Rhinoceros Sutra

The Rhinoceros Sutra also known as The Rhinoceros Horn Sutra (Pali: Khaggavisāṇa-sutta; Sanskrit: Khaḍgaviṣāṇa-gāthā; Gāndhārī: Khargaviṣaṇa-sutra or Khargaviṣaṇa-gasa[1]) 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.

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 Pracegabudha-sutra.

[1] The Rhinoceros Sutra has long been identified, along with the Aṭṭhakavagga and Pārāyanavagga, as one of the earliest texts found in the Pāli Canon.

The scripture consists of a series of verses which discuss both the perils of community life and the benefits of solitude, almost all of which end with the admonition that seekers should wander alone like an Indian rhinoceros.

[4] In the Abhidharma-samuccaya, a 4th-century (CE) Mahayana work, Asaṅga describes followers of the Pratyekabuddhayāna as those who dwell alone like the horn of a rhinoceros, or as solitary conquerors (Skt.