Angulimala : How a Notorious Serial Killer Attained Enlightenment @ Dharma Drum Youth Singapore Movie Blog

Movie Screening cum Dharma Discussion with Shen Shi’an : moonpointer@gmail.com (Updated 12-12-2008)

augulimalau

Tagline: A man who took a thousand lives to reach Nirvana
Website: www.filmbangkok.com/angulimala

“Angulimala” was the winner of Thailand's 2003 National Film Association Awards for having the best visual effects, best costumes and best supporting actress. A beautifully filmed story of perhaps history's most elusive serial killer, witness how he was radically touched and transformed by the compassionate wisdom of the Buddha. Yes, it stars “the Buddha” too! See Him like you had never seen before. Learn about why this movie was controversial upon its release, and why it is still worth catching. Well depicted too is the social setting of India of the Buddha's time and the impact on its people. Above all, “Angulimala” is a classic true story of personal hope, courage and redemption. If even a murderer could attain spiritual salvation upon true repentance and diligent cultivation, so can we!

Lessons from the Movie:

Disclaimer: Please note that the film’s depiction of Angulimala’s story is a dramatised and thus inexact account, though the Dharma teachings from the Buddha are considerably sound. (Examples of dramatisation – there is no semblance to a love affair of Angulimala in the scriptures and there was also no encounter with Mara.) Note that the Chinese subtitles are not very accurate, while the English are generally okay.

1. Is there Predestination? - Narrator: I once believed that every man is predestined. An evil-doer atones for his karmic deeds through suffering unlike a good man, whose birth is a miracle to all. One ill-fated night, an unexpected miracle seemed to be cursed under bad omens. The omens foretold a life of great evil.

Comments: Unchangeable predestination is shown to be not true in the case of Angulimala. While he was predicted to become a notorious killer, he was able to change his so-called fate to become enlightened, which is in many ways the direct opposite of being hopelessly murderous and unrepentant. The problem with omens is that they can sometimes be misread. Even if read correctly, they might not tell the whole picture – they might only paint an incomplete picture of karmic tendencies. Predictions are not absolute to the end, and do not state the definite end point. This probably applies to all unenlightened predictions other than the Buddha’s prediction of Buddhahood for His disciples!

2. What is the Dharma Core? – Here, it refers to the “essence of the Dharma”, the attainment of which is the realisation of the Truth of life and death, which leads to liberation. What is the “Dharma”? “Dharma” refers to the way things truly are, or the path that leads one to realise the way things truly are (the Buddha’s teachings). The Dharma that the Buddha taught is to be differentiated from the Brahmins’ Dharma, since the Buddha was able to present the true Dharma, as compared to the Brahmins’ Dharma, which fell short of the entire Truth. Note that the “Dharma core” is not an object, as symbolised in the film – since Truth has no fixed form.

3. Is There Need to Do Anything?

Brother of Ahimsaka : With supernatural powers, the guru can foretell your destiny and tell which field of study you should follow. Only those in the Brahmin caste like us can attain the core of the Dharma.

Comments: If it was true that one’s destiny, which is also assumed unchangeable, can be told in its entirety, there would be no need to consciously fulfill destiny – since it will naturally take fruit anyway. Obviously, this path of inaction cannot lead to anything fruitful. In Buddhism, all beings possess Buddha-nature or the potential to become enlightened, despite social class, which is only a personally or collectively imposed classification system. The Buddha redefined the term “Brahmin” as one who is truly pure, who practises and realises the true Dharma He taught:

By birth one is not an outcaste,
By birth one is not a Brahmin;
By deeds alone one is an outcaste,
By deeds alone one is a Brahmin. –The Buddha (Vasala Sutta)

4. Should We Kill or Transform the Evil?

Ahimsaka (means “Harmlessness”): Why did you kill him?
Archer (Vidhura): This bandit is a follower of the Niratta cult, practising physical invulnerability and committing crimes without conscience. If I'd let him live, a larger number of Taxila people would be dead. It's the power of deities and celestial beings that had helped us kill him.
Ahimsaka: They wanted us to kill the bandit?

Comments: In simply killing the evil, we do not give them the opportunity to understand the mistakes of their ways, and give them no chances to transform to be good. They might even be reborn in future lives resuming their evil ways. Out of compassion and wisdom, we should always do our best to transform them, instead of merely condemning them. In this sense, Buddhism is against the death penalty. It is sad when people are convinced that their gods condone killing.

5. What is the True Sacrifice?

Out of great compassion, the Buddha spoke against the practice of animal sacrifice. The highest sacrifice instead, is the sacrifice or giving up of one’s defilements (the three roots of evil or the three poisons - craving, aversion and delusion).

6. Kill for a Good Cause?

Ahimsaka: I don't want these goats to be dead.
Guru: They will be reincarnated into a higher caste.
Ahimsaka: They will be reincarnated?
Guru: Into a higher caste. Like humans, evil-doers will be reborn as Untouchables, but merit-makers, by sacrificing 1,000 goats, will be reborn in heaven.

Comments: It is not true that killing a living being for an assumed “good cause” will lead the sacrificed being and the “sacrificer” to be reborn in a better life. If this was true, we might as well “sacrifice” each other right now! To sacrifice others for selfish reasons creates negative karma for oneself instead. The concept of Untouchables within society is a self-fulfilling prophecy reinforced by wrong views that there are beings so wretched that they should be treated in wretched ways. It is also not true that contact with an Untouchable can infect oneself with their negative karma. If this was true, no one should be compassionate to the misfortune of anyone at all! If the gods can be asked for favours through sacrifices, the purity of the compassion of the gods is doubtful indeed.

7. Visualise the Mind?

Guru: Practising meditation leads us to visualise our “mind”. The highest goal of humans is to purify our minds. When our minds have supreme purity, we will reach the core of the Dharma.

Comments: Buddhist meditation usually does not encourage one to visualise the mind, but to be mindful of its workings instead.

8. The “Down-to-Earthness” of the Buddha

The beam of light from the Earth extending to the heavens symbolised that the ascetic Gautama had become the Buddha, with His influence reaching up into the heavens. Such auspicious omens are the natural result of one’s supernormal interaction with nature. One of the titles of the Buddha is “Teacher of humans and gods”. The Buddha is thus a down-to-earth teacher capable of benefiting even the gods, while not being a godsend.

9. What are the Signs from Meditation?

Meditation is not necessarily with the effects as dramatically depicted. When one actively looks for special signs in meditation, it hampers the actual meditation as the anticipation is a distraction, causing lack of calm and intended focus. However, signs called “nimittas” can naturally appear upon deep concentration - in various shapes and colours. These are not to be mistaken as the “fruits” or end results of meditation – they are just natural by-products that arise from meditational concentration, which are measured by the levels of absorptions (jhanas). The mind is strengthened and sharpened through concentration meditation (Samatha) to prepare for insight meditation (Vipassana).

10. Is Everything Impermanent?

Mother (Matani): I heard from an ascetic that everything is impermanent. I asked him if impermanence also included destiny, and he confirmed it to be so.

Comments: Matani was right. In fact, the misconception that destiny or one’s consciousness is fixed (i.e. the concept of an unchanging soul-like entity) is self-contradicting. If one cannot will to change and make real changes, how can one grow spiritually in this life, and from life to life?

11. How Enlightened were the Brahmins?

In the Buddha’s time, there were some non-celibate Brahmins (priests), who ironically were supposed to eradicate craving for sense pleasures for spiritual purity, yet while sustaining it. Those who abused their social status could enjoy the best of both worlds - of a respected priestly life, while contradictingly maintaining a worldly life. While some Brahmins have some meditative psychic powers, it does not equate to having realised the Truth of all phenomena, or even being readily compassionate.

12. Who is Mara?

Mara was featured as taking the guise of a mountain god. But who is he really?

Sympathy for the “Devil” (from www.TheDailyEnlightenment.com)

Since you don't even bother to conquer your inner Mara,
the outer Mara needn't bother you. -Stonepeace

I find the Buddhist concept of Mara or "The Evil One" very intriguing. Often, Mara is explained in an over-simplified way - as the Buddhist version of the classical “Devil". But he is much more interesting than that. Mara represents the greatest evil of all beings in the planes of existence. As a specific being, Mara dwells as a god in the highest of the heavens in the realm of desire. No, he does not rule the hells as a fallen angel. In fact, his merits from doing good in previous lives were so strong that he deserves his position as the "demon king" of that heaven, where he indulges in sense pleasures and schemes against the spiritual. How is it this possible? Well, despite having done much good in the past, Mara greatly lacks wisdom presently, thus still nursing overwhelming greed and hatred - this is why he is evil. He is said to personally harass practitioners of the Dharma, or through his subordinates - so as to dissuade them from practice, and to provide obstacles to prevent the attainment of Buddhahood. Inevitably, the Buddha Himself faced and conquered Mara on the night of His Enlightenment.

Though he has a long life, Mara is not always the same being. "Mara" is more like a title, not unlike "King". What happens when Mara is reborn elsewhere? Well, the next "better" (or rather, “worst”) player "inherits" his position! Surprisingly, in the sutras, it is revealed that Mogallana, one of the most outstanding disciples of the Buddha, was a Mara in a previous life! Thus did he know Mara’s devious ways of disturbing serious Dharma practitioners. What is the lesson here? If we do not thoroughly uproot our roots of evil (greed, hatred and delusion), we might become meritoriously powerful but spiritually corrupted like Mara! We might come to be a "shining" example of evil - becoming Mara or one of his minions! Yet at the same time, there is hope for the worst of us, even for Mara - since his state of evil is not permanent. He can transform for the better, should he repent his ways. He can even become a Buddha in good time! Yes, even Mara has Buddha-nature!

You might worry, "Oh dear! So Mara is "real"! What if he brings havoc to my spiritual life?" Since Mara is the personification of evil, he can only harm us as much as our succumbing to our own evil - to our inner demons, or rather, our inner Mara. Every time we give in to our greed, hatred and delusion, we become more "devilish", becoming more and more likely "henchmen", the sons and daughters of Mara. Thus, when we guard against the proliferation of our defilements, and cultivate virtues like generosity, compassion and wisdom instead, we are already armed with the best defense against Mara. While the enlightened are pure, beyond good and evil, no one unenlightened is intrinsically good or evil - not even Mara. Yes indeed, the elusive evil is not really out there; it is always within us. Since even the "evil" workings of the "outer" Mara and our inner Mara can be seen as motivators for us to advance towards Enlightenment, what is really "evil"? Not recognising this is evil! Let's even have compassion and aspire to "save" the "Maras" we encounter in everyday life! -Shen Shi'an

13. Mara’s Evil Teachings

Mara: Whatever is predestined cannot be changed, but Dharma attainment can free you from worldly matters... But you must sacrifice evil-doers to God. Stop them before they commit more evils. Evil-doers are everywhere on earth. Once you sacrifice 1,000 evildoers, you will attain Dharma.

Comments: Mara was contradicting himself by saying destiny cannot be changed, while the Dharma can change it. How would killing evil-doers make them good? We need to kill (or transform) the evil within that creates the evil, not the evil-doers themselves. If killing one another is good, we might as well commit mass-suicide now. But killing cannot set us free, since death is not ultimate release from rebirth that brings liberation – it is merely release from this life. Violent deaths also tend to lead to unfortunate rebirths.

14. Is Anything Unrepentable?

Girl: The great Brahma predestines everything, out of my karmic deeds in previous lives.
Ahimsaka: You mean you are atoning for your bad karma from previous lives?
Girl: I must have committed such terrible sins that I cannot atone for them in this life.
Ahimsaka: Do not think so, I pray you!

Comments: According to Buddhism, Karma operates as a natural law without anybody’s intervention. (Brahma here is a god who mistaken himself to be a god who created the world and its humans.) One should not imagine that one has done such great wrong that it is totally unrepentable – because everything wrongly done can be repented with sincerity and with actual remedial action. It does not matter if one’s negative karma is not fully “diluted” by the doing of good in this life. The point is to do one’s best in the moment. One should always be enthusiastic about corrective action, rather than to dwell on destructive self-resignation.

15. Even the Gods Can Fall

Brother of Ahimsaka: The very first teaching I've learnt from the Lord Buddha is "Everything is impermanent." Therefore, being a god is impermanent.

Comments: Since even the doing of much good by the unenlightened is limited, even if one is reborn as a god as a result of one’s merits, one is still not free from the rounds of rebirth. In this sense, even the gods can fall. This is why even the gods have to learn from the Buddha about the way to transcend rebirth.

16. Is Mercy-killing Merciful?

Narrator: Every man suffers and deserves to be delivered [via being killed].

Comments: What we need is to bravely face the Dukkha (dissatisfactions) of life, and not attempt to escape via suicide. If we give up this life prematurely, chances are that when we face similar difficulties in future, the first instinctive reaction would be to contemplate suicide. In this way, we do not better ourselves; we stay stuck. Thus, Buddhism does not encourage euthanasia.

17. Why Extreme Asceticism is Unskilful

We see the guru practising extreme asceticism by having resolved not to unclench his fist, thus letting his fingernails painfully grow through the back of his hand. He also keeps his hand unnaturally upright. This practice is sometimes done as physical penance, in the vain hope of eradicating negative karma from the past. This is self-defeating because the pain from the practice comes from the practice itself – it is not a result of the very negative karma that one hopes to eradicate. The Buddha Himself realised the uselessness of the practice, before discovering the Middle Path. The Middle Path is the way of moderate-living (physically and mentally), beyond the dual extremes of self-indulgence and self-mortification.

18. Our Common Condition

Angulimala (to Mara): Being despised infuriates you! Being infuriated makes suffering. Don't you see how gods and humans share one common “fate”? [Dukkha]

Comments: Angulimala was right. Note that the Buddha is not a mere human. He was human, but has since transcended all human and godly limitations upon being enlightened. This is why He is able to teach both humans and gods the path to liberation. While Mara tends to teach the glorification of the self, the Buddha teaches the realisation of non-self, with which one attains True Happiness.

19. Mind Over Matter

We see Angulimala projecting a mental shield to protect himself from the wrath of Mara. This is possible as “mind over matter”! The best shield to protect ourselves from harm and danger is that from cultivating loving-kindness and understanding (wisdom).

20. Dialogue with the Buddha

Please note that the below are not exact meditation instructions. Neither is it a verbatim account of the Buddha’s words. One should always learn meditation from experienced meditation teachers. (Extra notes in parentheses below.)

(A)ngulimala: O Bhikkhu (monk), stop, stop!
The (B)uddha: I have stopped, Angulimala. It is you who should stop now.
A: Your robes belong to the Shakya clan which is of righteousness. Why are you lying about stopping?
B: Angulimala. I have stopped harming all beings. I have stopped in all things and at all times. But you have not stopped. You continue... without ceasing. Hence, it is hard to stop.
A: I will stop after killing one more man.
B: That's why you decided to kill me?
A: You should realise that I do it to deliver you from suffering.
B: Have you seen me bear any suffering? If compared to you, is it me or you who bears suffering?
A: But I've known that all things are impermanent; all things are suffering. This is a Dharma of yours. So it means both of us bear sufferings.
B: Our Dharma is meant to make us see the truth of all. To refrain from clinging. With nothing to cling to, one can live without suffering.
A: I don't understand.
B: Angulimala, my coming is meant to lead you to attain the core of Dharma.
A: You don't have to lead me anywhere. What I really want is to kill one more man. If I kill you, my mind will be the purest. And that's the Dharma core. Watch! (He meditates.)
B: Angulimala, please contemplate your so-called “mind”.
A: All right, I've been meditating about it since I was a child. It won't bother me if I do it again.
B: But this time I beg you to consider (“see”) it through Dharma. First, everything is impermanent. Your so-called “mind” is impermanent as well. In contemplation (“reflection”), you'll see endless impermanence. Second, everything causes suffering (only when clung to, attachment being a cause of suffering). Nothing should be clung to (not even notions). Please contemplate if your “mind” can yield true contentment. Third, everything is without a true self. What you are contemplating is not your true self. (Angulimala shivers in shock and fear as he experiences existential Dukkha of wanting to cling to a self).
B: Angulimala, to cling to "my self" and "mine" causes all sufferings. (Angulimala needed to see more and accept things as they are, as according to the reality of the Three Universal Characteristics.)

21. The Cycle of Hatred

We see the vengeance of the daughter of Vidhura spinning on the cycle of hatred created by Angulimala, who had killed her Father. As the Buddha taught,

Hatred cannot be ceased by hatred.
Hatred can only be ceased by love.
This is an eternal law. –The Buddha (Dhammapada)

22. Inner Dialogue of Angulimala

(Extra notes in parentheses below.)

Ahimsaka (illusion of him as a boy): In your eyes, what could I be? You're only physical, but I'm a true self.
Angulimala: Please suppress (or rather, “accept” and thus “dissolve” any attachment to…) your suffering. Everything is as it is.
Ahimsaka: Everyone has rejected me since I was born. It's me who has borne great sufferings. How can you say I'm not a true self?
Angulimala: Everything is without a true self. There is no line drawn to discriminate "you" from "I". Just behold the rain. Each life is akin to a single stream, clinging to individual thoughts. But the stream truly takes a million drops of water falling from the same sky. And finally, they flow in the same direction. The Lord Buddha's Dharma aims for us to realise this truth to refrain from clinging to "my self" and "mine". With Enlightenment, one can live one's life without all suffering, which is Nirvana. It's high time we realised this is not your “self” or “mine”. It's high time we stopped (our defilements, which create our suffering). (Ahimsaka dissolves, signifying dissolution of attachment to self.)

Comments: What are the implications of realising “selflessness”? One can thus become truly wise and of infinite compassion (selflessness being the opposite of selfishness), while having boundless freedom, since even one-“self” is no longer a limiting boundary!

Introduction to Angulimala Sutta
http://www.bbt.org.sg/Articles/intro_paritta.html#9._INTRODUCTION_ANGULIMALA_SUTTA

The chaplain of King Kosala (the mother) had a baby boy, named Ahimsaka, also known as the son of Mantani. At the time of his birth the weapons in the whole country were shining. His father predicted that he would become a robber.

As a student at Taxila University, he was much liked by the Rector for his good behaviour and intelligence. Some students were jealous of him and accused him of having a close relationship with the Rector’s wife. To test his student’s honesty and loyalty the Rector asked him to collect one thousand fingers. Obediently he did so and made a garland of his victims’ fingers to hang around his neck. Hence he became notorious as the robber with a garland of fingers (Angulimala Cora). Eventually Angulimala had one thousand fingers, short of one.

People in the country complained to King Kosala about the robber cum murderer. So an announcement was made that the king’s army would kill the dangerous man. Mantani, mother of the wanted man, went to look for him in order to save him. Knowing that the dangerous man would kill even his own mother for the thousandth finger if he saw her, the compassionate Buddha went to the forest. Angulimala chased after his mother. The Buddha stood between the two - mother and son. Angulimala decided to seize the Buddha instead. The Buddha performed a miracle so that Angulimala could not catch up with Him although the walking was slow. He was also made aware of reality when the Buddha spoke to him. Immediately, Angulimala was converted and ordained. Soon he attained the Arahantship.

One day Venerable Angulimala heard that a woman was having difficulty in labour. He went to the Buddha for help. He was asked to chant a Paritta, known as Angulimala Sutta since then, which contained a statement of truth - that since he became the Buddha’s disciple he had never taken a life. Without question he went back to the woman and chanted the Paritta and immediately the woman gave birth safely. Today Angulimala Sutta is still used as a paritta for woman to have safe birth. It could be found in Majjhima Pannasa and Majjhima Nikaya.

Angulimala Sutta (Majjhima Nikaya 86)

Translated from the Pali by Thanissaro Bhikkhu. For free distribution only.
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/canon/sutta/majjhima/mn086.html

I have heard that on one occasion the Blessed One was staying near Savatthi at Jeta's Grove, Anathapindika's monastery. And at that time in King Pasenadi's realm there was a bandit named Angulimala: brutal, bloody-handed, devoted to killing & slaying, showing no mercy to living beings. He turned villages into non-villages, towns into non-towns, settled countryside into unsettled countryside. Having repeatedly killed human beings, he wore a garland (mala) made of fingers (anguli).

Then the Blessed One, early in the morning, having put on his robes and carrying his outer robe & bowl, went into Savatthi for alms. Having wandered for alms in Savatthi and returning from his alms round after his meal, set his lodging in order. Carrying his robes & bowl, he went along the road to where Angulimala was staying. Cowherds, shepherds, & farmers saw him going along the road to where Angulimala was staying, and on seeing him said to him, "Don't go along that road, contemplative, for on that road is Angulimala: brutal, bloody-handed, devoted to killing & slaying, showing no mercy to living beings. He has turned villages into non-villages, towns into non-towns, settled countryside into unsettled countryside. Having repeatedly killed human beings, he wears a garland made of fingers. Groups of ten, twenty, thirty, & forty men have gone along that road, and even they have fallen into Angulimala's hands." When this was said, the Blessed One kept going in silence.

A second time... A third time, cowherds, shepherds, & farmers said to the Blessed One, "Don't go along that road, contemplative... Groups of ten, twenty, thirty, & forty men have gone along that road, and even they have fallen into Angulimala's hands." When this was said, the Blessed One kept going in silence.

Then Angulimala saw the Blessed One coming from afar and on seeing him, this thought occurred to him: "Isn't it amazing! Isn't it astounding! Groups of ten, twenty, thirty, & forty men have gone along this road, and even they have fallen into my hands, and yet now this contemplative comes attacking, as it were, alone and without a companion. Why don't I kill him?" So Angulimala, taking up his sword & shield, buckling on his bow & quiver, followed right behind the Blessed One.

Then the Blessed One willed a feat of psychic power such that Angulimala, though running with all his might, could not catch up with the Blessed One walking at normal pace. Then the thought occurred to Angulimala: "Isn't it amazing! Isn't it astounding! In the past I've chased & seized even a swift-running elephant, a swift-running horse, a swift-running chariot, a swift-running deer. But now, even though I'm running with all my might, I can't catch up with this contemplative walking at normal pace." So he stopped and called out to the Blessed One, "Stop, contemplative! Stop!"

"I have stopped, Angulimala. You stop."

Then the thought occurred to Angulimala, "These Sakyan contemplatives are speakers of the truth, asserters of the truths, and yet this contemplative, even while walking, says, 'I have stopped, Angulimala. You stop.' Why don't I question him?"

So Angulimala the bandit addressed this verse to the Blessed One:

"While walking, contemplative,
you say, 'I have stopped.'
But when I have stopped
you say I haven't.
I ask you the meaning of this:
How have you stopped?
How haven't I?"

[The Buddha:]

"I have stopped, Angulimala,
once & for all,
having cast off violence
toward all living beings.
You, though,
are unrestrained toward beings.
That's how I've stopped
and you haven't."

[Angulimala:]

"At long last a greatly revered great seer
for my sake
has come to the great forest.
Having heard your verse
in line with the Dhamma,
I will go about
having abandoned evil."

So saying, the bandit
hurled his sword & weapons
    over a cliff
    into a chasm,
        a pit.
Then the bandit paid homage
to the feet of the One Well-gone,
and right there requested the Going-forth.

The Awakened One,
the compassionate great seer,
the teacher of the world, along with its devas,
said to him then:
"Come, bhikkhu."
That in itself
was bhikkhuhood for him.

Then the Blessed One set out wandering toward Savatthi with Ven. Angulimala as his attendant monk. After wandering by stages he reached Savatthi, and there he lived, near Savatthi, in Jeta's Grove, Anathapindika's monastery.

Now at that time a large crowd of people, loud & noisy, had gathered at the gates to King Pasenadi Kosala's inner palace, [calling out,] "There is a bandit in your realm, sire, named Angulimala: brutal, bloody-handed, devoted to killing & slaying, showing no mercy to living beings. He has turned villages into non-villages, towns into non-towns, settled countryside into unsettled countryside. Having repeatedly killed human beings, he wears a garland made of fingers. The king must stamp him out!"

Then King Pasenadi Kosala, with a cavalry of roughly 500 horsemen, drove out of Savatthi and entered the monastery. Driving as far as the ground was passable for chariots, he got down from his chariot and went on foot to the Blessed One. On arrival, having bowed down, he sat to one side. As he was sitting there, the Blessed One said to him, "What is it, great king? Has King Seniya Bimbisara of Magadha provoked you, or have the Licchavis of Vesali or some other hostile king?"

"No, lord. King Seniya Bimbisara of Magadha hasn't provoked me, nor have the Licchavis of Vesali, nor has some other hostile king. There is a bandit in my realm, lord, named Angulimala: brutal, bloody-handed, devoted to killing & slaying, showing no mercy to living beings. He has turned villages into non-villages, towns into non-towns, settled countryside into unsettled countryside. Having repeatedly killed human beings, he wears a garland made of fingers. I am going to stamp him out." [1]

"Great king, suppose you were to see Angulimala with his hair & beard shaved off, wearing the ochre robe, having gone forth from the home life into homelessness, refraining from killing living beings, refraining from taking what is not given, refraining from telling lies, living the holy life on one meal a day, virtuous & of fine character: what would you do to him?"

"We would bow down to him, lord, or rise up to greet him, or offer him a seat, or offer him robes, almsfood, lodgings, or medicinal requisites for curing illness; or we would arrange a lawful guard, protection, & defense. But how could there be such virtue & restraint in an unvirtuous, evil character?"

Now at that time Ven. Angulimala was sitting not far from the Blessed One. So the Blessed One, pointing with his right arm, said to King Pasenadi Kosala, "That, great king, is Angulimala." Then King Pasenadi Kosala was frightened, terrified, his hair standing on end. So the Blessed One, sensing the king's fear & hair-raising awe, said to him, "Don't be afraid, great king. Don't be afraid. He poses no danger to you.

Then the king's fear, his terror, his hair-standing-on-end subsided. He went over to Ven. Angulimala and said, "Are you really Angulimala, lord?"

"Yes, great king."
"What is your father's clan? What is your mother's clan?"
"My father is a Gagga, great king, and my mother a Mantani."
"Then may Master Gagga Mantaniputta delight [in staying here]. I will be responsible for your robes, almsfood, lodgings, & medicinal requisites for curing illness."

Now it so happened that at that time Ven. Angulimala was a wilderness-dweller, an alms-goer, wearing one set of the triple robe made of cast-off cloth. So he said to King Pasenadi Kosala, "Enough, great king. My triple robe is complete."

So King Pasenadi Kosala went to the Blessed One and on arrival, having bowed down, sat to one side. As he was sitting there he said to the Blessed One, "It's amazing, lord. It's astounding, how the Blessed One has tamed the untamed, pacified the unpeaceful, and brought to Unbinding those who were not unbound. For what we could not tame even with blunt or bladed weapons, the Blessed One has tamed without blunt or bladed weapons. Now, lord, we must go. Many are our duties, many our responsibilities."

"Then do, great king, what you think it is now time to do."

Then King Pasenadi Kosala got up from his set, bowed down to the Blessed One and -- keeping him to his right -- departed.

Then Ven. Angulimala, early in the morning, having put on his robes and carrying his outer robe & bowl, went into Savatthi for alms. As he was going from house to house for alms, he saw a woman suffering a breech birth. On seeing her, the thought occurred to him: "How tormented are living beings! How tormented are living beings!" Then, having wandered for alms in Savatthi and returning from his alms round after his meal, he went to the Blessed One. On arrival, having bowed down to him, he sat to one side. As he was sitting there he said to the Blessed One, "Just now, lord, early in the morning, having put on my robes and carrying my outer robe & bowl, I went into Savatthi for alms. As I was going from house to house for alms, I saw a woman suffering a breech birth. On seeing her, the thought occurred to me: 'How tormented are living beings! How tormented are living beings!'"

"In that case, Angulimala, go to that woman and on arrival say to her, 'Sister, since I was born I do not recall intentionally killing a living being. Through this truth may there be wellbeing for you, wellbeing for your fetus.'"

"But, lord, wouldn't that be a lie for me? For I have intentionally killed many living beings."

"Then in that case, Angulimala, go to that woman and on arrival say to her, 'Sister, since I was born in the noble birth, I do not recall intentionally killing a living being. Through this truth may there be wellbeing for you, wellbeing for your fetus.'"[2]

Responding, "As you say, lord," to the Blessed One, Angulimala went to that woman and on arrival said to her, "Sister, since I was born in the noble birth, I do not recall intentionally killing a living being. Through this may there be wellbeing for you, wellbeing for your fetus." And there was wellbeing for the woman, wellbeing for her fetus.

Then Ven. Angulimala, dwelling alone, secluded, heedful, ardent, & resolute, in no long time reached & remained in the supreme goal of the holy life for which clansmen rightly go forth from home into homelessness, knowing & realizing it for himself in the here & now. He knew: "Birth is ended, the holy life fulfilled, the task done. There is nothing further for the sake of this world." And thus Ven. Angulimala became another one of the arahants.

Then Ven. Angulimala, early in the morning, having put on his robes and carrying his outer robe & bowl, went into Savatthi for alms. Now at that time a clod thrown by one person hit Ven. Angulimala on the body, a stone thrown by another person hit him on the body, and a potsherd thrown by still another person hit him on the body. So Ven. Angulimala -- his head broken open and dripping with blood, his bowl broken, and his outer robe ripped to shreds -- went to the Blessed One. The Blessed One saw him coming from afar and on seeing him said to him: "Bear with it, brahman! Bear with it! The fruit of the kamma that would have burned you in hell for many years, many hundreds of years, many thousands of years, you are now experiencing in the here-&-now!" [3]

Then Ven. Angulimala, having gone alone into seclusion, experienced the bliss of release. At that time he exclaimed:

Who once was heedless,
but later is not,
brightens the world
like the moon set free from a cloud. [4]

His evil-done deed
is replaced with skillfulness:
he brightens the world
like the moon set free from a cloud. [5]

Whatever young monk
devotes himself
to the Buddha's bidding:
he brightens the world
like the moon set free from a cloud.

May even my enemies
    hear talk of the Dhamma.
May even my enemies
    devote themselves
    to the Buddha's bidding.
May even my enemies
    associate with those people
    who -- peaceful, good --
    get others to accept the Dhamma.
May even my enemies
    hear the Dhamma time & again
    from those who advise    endurance,
                    forbearance,
    who praise non-opposition,
and may they follow it.

For surely he wouldn't harm me,
or anyone else;
he would attain the foremost peace,
would protect the feeble & firm.

Irrigators guide    the water.
Fletchers shape     the arrow shaft.
Carpenters shape     the wood.
The wise control
            themselves. [6]

Some tame with a blunt stick,
with hooks, & with whips
But without blunt or bladed weapons
I was tamed by the one who is Such.

"Doer of No Harm" is my name,
but I used to be a doer of harm.
Today I am true to my name,
for I harm no one at all.

A bandit
I used to be,
renowned as Angulimala.
Swept along by a great flood,
I went to the Buddha as refuge.

Bloody-handed
I used to be,
renowned as Angulimala.
See my going for refuge!
Uprooted is [craving],
the guide to becoming.

Having done the type of kamma
that would lead to many
bad destinations,
touched by the fruit of [that] kamma,
unindebted, I eat my food. [7]

They're addicted to heedlessness
-- dullards, fools --
while one who is wise
cherishes heedfulness
as his highest wealth. [8]

Don't give way to heedlessness
or to intimacy
with sensual delight --
for a heedful person,
absorbed in jhana,
attains an abundant bliss. [9]

This[10] has come well & not gone away,
it was not badly thought through for me.
From among well-analyzed qualities,
I have obtained
the best.

This has come well & not gone away,
it was not badly thought through for me.
    The three knowledges
    have been attained;
    the Buddha's bidding,
            done.

Notes

1. The PTS reading here, followed in The Middle Length Sayings and The Middle Length Discourses of the Buddha -- "I will not stamp him out" -- is surely a mistake. I follow the Thai reading on this passage, even though it is somewhat ungrammatical. There are passages in MN 90 where King Pasenadi's sentences don't quite parse, and perhaps this is another example of his brusque language.
2. This blessing is often chanted at house blessings in Theravada countries.
3. This incident illustrates the kammic principle stated in AN III.99.
4. This verse = Dhp 172.
5. This verse = Dhp 173.
6. This verse = Dhp 80.
7. This verse is another illustration of the principle stated in AN III.99.
8. This verse = Dhp 26.
9. This verse = Dhp 27.
10. "This" apparently refers to the abundant bliss mentioned in the previous verse.