The sutta describes a discourse imparted by The Buddha to two brahmins, Bharadvaja and Vasettha, who left their family and varna to become monks.
Then, he explains about the beginning and destruction of the Earth, a process determined by karma and devoid of a supreme being.
The Sutta begins when the Buddha is staying in Savatthi, in the temple donated by Visakha, the mother of Migara.
At that time, two brahmins, Bharadvaja and Vasettha, are training with the monks (bhikkhu) and aim to be a member of the Sangha.
The fact is that the women in the Brahman class can get pregnant, give birth, and take care of their children.
The Buddha then elaborates that if any of the class does the following deeds: killing, taking anything that is not given, take part in sexual misconduct, lying, slandering, speaking rough words or nonsense, greedy, cruel, and practise wrong beliefs (miccha ditthi); people would still see that they do negative deeds and therefore are not worthy of respect.
While those who refrain from killing, taking anything that is not given, engage in sexual misconduct, lying, slandering, speaking rough words or nonsense, being greedy, cruel, and practising wrong beliefs (miccha ditthi), will be seen by people as positive and will earn respect from the people and the wise ones.
Because anyone from the four class, if they left the worldly affairs and became a monk, and due to their discipline and struggle, they become Arahant, people who conquered their mind's stains, have done whatever what must be done, have been relieved from the burden, have broken the bondage of birth, achieved freedom, freed due to achieved knowledge, then he is the best among others based on Truth (Dhamma).
In the second part of the Sutta, the Buddha tells the story of how human beings came to dwell on Earth.
And there they dwell, mind-made, feeding on delight, self-luminous, moving through the air, glorious — and they stay like that for a very long time.
Here they dwell, mind-made, feeding on delight, self-luminous, moving through the air, glorious — and they stay like that for a very long time.
It was the color of fine ghee or heated butter and it was very sweet, like pure wild honey (1) Some of the creatures of light (the Abbhasaras) who had curiosity and a greedy nature began to dive and taste the savory Earth's substance.
Thus, greed started to seep in and it ate the substance voraciously, greedily, also calling its comrades (who were flying above and on earth) to join in the feast.
So, when the materialization took place, the light faded inside their newly conceived 'body' of mud and thus the night and day became apparent to them.
After another very long time, the mushrooms also began to be exhausted, replaced by cassava or turnip-like plants.
So, they went to the fairest, ablest, most likeable, and most intelligent person and appointed him to do the judging and passing out sentences on the reward of a share of rice.
Then, amongst the people, some of them begin to think like this: "Evil deeds have risen amongst us, such as: theft, lies, murders, sexual abuses, punishment, and banishment.
The Buddha then concluded his discourse to Vasettha and Bharadvaja: (Due to the governance of Dhamma which became the root of all class and people) anyone, from any the class, who did demerit and wrongdoings, lived a bad life of speech, thoughts, views, and wrongdoings, they would end up after their death, in the realm of sufferings, hell, loss, and torture.
Anyone, from four classes, who became a bhikku (Monk), arahant, who had eradicated stains of Mind, had done what must be done, had relieved himself from burden, who had attained freedom, who had broken the bondage of birth, who had been freed due to knowledge; then they would be declared as the best from all of them, in accordance to the Truth (Dharma) and not from the basis of not Truth (adhamma).
The Buddha quoted the verses of Brahma Sandakumara: "The Khattiya is the best among those who maintain their lineage; He with knowledge and conduct is best of gods and men."
While the story of the world's beginning is considered a myth, on the other hand, the Buddhist doctrine requires a constant sceptical approach, where one must see and prove it before one believes it (ehipassiko).
However, the profound insight of the Buddha in two major fields: science (cosmology) and social structure's origin indeed was revolutionary in his era.
On the science part, Buddha implied the theory of the Evolution of the Universe, where it is said to shrink and then expand in repeated cycles.
While on the social science part, the Buddha's words implied the equality of origin in the human race, whether by their sex, appearance, or by other categories which were founded later based on physiological differences.
The Monarchy is also formed voluntarily, and the people elect the most righteous and capable person, which implied the Democracy concept.
According to Richard Gombrich, the sutta gives strong evidence that it was conceived entirely as a satire of Hindu claims regarding the divine nature of the varnashrama, showing that it is nothing but a human convention.
[2][3] According to Gombrich, the Buddha satirizes the Vedic "Hymn of the Cosmic Man" and etymologizes "reciter of the Veda" so as to make it mean "non-meditator" instead.
Among those who disagree is Suwanda H J Sugunasiri, a Canadian Buddhist scholar, who most recently has presented a novel interpretation of the Sutta.
[5] Rejecting the view that the Sutta is a 'satire' (Gombrich) or 'good humoured irony' (Collins), he shows how "the Discourse is a historically and scientifically accurate characterization of the cyclical cosmic process" [2].
In an expanded study, Sugunasiri points to two other Suttas (Brahmajala and Patika) in which the Buddha presents dimensions of the cosmic process.