The Story of Angulimala
“Wow, what a brave ascetic! Traveling alone? Just know that even if you were traveling in a group of ten, twenty, thirty, forty, or fifty - still you wouldn’t have been safe from a killer like me! I’ve chased down elephants, horses, chariots, and deer; and I’ve always caught and killed them all! But I don’t think I could ever catch an ascetic as slow as you! Ha! Show me how brave you really are! Show me you are not afraid to die and stop!” shouted the bandit.
“I’ve stopped, Angulimala, now you stop.” replied the Buddha but kept walking.
“Oh good you know me! I am the bandit called Angulimala; violent, bloody-handed, a hardened killer, merciless to all living creatures. I have laid waste to villages, towns, and countries. I am constantly murdering people, and I wear their fingers as a necklace! Everyone wants to point a finger! But it’s everyone that shares the blame! If you are looking for it, everyone gives you a reason to put a knife in them! If you are looking for it, everyone shows you where! That’s how things get stopped, ascetic!” shouted Angulimala, “Why don’t you stop and wag a finger? I’ll add it to my necklace!”
The Buddha kept walking but replied;“I’ve stopped, Angulimala, now you stop.”
“See even you lie and deserve to die! While continuing to walk you say: ‘I’ve stopped’; and see me standing still you say: ‘now you stop.’ So how about you stop right there you liar!”
The Buddha then turned and faced him, “Angulimala, I am forever stopped; I’ve laid aside violence towards everyone. But you can’t even stop yourself from harming anyone at all; that’s why I’ve stopped, but you have not.”
Angulimala tore off this garland of fingers never to kill again.
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