Turning Wheel Buddhist Temple
The story of how the bandit Angulimala gave up his extreme violence after meeting with the Buddha shows that whatever mistakes we have made in our lives, change is always possible. We can stop doing the harmful things that we have been doing, and commit ourselves to living in a way that benefits all beings, including ourselves.
On one occasion the Buddha was staying at Anathapindika&#;s monastery in Jeta’s Grove, near the city of Shravasti. One day, after he had eaten his mid-day meal, the Buddha picked up his robes and bowl, and headed in the direction of the Great Forest of Kosala which was not far away.
Now at that time, a bandit named Angulimala was living in the forest. He had a reputation for being extremely brutal and had blood on his hands from the numerous victims he had killed. He showed no mercy to anyone.
As the Buddha walked towards the forest, the cowherds, shepherds and farmers who saw him called out to him, &#;Don&#;t go along that road, Lord Buddha, or you will be attacked by Angulimala the brutal bandit. He has blood on his hands from the many victims he has killed, and shows no mercy to anyone. He wears a gruesome neck
Editor's Preface
Angulimala, the robber and murderer, is one of the best known figures of the Buddhist scriptures, because of his dramatic life story. His conversion to monkhood and later to sainthood was exceptional as he seems to have been the only former criminal to be accepted into the Buddhist monastic order. The Buddha had often warned not to judge people from appearances and their external behavior. In Angulimala's case, the Buddha had seen his hidden potential to win freedom, not only from his present low moral status and from rebirth in the lowest worlds of painful existence, but that Angulimala would also be able to gain the highest freedom from all suffering in this very life.
In Christianity, too, we find some instances of radical changes in the moral character of people: there is the "thief on the cross" at Golgatha who was promised by Jesus that he would be with him in paradise the next day; and the chief of a gang of robbers who was converted by Francis of Assisi and became a monk. Cases like these have always moved the hearts of the religious-minded and have raised the question how such changes could be possible. Angulimala's story might give an ans
Buddhist Story: Angulimala: A Story of the Power of Compassion
- Angulimala
- A Story of the Power of Compassion
(As told by Ven. Walpola Piyananda Thera in Love in Buddhism)
There was once the son of a Brahmin (the highest "priestly" caste in India) in the court of KingPasenadi of Kosala, whose name was Ahimsaka. He was sent to Taxila for his studies. Ahimsaka was intelligent and obedient to this teacher; therefore he was liked by both the teacher and his wife. This made the other pupils jealous of him. So they went to the teacher and falsely accused Ahimsaka of having an immoral relationship with the teacher’s wife. At first, he did not believe them, but after hearing it a number of times, he thought it was true and vowed to have revenge on Ahimsaka. He thought that to kill him would reflect badly on him. His rage prompted him to suggest the unthinkable to the young and innocent Ahimsaka. He told his pupil to kill a thousand human beings and to bring the right thumb of each as payment for teaching him. Of course the youngster would not even think of such a thing, so he was banished from the teacher’s house and returned to his parents.
When his father learned why Ahi
The Buddhist scriptures relate that one day, after his meal, the Buddha went out from the monastery where he was staying and walked towards a great forest. Seeing him going in that direction various people working in their fields called out to him to warn him that in that forest dwelt the dreaded Angulimala.
Little is known for certain about Angulimala but the usual account of his life has him the son of a well-to-do family and at one time a brilliant student at the University of Taxila, then the Oxbridge of India.
At Taxila, other students were jealous of him and succeeded in poisoning their teacher’s mind against him, with the result that the teacher asked of him what he must have believed would be an impossible honorarium, a thousand human right-hand little fingers. Unbelievably, instead of giving up and quietly going home without graduating, the young man set out to collect the fingers and pay the fee. Presumably, he quickly discovered that people were reluctant to willingly give up their little fingers and so he was forced to resort to violence and killing in order to obtain them.
Then he found he had nowhere to store these fingers. He tried hanging them on a tree but th
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