Rhinoceros Sutra

thumb|An [[Indian rhinoceros in the wild.]]

The Rhinoceros Sutra also known as The Rhinoceros Horn Sutra ('; '; ' or ) is a very early Buddhist text advocating the merit of solitary asceticism for pursuing enlightenment as opposed to practicing as a householder or in a community of monastics. The goal of this was to become a pratyekabuddha, who wandered alone through the forest like a rhinoceros. It is possible this sutra is identified in the Chinese translation of the Mahāsāṃghika vinaya, and thus was also referred to with a Gāndhārī name similar to .

Origins

The Rhinoceros Sutra has long been identified, along with the and , as one of the earliest texts found in the Pāli Canon. This identification has been reinforced by the discovery of a version in the Gandhāran Buddhist texts, one of the oldest Buddhist (and, indeed, Indian) manuscripts extant. There is also a Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit version of it in the Mahāvastu.