The ''Rhinoceros Sutra'' also known as ''The Rhino Sutra'' ('' pi, Khaggavisāṇa-sutta''; '' sa, Khaḍgaviṣāṇa-gāthā''; '' pgd, Khargaviṣaṇa-sutra'' or ) is a very early
Buddhist text advocating the merit of solitary
asceticism
Asceticism (; from the el, ἄσκησις, áskesis, exercise', 'training) is a lifestyle characterized by abstinence from sensual pleasures, often for the purpose of pursuing spiritual goals. Ascetics may withdraw from the world for their p ...
for pursuing enlightenment as opposed to practicing as a
householder Householder may refer to:
*Householder, a person who is the head of a household
* Householder (Buddhism), a Buddhist term most broadly referring to any layperson
* Householder (surname), notable people with the surname
*'' The Householder'', a 196 ...
or in a community of monastics. The goal of this was to become a
pratyekabuddha, who wandered alone through the forest like a rhinoceros. In fact, it is possible this sutra is one identified in the Chinese translation of the
Mahāsāṃghika
The Mahāsāṃghika (Brahmi: 𑀫𑀳𑀸𑀲𑀸𑀁𑀖𑀺𑀓, "of the Great Sangha", ) was one of the early Buddhist schools. Interest in the origins of the Mahāsāṃghika school lies in the fact that their Vinaya recension appears in ...
vinaya
The Vinaya (Pali & Sanskrit: विनय) is the division of the Buddhist canon ('' Tripitaka'') containing the rules and procedures that govern the Buddhist Sangha (community of like-minded ''sramanas''). Three parallel Vinaya traditions rema ...
and thus was also referred to with a
Gāndhārī name similar to .
Origins
The ''Rhinoceros Sutra'' has long been identified, along with the
and , as one of the earliest texts found in the
Pāli Canon
The Pāli Canon is the standard collection of scriptures in the Theravada Buddhist tradition, as preserved in the Pāli language. It is the most complete extant early Buddhist canon. It derives mainly from the Tamrashatiya school.
During ...
. This identification has been reinforced by the discovery of a version in the
Gandhāran Buddhist texts
The Gandhāran Buddhist texts are the oldest Buddhist manuscripts yet discovered, dating from about the 1st century BCE to 3rd century CE. They represent the literature of Gandharan Buddhism from present-day northwestern Pakistan and eastern Afgh ...
, one of the oldest Buddhist (and, indeed,
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...
n) manuscripts extant.
[Salomon, Richard. “A Preliminary Survey of Some Early Buddhist Manuscripts Recently Acquired by the British Library.” Journal of the American Oriental Society, vol. 117, no. 2, 1997, pp. 353–358. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/605500.] There is also a
Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit
Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit (BHS) is a modern linguistic category applied to the language used in a class of Indian Buddhist texts, such as the Perfection of Wisdom sutras. BHS is classified as a Middle Indo-Aryan language. It is sometimes called "B ...
version of it in the
Mahāvastu
The Mahāvastu (Sanskrit for "Great Event" or "Great Story") is a text of the Lokottaravāda school of Early Buddhism. It describes itself as being a historical preface to the Buddhist monastic codes (''vinaya''). Over half of the text is compo ...
.
[ The early date for the text along with its rather unusual (within community-oriented Buddhism) approach to monastic life have led some scholars to suggest that it represents a holdover from a very early stage of Buddhism.
]
Themes
The scripture consists of a series of verses which discuss both the perils of community life and the benefits of solitude, almost all of which end with the admonition that seekers should wander alone like an Indian rhinoceros
}
The Indian rhinoceros (''Rhinoceros unicornis''), also called the Indian rhino, greater one-horned rhinoceros or great Indian rhinoceros, is a rhinoceros species native to the Indian subcontinent. It is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red Li ...
. The verses are somewhat variable between versions, as is the ordering of verses, suggesting a rich oral tradition
Oral tradition, or oral lore, is a form of human communication wherein knowledge, art, ideas and Culture, cultural material is received, preserved, and transmitted orally from one generation to another.Jan Vansina, Vansina, Jan: ''Oral Traditio ...
that diverged regionally or by sect before being written down.
Association with pratyekabuddhas
Traditional commentaries on the text have unanimously associated the ''Rhinoceros Sutra'' with the Buddhist tradition of pratyekabuddhas.
In the ''Abhidharma-samuccaya
The Abhidharma-samuccaya (Sanskrit; ; English: "Compendium of Abhidharma") is a Buddhist text composed by Asaṅga. The ''Abhidharma-samuccaya'' is a systematic account of Abhidharma. According to J. W. de Jong it is also "one of the most importa ...
'', a 4th-century Mahayana
''Mahāyāna'' (; "Great Vehicle") is a term for a broad group of Buddhist traditions, texts, philosophies, and practices. Mahāyāna Buddhism developed in India (c. 1st century BCE onwards) and is considered one of the three main existing br ...
work, Asaṅga
Asaṅga (, ; Romaji: ''Mujaku'') (fl. 4th century C.E.) was "one of the most important spiritual figures" of Mahayana Buddhism and the "founder of the Yogachara school".Engle, Artemus (translator), Asanga, ''The Bodhisattva Path to Unsurpassed ...
describes followers of the Pratyekabuddhayāna
Pratyekabuddhayāna (Sanskrit: प्रत्येकबुद्धयान; ) is a Buddhist term for the mode or vehicle of enlightenment of a pratyekabuddha or paccekabuddha (Sanskrit and Pali respectively), a term which literally means "so ...
as those who dwell alone like the horn of a rhinoceros, or as a solitary conquerors (Skt. ''pratyekajina'') living in a small group. Here they are characterized as utilizing the same canon of texts as the śrāvaka
Śrāvaka (Sanskrit) or Sāvaka (Pali) means "hearer" or, more generally, "disciple". This term is used in Buddhism and Jainism. In Jainism, a śrāvaka is any lay Jain so the term śrāvaka has been used for the Jain community itself (for example ...
s who follow the Śrāvakayāna
Śrāvakayāna ( sa, श्रावकयान; pi, सावकयान; ) is one of the three '' yānas'' known to Indian Buddhism. It translates literally as the "vehicle of listeners .e. disciples. Historically it was the most common t ...
, namely the Śrāvaka Piṭaka, but having a different set of teachings, the Pratyekabuddha Dharma.
Naming controversy
There is an ongoing dispute over whether the title, "sword-horn" sutra, is to be taken as a compound ("a sword which is a horn") or as a bahuvrīhi
A ''bahuvrihi'' compound (from sa, बहुव्रीहि, tr=bahuvrīhi, lit=much rice/having much rice, originally referring to fertile land but later denoting the quality of being wealthy or rich) is a type of compound word that denotes ...
compound ("one who has a sword as a horn"). In the former case, the title should be rendered "The Rhinoceros-Horn Sutra"; in the latter case, it should be rendered "The Rhinoceros Sutra." There is textual evidence to support either interpretation.
In general, Mahayana traditions in India took the title to refer to the image of an Indian rhinoceros
}
The Indian rhinoceros (''Rhinoceros unicornis''), also called the Indian rhino, greater one-horned rhinoceros or great Indian rhinoceros, is a rhinoceros species native to the Indian subcontinent. It is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red Li ...
, which is a solitary animal. The Theravāda tradition tended toward the "rhinoceros horn" interpretation, but there is some variance between Theravāda commentators, with some referring to the image of a rhinoceros rather than a rhinoceros horn.
Location in Buddhist Canons
In the Sutta Pitaka, this Pali
Pali () is a Middle Indo-Aryan liturgical language native to the Indian subcontinent. It is widely studied because it is the language of the Buddhist ''Pāli Canon'' or '' Tipiṭaka'' as well as the sacred language of '' Theravāda'' Buddh ...
sutta is the third sutta in the Khuddaka Nikaya's Sutta Nipata
The ' () is a Buddhist scripture, a sutta collection in the Khuddaka Nikaya, part of the Pali Canon of Theravada Buddhism.
Sections
The ''Sutta Nipāta'' is divided into five sections:
Uraga Vagga ("The Chapter on the Serpent")
Cūla Vagg ...
's first chapter (''Uragavagga'', or the "Snake Chapter," named after the chapter's first sutta), and thus can be referenced in the Pali Canon
The Pāli Canon is the standard collection of scriptures in the Theravada Buddhist tradition, as preserved in the Pāli language. It is the most complete extant early Buddhist canon. It derives mainly from the Tamrashatiya school.
During ...
as " Sn 1.3."
See also
* Early Buddhist texts
Early Buddhist texts (EBTs), early Buddhist literature or early Buddhist discourses are parallel texts shared by the early Buddhist schools. The most widely studied EBT material are the first four Pali Nikayas, as well as the corresponding Chines ...
* Pali Canon
The Pāli Canon is the standard collection of scriptures in the Theravada Buddhist tradition, as preserved in the Pāli language. It is the most complete extant early Buddhist canon. It derives mainly from the Tamrashatiya school.
During ...
* Sutta Piṭaka
The Sutta Pitaka (; or Suttanta Pitaka;
Basket of Discourse; cf Sanskrit ) is the second of the three divisions of the Tripitaka or Pali Canon, the Pali collection of Buddhist writings of Theravada Buddhism. The other two parts of the Tripiṭa ...
* Khuddaka Nikāya
The Khuddaka Nikāya () is the last of the five nikayas, or collections, in the Sutta Pitaka, which is one of the "three baskets" that compose the Pali Tipitaka, the scriptures of Theravada Buddhism. This nikaya consists of fifteen (Thailand), ...
* Sutta Nipāta
* Gandhāran Buddhist texts
The Gandhāran Buddhist texts are the oldest Buddhist manuscripts yet discovered, dating from about the 1st century BCE to 3rd century CE. They represent the literature of Gandharan Buddhism from present-day northwestern Pakistan and eastern Afgh ...
* Timeline of Buddhism
The purpose of this timeline is to give a detailed account of Buddhism from the birth of Gautama Buddha to the present.
Timeline
Dates
6th–5th century BCE
4th century BCE
3rd century BCE
2nd century BCE
1st century BCE
1st century ...
References
Bibliography
*
*
*
*
*
External links
*
The Rhino Horn: A Teaching for the Hermit-minded
' (SuttaCentral), translation by Laurence Khantipalo Mills
*
' (Access to Insight), translated from the Pali by Thanissaro Bhikkhu
{{Buddhism topics
Khuddaka Nikaya