Rhinoceros Sutra
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The Rhinoceros Sutra also known as The Rhino Sutra (
Origins
The Rhinoceros Sutra has long been identified, along with the
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 verses are somewhat variable between versions, as is the ordering of verses, suggesting a rich oral tradition 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
In the Abhidharma-samuccaya, a 4th-century Mahayana work, Asaṅga describes followers of the Pratyekabuddhayāna as those who dwell alone like the horn of a rhinoceros, or as solitary conquerors (Skt. pratyekajina) living in a small group.[5] Here they are characterized as utilizing the same canon of texts as the śrāvakas who follow the Śrāvakayāna, namely the Śrāvaka Piṭaka, but having a different set of teachings, the Pratyekabuddha Dharma.[5]
Naming controversy
There is an ongoing dispute over whether the title, "sword-horn" sutra, is to be taken as a
In general, Mahayana traditions in India took the title to refer to the image of an Indian rhinoceros, 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.[6]
Location in Buddhist Canons
In the
See also
- Early Buddhist texts
- Pali Canon
- Sutta Piṭaka
- Khuddaka Nikāya
- Sutta Nipāta
- Gandhāran Buddhist texts
- Timeline of Buddhism
References
- ^ a b Salomon & Glass 2000, p. 10.
- ^ Salomon & Glass 2000, pp. 15–6.
- ^ a b 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.
- ^ a b Salomon & Glass 2000, pp. 10–13.
- ^ a b Rahula & Asanga 2001, pp. 199–200.
- ^ Salomon & Glass 2000, p. 13.
- ^ Thanissaro Bhikkhu 1997.
Bibliography
- ISBN 978-0895819413.
- ISBN 978-0-295-98035-5.
- Thanissaro Bhikkhu (1997). "Sutta Nipata I.3, Khaggavisana Sutta: A Rhinoceros Horn". Retrieved April 14, 2015.
- Jones, DT (2014). "Like the Rhinoceros, or Like Its Horn? The Problem of Khaggavisāṇa Revisited". Buddhist Studies Review. 31 (2): 165–178. S2CID 56273378.
- Norman, KR (1996). "Solitary as Rhinoceros Horn". Buddhist Studies Review. 13 (2): 133–142. .
External links
- The Rhino Horn: A Teaching for the Hermit-minded (SuttaCentral), translation by Laurence Khantipalo Mills
- Khaggavisana Sutta: A Rhinoceros (Access to Insight), translated from the Pali by Thanissaro Bhikkhu