Date: 04/19/2025 04/20/2025
Location: Star Ocean Meditation Center
Teacher: Otto Huang
Dharma Talk
The Liberation of the Murderous Angulimāla
Once, the Buddha was traveling in the Kingdom of Kosala and staying at Jetavana Monastery, located on the southern outskirts of the capital, Sāvatthī.
That day, the monks went into Sāvatthī for alms and saw many people petitioning outside King Pasenadi’s palace. They were urging the king to deploy troops to capture a murderous criminal named Angulimāla. Everyone said he was extremely violent, killing anyone he saw and stringing the fingers of his victims into a necklace to wear as an ornament.
When the monks returned from their alms round, they reported this to the Buddha.
After listening to the monks, the Buddha silently walked toward the forest where Angulimāla was hiding.
As the Buddha approached the forest, villagers gathering firewood, carrying grass, plowing fields, and herding cattle along the way warned him not to proceed. They told him that a dangerous murderer lived in the forest ahead. However, the Buddha paid no heed to their warnings and continued walking toward the forest.
From a distance, Angulimāla saw the Buddha walking alone and thought to himself:
“Excellent! Even when groups of forty or fifty people pass through here, they still become my prey. It has been a long time since someone dared to walk here alone like this ascetic. Why should I miss this great opportunity?”
With this thought, Angulimāla picked up his weapon and charged at the Buddha from behind. However, the Buddha manifested his supernatural powers. No matter how hard Angulimāla tried, he could not catch up. He thought to himself:
“Strange! I can catch up with running elephants, horses, deer, and even speeding chariots. Yet, no matter how hard I try, I cannot catch up with this ascetic who is merely walking at a normal pace.”
Angulimāla then shouted to the Buddha:
“Stop, ascetic! Stop, ascetic!”
The Buddha replied:
“I have already stopped, Angulimāla! It is you who have not stopped.”
“You are clearly still walking! How can you say you have stopped?”
“Angulimāla! I have long since ceased all harmful actions against living beings, but you have not stopped. You continue committing acts of killing and harming others.”
Hearing this, Angulimāla thought to himself:
“Am I really doing something wrong? My teacher told me that if I could kill a thousand people and string their fingers into a necklace, I would be reborn in heaven after death.
But this person, whom I cannot catch no matter how hard I try, must be the rare and enlightened Tathāgata described in ancient scriptures.”
Realizing this, Angulimāla immediately threw away his weapon and said to the Buddha:
“Blessed One! Please allow me to follow you and become a monk.”
The Buddha accepted him and said:
“Come, monk!”
Thus, Angulimāla completed his ordination and became a member of the monastic community.
Meanwhile, King Pasenadi had already mobilized troops to capture Angulimāla. That day, the king led five hundred cavalrymen out on the expedition. As they passed by Jetavana Monastery, he entered the monastery alone to seek the Buddha’s guidance.
The Buddha asked the king:
“Great King! For what reason have you mobilized your army? Are you going to attack another country?”
“Blessed One! I am going to capture the murderous criminal Angulimāla.”
“Great King! If Angulimāla had already renounced the world and become a monk under my guidance, what would you do?”
“Blessed One! Then I would respect and make offerings to him as I do to other monks. But such a wicked person, who has not the slightest good thought, could never become a monk.”
At that moment, the Buddha raised his right hand and pointed to Angulimāla, who was sitting under a tree not far away, and said to King Pasenadi:
“Great King! That is Angulimāla.”
Upon hearing this, the king was so shocked that his entire body trembled, and he froze in place.
The Buddha assured the king that Angulimāla was no longer a fearsome murderer.
After a while, King Pasenadi calmed himself and approached Angulimāla to inquire about his parents’ names, verifying his identity. The king then offered to provide Angulimāla with clothing, food, bedding, and medicine. However, Angulimāla replied to the king:
“Great King! I lack nothing. The three robes of a monk are sufficient for me.”
Deeply moved, King Pasenadi returned to the Buddha and praised him, saying that he had subdued such a vicious person without using any weapons.
From then on, Angulimāla lived a monastic life, practicing alms-seeking and meditating in solitude. After some time, he finally attained liberation and became an Arahant.
One day, while Angulimāla was begging for alms in the city, people recognized him as the former murderer. Word quickly spread, and many people threw bricks and stones at him, while others chased him with knives. As a result, Angulimāla was badly beaten, with his head bleeding and his robes torn to shreds.
When the Buddha saw him returning in such a wretched state, he comforted him, saying:
“Angulimāla! When others attack you, you must endure it. What you are experiencing now is the karmic retribution for your past misdeeds. If not for your renunciation, you would have suffered thousands of years of torment in hell.”
