sutta » sn » sn7 » Saṁyutta Nikāya 7.20

Bhikkhakasutta

A Beggar The Mendicant

Sāvatthinidānaṁ.
At Sāvatthī.
At Sāvatthī.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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