A transcription of the Pali bhikkhu and Sanskrit bhiks!u， which means "one who begs for food." The term was originally used in India to refer to the fourth stage of the brahmanistic life， wherein the householder would renounce the world， become a beggar and seek enlightenment. In Buddhism， it came to refer to a Buddhist （male） monk; a practitioner who has renounced the secular world and received the precepts. Roughly equivalent to the term /sraman!a 沙门. In his commentary to the Diamond Sutra， Zongmi gives three definitions of the term bhiks!u: （1） bumo 怖魔 "menacer of demons，" （2） qishi 乞士 "begging knight" and （3） jingjie 净戒 "pure in the precepts." cp（add）