What is a “Brahmin”?
Brahmin refers to the priest caste, the highest of the four Indian Castes at the time of Shakyamuni. These castes were social divisions defined by the predominant religion at the time of the Buddha, Brahmanism, which worshipped the god Brahma, the first god of the Hindu triad of gods who is credited with the creation of the Universe. Buddha himself was born into one of the higher castes, the warrior caste. His teachings criticized this system and ridiculed the priests for calling themselves superior saying “Birth does not make one a priest or an outcaste. Behavior makes one either a priest or an outcaste”. Buddhism allowed all people to join the Sangha, unlike Hinduism which was to supercede Buddhism as India’s dominant religion after the 9th century.
