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Once long ago in India, there lived a dangerous robber,
who lived in a forest between two small villages. The villagers were very scared
of him, because he not only robbed them, but also chopped off one of their little
fingers to add to a 'string' (mala) of chopped fingers (angulis) that he wore
around his waist. Due to this, the robber became infamous as 'Angulimala' or
the one who wears the string of chopped fingers.
Once Lord Buddha was
passing through the forest on His mission to spread Spirituality to the villagers.
The villagers feared for His life and warned Him against going to the neighboring
village. But Lord Buddha assured the villagers of His safe return and started
His journey through the forest.
The night was dark and cloudy. Angulimala, who never missed
a traveler, caught Buddha and asked Him for His belongings. Buddha told him that
He was a monk, who had renounced the world, and had nothing to give him. Angulimala
was puzzled, but at the very next moment, he realized that if he allowed Buddha
to go unharmed, the villagers would no longer be scared of him. Thinking so,
Angulimala walked towards Buddha and threatened to kill Him.
Buddha stood there calmly. He told Angulimala, "You are
free to kill me, but before you do so you will have to fulfill my one wish." Angulimala
agreed, so Buddha asked him to pluck a leaf from a nearby tree and bring it to
Him. Angulimala did so and came to Buddha with the leaf in one hand and his axe
in the other hand, ready to kill Him.
However, Buddha said, "Oh, I am sorry! I did not mean
this leaf, but the one from the other tree. Could you put this leaf back on the
tree that you got it from?" Angulimala started laughing and said, "How
can a plucked leaf be put back on the tree? Even if I stick it to the tree, it
will fall off, as it is already separated from the tree. It is impossible to
do so!"
On hearing this, Lord Buddha replied, "When we cannot
give life, we do not have any right to take it away! God who gave life to all
alone has that right." Buddha's words went to Angulimala's heart and he
fell at His feet, pleading forgiveness. That day, Angulimala turned from his
criminal ways and commenced spiritual
practice under Lord Buddha's guidance.
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