Image by VachalenXEON

The Buddha gained enlightenment under the Bodhi Tree in north-east India, and established a community of followers, many of them monks and nuns who lived a homeless life, meditating, and wandering to teach the basics of Buddhism to whoever they met.

One day the Buddha himself, walking alone, was travelling through the kingdom of Kosala, through the villages on the fringe of a huge dense jungle. One track led through the centre of the jungle, into the neighbouring kingdom of Magadha. As the Buddha started down that road, people came out of their houses. Stop, stop, don’t go down there, O holy man. Nobody who goes down that path into the jungle ever returns. But the Buddha ignored them and continued. In the next village the locals were even more decisive: stop, stop O holy man, don’t go down that track, anyone who goes down into the jungle is sure to be murdered! But the Buddha ignored them and continued. As he came to the edge of the jungle, there were no people, the towns and villages were completely depopulated. But there was one old man in a hut under the trees. He said to the Buddha: stop, stop O holy man, don’t go into the jungle, there lives the murderous bandit Angulimala, he will not let you live.

So the Buddha asked the old man who is this Angulimala, how come he is so dangerous? And the old man told him the story of the most feared bandit in the whole of India.

Angulimala was of the Brahmin caste. He longed for wealth, he longed for pleasure, but most of all he longed for power. He was bullied and looked down on by his fellows, he wished he could get his revenge. His mother said – if you want to be an influential and powerful man, you must go and study with the old priest who lives on that hill. He knows all the Mystic secrets. So Angulimala enrolled in his classes. He learnt the power of speech and how to manipulate others with your words. He learnt the magic spells – the rite of fascination, the rite of destruction. He learnt martial arts and swordsmanship, he became stronger and stronger, so none of the others in the class could withstand him.

The old priest’s young wife gazed on Angulimala, Angulimala gazed on the young woman. But the priest saw. The priest decided that Angulimala was far too dangerous to have in his household. So he devised a plan. He said to Angulimala: do you want power? Do you want influence? Do you want control over others? Yes, said Angulimala I desire these things more than anything in the world. The priest said: who then is the most powerful person? Angulimala replied: I guess O master it is you. No, said the priest, there is one far more powerful than I. Angulimala said: then you must mean the great King Pasenadi with his vast army, never conquered. The priest said, no, there is one far more powerful even than King Pasenadi. Who is that? Said Angulimala. the priest replied: it is God himself. The great Brahma, ruler of the world, feared by gods as well as men is the most powerful being. Yet you can become that being! Would you like that? Yes, said Angulimala but surely that is not possible. The priest said this is the auspicious time, it is the only time when a human being can become Brahma. But it is a very hard path to follow. In order to become Brahma, by the next new moon, with your own hand, you must kill 100 people, no more no less and no later than the new moon. Then you will become the great God Brahma.

The priest’s plan worked, Angulimala set off to find his victims, and the priest knew that he could not possibly survive such a murderous campaign, he would be rid of him forever!

Angulimala plunged into the depths of the great jungle, and haunted the only road that led through it, the track from the kingdom of Kosala to the kingdom of Magadha. A traveller came down the road, Angulimala drew his sword and sprung on the traveller, killing him swiftly. He dragged his body into the ditch, and lay in wait. Then a couple came down the track together, both were soon dispatched, Angulimala dragged them into the ditch. That’s three, he thought. But how do I ensure I kill exactly 100 people? So he cut off the right thumbs of his first three victims, and hung them up in a tree by his lair where he slept each night. The next morning, he found that crows had nibbled the flesh from the thumbs that he hung in the tree, so he threaded them together on a leather thong, and wore them round his neck. That was how he got his name – Angulimala means a necklace of thumbs.

The next day a merchant’s party came through the jungle, 16 people became his victims, but two got away, and spread the news to the surrounding villages of the dangerous bandit. Parties came now with armed guards, but Angulimala’s skill was too good for them, he would spring unexpectedly from the branch of a tree, dispatch the guards, and then kill the members of the party. So all the local people near the jungle, left their houses, their villages, even their towns, and fled the area in fear of the great bandit. Still he found victims, and at last around his neck on the thong there were 99 thumbs. He just needed one more victim, and then, he knew, he would become the most powerful being in the universe, the great God Brahma. But he only had a few hours until the new moon’s little silver Crescent, would appear in the sky. And nobody was coming into the jungle!

Meanwhile, King Pasenadi, he with the vast army, had at last heard about the serial killer plaguing the jungle in his land. He knew that a small party of soldiers would not be enough, he decided to send his army into the jungle to root out Angulimala and bring him to justice. Angulimala’s mother heard the news of the great armed expedition against her son, she thought: I must warn him, he has no chance against the army. She ran into the forest.

Angulimala sat in hiding above the track, hoping that someone would come, when he saw a little figure scurrying along the track towards him. At last, my hundredth victim, all my dreams will come true, he thought. He leapt down and grabbed the frail woman passing along the track. It was his mother! What was he to do? She said Angulimala my son, you must flee! The king’s army is on its way he looked into the sky and he saw that soon the new moon would rise. There is only one thing for it I must kill my own mother for the 100^th thumb. She saw what he was planning, and fell sobbing to the ground. But at that moment, another figure appeared coming down the track. Who was that? It was a wandering holy man. It was The Buddha! Walking peacefully, unhurriedly, steadily with no trace of fear straight towards Angulimala. He was so surprised that he let the Buddha pass, but he thought thank goodness I will not have to face the terrible sin of killing my own mother. I will take this holy man, he will give me my hundredth thumb.

So Angulimala left his mother, drew his sword and raced down the track after the Buddha. But something extraordinary happened. Despite his speed and athleticism, he drew no closer to the Buddha. He ran faster, he ran as fast as he could, but the Buddha stayed exactly the same distance in front, though the Buddha was simply walking at a steady pace. Angulimala was exhausted he couldn’t work out what was happening, and at last he stood stock still, and shouted at the top of his voice O holy man, stop stop stop. The Buddha continued walking, but looked over his shoulder and said this:

O Angulimala I have stopped it is you who have not stopped.

Angulimala was puzzled – these holy men were known never to lie, yet this man was moving down the track saying he had stopped, Angulimala was frozen to the spot in bewilderment, yet he was told he had not stopped. What do you mean what you mean, he shouted to the Buddha, and the Buddha turned round and approached him, and said quietly I have stopped. I have given up chasing after selfish desires. I’ve stopped blaming others for my own misfortunes. I’ve stopped resenting the success of other people. I’ve stopped fooling myself with false views. But you, Angulimala, are swirling around and around on the endless wheel of life, like one caught in a whirlpool. Your mind is whirling, your desperation is sweeping you as if over a waterfall. Angulimala was totally shocked. The Buddha was looking at him with compassion in his eyes, and not the slightest trace of fear. Angulimala was silent for some minutes. Neither man said anything. Then Angulimala fell to his knees, and said teach me how to stop, please teach me how to stop.

So the Buddha took Angulimala back to the local Monastery, and asked the monks there to shave his head, give him the ochre cloak to wear, and make him a Buddhist monk.

Angulimala took the precepts of nonviolence, ahimsakha. Angulimala did the meditations on lovingkindness.

Angulimala lived on gifts of leftover food provided by the local people. And he went into the town on his alms round, with his begging bowl walking mindfully from door to door, but soon somebody recognised him – that is Angulimala the bandit, and everybody fled in terror. And Angulimala returned to the monastery with an empty bowl. The next morning he went out again, this time the locals had discussed the case, and realised that he had no weapon, he was now dressed as a monk, he could not harm them. So they plucked up courage, they threw clods of earth at him, they yelled obscenities and imprecations at him, they threw stones; and he limped back to the Monastery with no food in his broken bowl, his cloak in rags, and blood streaming down from a nasty cut on his head.

The Buddha saw him: bear it monk, bear it monk. You are now reaping the fruits of your karma. Your violent action leaves you in a violent world.

At last Angulimala was able to travel safely into the town to beg his alms. One day as he was passing a house he heard a woman screaming in anguish inside. He asked what was the matter – she was pregnant, and in danger of a breach birth. She was in agony, and her baby was unlikely to survive. The doctors could not help her. Angulimala rushed back to the Monastery and asked the Buddha: what can I do, is there any way I can help her? The Buddha said only one thing will save this woman’s life. That is a declaration of utter truth. It has to be the deepest truth that she hears, then her baby will be born safely. You must say to her “I utter this truth, that since the day I was born, I have never harmed any living being.” Angulimala said: but I have killed 99 people, how can I possibly say I have harmed no one? The Buddha said: that, Angulimala, was a different person. Since then you’ve had a new birth, a birth as Ahimsakha, the man without violence. You can make that statement truthfully. Angulimala went straight back to the woman’s house, “I utter this sacred truth, that since the day I was born, I have never harmed any living being.” The baby was delivered safely, and the mother’s pain was gone. A man with a necklace of thumbs had changed his name. He had changed his nature, he had become Ahimsakha, the man without violence. And before long he became one of the awakened ones.