From: John Kelly
Message: 9944
Date: 2006-02-07
--- In Pali@yahoogroups.com, "Ong Yong Peng" <pali.smith@...> wrote:
>
> 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).
>