Rhinoceros Sutra

An Indian rhinoceros in the wild.

The Rhinoceros Sutra (P. Khaggavisāṇa-sutta) is a sutta of the Pali canon that advocates the merit of solitary practice for pursuing enlightenment. According to SuttaCentral, this sutta teaches that "if you can’t find a good teacher, it’s better to wander alone."

Text

In the Sutta Pitaka, this sutta is the third sutta in the Khuddaka Nikaya's Sutta Nipata's first chapter (Uragavagga, or the "Snake Chapter," named after the chapter's first sutta), and thus can be referenced as "Sn 1.3."

The Rhinoceros Sutra is considered, along with the Aṭṭhakavagga and Pārāyanavagga, as one of the earliest texts found in the Pāli Canon.

This text might be related to a text identified in the Chinese translation of the Mahāsāṃghika vinaya and thus was also referred to with a Gāndhārī name similar to Pracegabudha-sutra.

Translations

• Bhikkhu Sujato, The Rhinceros Horn, SuttaCentral
• Laurence Khantipalo Mills, The Rhinceros Horn, SuttaCentral
• Thanissaro Bhikkhu, Khaggavisana Sutta: A Rhinoceros (Access to Insight)

Bibliography

• Salomon, Richard G.; Glass, Andrew (2000). A Gāndhārī Version of the Rhinoceros Sūtra: British Library Kharoṣṭhī Fragment 5B. University of Washington Press. ISBN 978-0-295-98035-5. 
• Thanissaro Bhikkhu (1997). "Sutta Nipata I.3, Khaggavisana Sutta: A Rhinoceros Horn". Retrieved April 14, 2015. 

Further reading

• Jones, DT (2014). "Like the Rhinoceros, or Like Its Horn? The Problem of Khaggavisāṇa Revisited". Buddhist Studies Review. 31 (2): 165–178. doi:10.1558/bsrv.v31i2.165. 
• Norman, KR (1996). "Solitary as Rhinoceros Horn". Buddhist Studies Review. 13 (2): 133–142. doi:10.1558/bsrv.v13.i2.8762.