དག་སླང་ལ་རབ་ཏ་གཅས་པའ་མད་ཞས་བྱ་བ notes.22
What Mendicants Hold Most Dear notes.22
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notes.22
22. This passage presents a list of traditional definitions of the term bhikṣu. The first three definitions are traditional etymologies of the word bhikṣu. These are not actual linguistic etymologies but more akin to folk etymologies. They work by using homophones to elucidate a word’s meaning, and they are tied to ancient Indian beliefs about the power of language to both shape and embody reality. Rather than being etymologies, the last five definitions cited in this verse are synonyms that encapsulate the defining characteristics of a bhikṣu. Like the folk etymologies, these lists of synonyms have ancient roots in Buddhist literature.