The sermon takes place in Vṛji 越祇國. Ambaṭṭha, a young disciple of Pokkharasati 費迦沙, the learned Brahmin, was sent by his master to investigate whether Gautama was a genuine Buddha endowed with the thirty-two personal characteristics 三十二相 of a great man. His insolent behavior, taking pride in his birth as a Brahmin, led the Buddha to assert that the role of the kṣatriya class 刹帝利 (such as his own Śākya 釋迦 clan) is in fact superior to that of the brāhmaṇa 婆羅門. The Buddha explained further that nobleness in man stems not from birth but from perfection in the three categories of morality, achievements of the four dhyānas, and accomplishments in the eight kinds of higher knowledge.