇa.

　　 Vadhaṃ ariyā pasaṃsanti, tañhi chetvā na socatī”ti.

　　 Evaṃ vutte, bhāradvājagotto brāhmaṇo bhagavantaṃ etadavoca– “abhikkantaṃ, bho gotama, abhikkantaṃ, bho gotama! Seyyathāpi, bho gotama, nikkujjitaṃ vā ukkujjeyya, paṭicchannaṃ vā vivareyya, mūḷhassa vā maggaṃ ācikkheyya, andhakāre vā telapajjotaṃ dhāreyya– cakkhumanto rūpāni dakkhantīti; evamevaṃ bhotā gotamena anekapariyāyena dhammo pakāsito. Esāhaṃ, bhante, bhagavantaṃ gotamaṃ saraṇaṃ gacchāmi dhammañca bhikkhusaṅghañca. Labheyyāhaṃ bhoto gotamassa santike pabbajjaṃ, labheyyaṃ upasampadan”ti.

　　 Alattha kho bhāradvājagotto brāhmaṇo bhagavato santike pabbajjaṃ, alattha upasampadaṃ. Acirūpasampanno kho panāyasmā bhāradvājo eko vūpakaṭṭho appamatto ātāpī pahitatto viharanto nacirasseva– yassatthāya kulaputtā sammadeva agārasmā anagāriyaṃ pabbajanti tadanuttaraṃ– brahmacariyapariyosānaṃ diṭṭheva dhamme sayaṃ abhiññā sacchikatvā upasampajja vihāsi. “Khīṇā jāti, vusitaṃ brahmacariyaṃ, kataṃ karaṇīyaṃ, nāparaṃ itthattāyā”ti abbhaññāsi. Aññataro ca panāyasmā bhāradvājo arahataṃ ahosīti.