sutta » sn » sn7 » Saṁyutta Nikāya 7.20

Bhikkhakasutta

The Mendicant A Beggar

Sāvatthinidānaṁ.
At Sāvatthī.
At Sāvatthī.

Atha kho bhikkhako brāhmaṇo yena bhagavā tenupasaṅkami; upasaṅkamitvā bhagavatā saddhiṁ sammodi.
Then a mendicant brahmin approached the Blessed One
Then a begging brahmin went up to the Buddha, and exchanged greetings with him.

Sammodanīyaṁ kathaṁ sāraṇīyaṁ vītisāretvā ekamantaṁ nisīdi. Ekamantaṁ nisinno kho bhikkhako brāhmaṇo bhagavantaṁ etadavoca:
… and said to him:
When the greetings and polite conversation were over, he sat down to one side and said to the Buddha,

“ahampi kho, bho gotama, bhikkhako, bhavampi bhikkhako, idha no kiṁ nānākaraṇan”ti?
Master Gotama, I am a mendicant and you are a mendicant. What is the difference between us in this respect?
“Mister Gotama, both you and I are beggars. What, then, is the difference between us?”

“Na tena bhikkhako hoti,
[The Blessed One: ] “It is not thus that one becomes a mendicant,
“You don’t become a beggar

yāvatā bhikkhate pare;
Just because one begs others for alms.
just by begging from others.

Vissaṁ dhammaṁ samādāya,
If one has taken up a domestic practice,
One who has undertaken domestic duties

bhikkhu hoti na tāvatā.
One still has not become a bhikkhu.
has not yet become a mendicant.

Yodha puññañca pāpañca,
“But Having expelled merit and evil,
But one living a spiritual life

bāhitvā brahmacariyaṁ;
and one leads the holy life,
who has banished both merit and evil,

Saṅkhāya loke carati,
Who fares in the world with comprehension:
and wanders having appraised the world,

sa ve bhikkhūti vuccatī”ti.
He is truly called a bhikkhu.”
is said to be a mendicant.”

Evaṁ vutte, bhikkhako brāhmaṇo bhagavantaṁ etadavoca:
When this was said, the mendicant brahmin said to the Blessed One:
When he had spoken, the begging brahmin said to the Buddha,

“abhikkantaṁ, bho gotama, abhikkantaṁ, bho gotama …pe…
“Magnificent, Master Gotama! Magnificent, Master Gotama!…
“Excellent, Mister Gotama! Excellent! …

upāsakaṁ maṁ bhavaṁ gotamo dhāretu ajjatagge pāṇupetaṁ saraṇaṁ gatan”ti.
Let Master Gotama remember me as a lay follower who from today has gone for refuge for life.
From this day forth, may Mister Gotama remember me as a lay follower who has gone for refuge for life.”