Did the Buddha humble a “supreme god” who had gone astray? The deeper meaning of the final Bāhuṃ verse
Summary
The final verse of the Bahung carries the story of Baka Brahmā, who had dwelt so long in an exalted realm that he came to hold it as permanent, eternal, with nothing higher above it. Knowing this wrong view, the Buddha went to him.
This is the Buddha’s victory over diṭṭhi — wrong view in its subtlest form.
Baka Brahmā was not evil. The opposite: he was good, serene and greatly exalted. What remained was the delusion of having arrived at the end, that what he held would last forever, that what is impermanent is permanent. That is the heart of the final verse.
Key points
The adversary here is not evil but wrong view
The seven preceding verses face visible enemies. The last faces one that cannot be seen, because it sits inside one’s own view.
Baka Brahmā was good, not villainous
The point is that serenity and exaltation do not exclude delusion. Sometimes they sustain it.
“I have arrived” is the most dangerous delusion
Once you believe you have arrived, the walking stops by itself. No one has to block the road.
This victory used no power
The Buddha did not subdue him by force. He made visible the fact the other had been overlooking all along.