Dear Gunnar, Ole, Rett and friends,

I agree that beggar is not exactly the right word for bhikkhu.

1. In Pali, there are words for beggar, e.g. yaacaka, kapa.na, etc.
Besides, the Vinaya is not rules for "monks" per se. And, bhikkhusangha
is not exactly the community of beggars.

2. As such, bhikkhu is a word referring to a monastic, and going for
alms rounds is just one of the many monastic rules. I still think the
closest word for bhikkhu in English is monk. Furthermore, unlike
beggars, monks have rules governing when and what they can 'beg' for,
and other rules governing just the 'begging'. Unlike monks, I have not
heard of rules for beggars 2500 years ago.

3. A bhikkhu is also different from a beggar in his social function and
social status. A bhikkhu, unlike a beggar, has social obligations to
the Sangha and the wider Buddhist community. A bhikkhu also has a
social status much higher than a beggar.

Of course, there are many more points which I must have missed. This is
a good word to add to Pali Scope, if anyone is interested to expand on
it. We can include the etymology of the word to contrast the difference
between origin and usage.


metta,
Yong Peng.

--- In Pali@yahoogroups.com, Gunnar Gällmo wrote:

In any case, according to the Dhammapada, begging alone is not enough
to make a bhikkhu in the Buddhist sense of the word (na tena bhikkhu
hoti yaavataa bhikkhate pare).