19.6 The Story about Hatthaka
Hatthakavatthu
Dhp 264-265
Burlingame: It is Not Tonsure that Makes the Monk
Elder Hatthaka defeated his opponents by lying about the time of the debate, making them late, and telling the people that they dare not face him; when the Buddha heard what he was doing he gave a teaching in some verses.
Keywords: Debates, Sectarians
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“Not through a shaven head,” this Dhamma teaching was given by the Teacher while he was in residence at Jetavana with reference to Hatthaka.
It seems that whenever Hatthaka was defeated in an argument, he would say: “Pray come to such and such a place at such and such a time, and we will resume the discussion.” He would then precede his opponent to the appointed place and say: “See! The sectarians are so afraid of me that they dare not meet me; this is a confession of defeat on their part.” This and much else of the same sort he would say. These were the tactics he invariably employed with one opponent after another, whenever he met defeat.
The Teacher, hearing that Hatthaka was doing thus and so, sent for him
Then said the Teacher: “Why do you do so? A man who utters such falsehoods has no right to the name of bhikkhu merely because he goes about with his head shaved and so on. But he that conquers wrongs both small and great, is a bhikkhu indeed.” So saying, he pronounced the following verses:
264. Na muṇḍakena samaṇo, abbato alikaṁ bhaṇaṁ,
icchālobhasamāpanno, samaṇo kiṁ bhavissati?
Not through a shaven head is one
an ascetic, if one lacks vows,
speaks lies, and has greed and desire,
how will one be an ascetic?
265. Yo ca sameti pāpāni, aṇuṁ-thūlāni sabbaso –
samitattā hi pāpānaṁ samaṇo ti pavuccati.
The one who quenches wicked deeds,
small and great, in every way –
through the quenching of wicked deeds
he’s said to be an ascetic.
At the end of the teaching many reached the fruition of Stream-entry and so on.