Brāhmaṇavagga · The Brahmin · Gāthā 416
Yo ceva brāhmaṇoti vuccati, so ceva brāhmaṇo hoti; So ceva brāhmaṇoti vuccati, so eva brāhmaṇo hoti.
Yo ceva brāhmaṇoti vuccati, so ceva brāhmaṇo hoti; so ceva brāhmaṇoti vuccati, so eva brāhmaṇo hoti.
Who is called Brahman, is Brahman; who is called Brahman, is truly Brahman.
The insistence is deliberate. The Buddha knew Indian society would not easily accept that a sūdra (lowest caste) could be brāhmaṇa by practice.
The Dhamma is revolutionary: it does not deny castes socially, but makes them spiritually irrelevant.