I have been trying to locate a sutta probably from the Majjhima Nikaya or Samyutta Nikayua. Unfortunately, my memory is sketchy and undoubtedly unreliable. As I recall it, in the sutta, a Brahmin asks the Buddha why he teaches the Dhamma differently to monks, to Brahmins, and to householders (or lay people generally)? Then the Buddha-- as though he is going to answer differently for each of these groups-- instead uses exactly the same passage, word for word, for each of the three groups. Then the questioner asks something like “Well, then, what’s the difference?” and the Buddha says something to the effect that his expectations for these groups are different in terms of practice or potential accomplishment. Can someone help?
Thanks,
Paul
Welcome to the forum!
I believe you are looking for SN42.7.
I wonder if you could do me a favour and try and find it using the Comprehensive Index of Pali Suttas and tell me either what you tried to look under and found it successfully or what you tried and were unsuccessful. That way I can improve the chances of people finding it in the future.
Personally, I remember the simile of the field most clearly so I found it that way.
It is indeed interesting that according to the text the Buddha teaches the same to all groups, yet the whole concept of the sutta is that he treats the groups differently. Or perhaps the real meaning is that he does indeed teach the same to different groups, but he does so with different expectations/motivations.
Absolutely right!! Thank you so much—this has been keeping me up at night. 
I did try at the index (thank you for leading me there, by the way, as I hadn’t used it before), but I had no luck. I entered various strings and looked under Dhamma teaching, hoping for “thoroughly” or “differently” but no luck. And in fact, that sutta is not listed at all under Dhamma teaching. I had completely forgotten it was attached to the simile of the field! I was more interested in the comparison in “quality” of the various groups to whom the Dhamma is taught, while the Dhamma is still always the Dhamma regardless of audience.
Again, I greatly appreciate your help.
Paul
Hi kozureokami,
Welcome to the D&D forum! We hope you enjoy the various resources, FAQs, and previous threads. You can use the search function for topics and keywords you are interested in. Forum guidelines are here: Forum Guidelines. May some of these resources be of assistance along the path.
If you have any questions or need further clarification regarding anything, feel free to contact the moderators by including @moderators in your post or a PM.
Regards,
trusolo (on behalf of the moderators)
Oh, interesting. I always read it as teaching the same doctrine but for different lengths of time or perhaps with more or less reticence.
I’m thinking for example of the monks practicing wrong livelihood who the Buddha scolds right away, but when asked by a soldier about his karma, the Buddha had to be asked three times before he would clearly tell the soldier his occupation leads to hell.
Crazy, eh? Indexing is hard.
It is now listed also under
Dhamma teaching
Buddha teaches different people
I’m open to better ways, though.
Thank you…I am happy to be here.
Paui