Around 44 mins Dr Wynne talks about the Ambhaṭṭa Sutta emphasises that in Kapilavatthu they make fun of Brahmins. In which case why is the Buddha called "Gotama" a Brahmin name? I tried to explore this question in an article for the JOCBS but it was rejected because it was deemed obvious that non-Brahmins started using Brahmin gotra names. But the Ambaṭṭha Sutta makes this seem pretty unlikely, doesn't it? If Brahmins are figures of fun and mockery, how do we get from their to the leading members of the Śākya tribe adopting Brahmin gotra names?

Dr Wynne repeatedly refers to the Brahmins as agrarian. My impression is that it was the Eastern/Sāmana culture that was agrarian while the Brahmins were pastoral (cattle herders).

A talk given by Dr. Alexander Wynne for the OCBS on 20 November 2017.  
Copyright Alex Wynne 2017

Buddhist India

OCBS

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Jayarava

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