Angulimala – The Garland of Fingers
(By Tsem Rinpoche)
During Buddha Shakyamuni’s time, an Indian boy was born. Named “Ahimsaka” meaning harmless in Sanskrit, he was later known as Angulimala.
The Pali word ‘Angulimala’ directly translates to “finger mala” or a rosary of fingers. It is a story about a man named Angulimala who quickly excelled in his Dharma studies, but then found himself going down a dark and dangerous path. He lived the younger years of his life spiritually, but due to the jealousy from his peers he was shunned by his community… even by his parents!
He decided to take on a life as a robber and set out to make a mala-like garland of 1,000 fingers – one from every person he killed! For his 1,000th finger, Buddha Shakyamuni appeared before him. Angulimala saw him as his final victim and ran after him. But as much as Angulimala tried to get closer to his last victim, Buddha Shakyamuni always remained one step ahead of him.
Buddha Shakyamuni then gave a short teaching, and Angulimala broke down and cried and requested to be taken in as Shakyamuni’s student.
Angulimala’s life story is especially famous within the Theravadan school. His story shows how it is possible to change your life for the better even after committing so many negative deeds. A lot of people may feel that after creating so much negativity, there’s no turning back. Perhaps they don’t know how to change their life for the better, or that perhaps no one would give them a chance.
Like Milarepa – there are some saints who have hurt and killed many people… however, despite that, they are able to attain the state of Nirvana in that lifetime. Perhaps then, there is a way?
Share this with friends and children.
Read the comic to find out why he wanted so many fingers… !
Tsem Rinpoche
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Angulimala, the robber and murderer, is one of the best known figures of the Buddhist scriptures, because of his dramatic life story. Interesting reading of the story of Angulimala how he became a murderer and collector of severed fingers to wear as a mala around his neck. Angulimala was intelligent and he was not a bad guy either but lead astray by his teacher to kill brutally many people. He was reformed by the Lord Buddha after he attempted to murder him. He was so touched by these words of Buddha’s advice not to kill any more that he bowed at the Buddha’s feet and asked to become a monk. He regretted for his action, change and transform. Angulimala led a life of simplicity and solitude, and under the Buddha’s guidance eventually attained enlightenment. Beautiful ending where anyone’s life can be transformed, even if it may seem impossible .
Thank you Rinpoche for this sharing.
I was fascinated by the story of Angulimala ever since my childhood, intrigued by the novel way he collects fingers, and then immensely touched when he finally says “i did not know what i was doing, similarly they too do not know what they are doing”.
Now into my middle ages, I happen to revisit Angulimala’s story. Now that my childish intrigue has been replaced by a more mature understanding of Angulimala’s life, two questions stand out loud and unanswered,
1. Angulimala was an exceptionally talented and obedient young man. Isn’t it his immediate society that turned him into a robber and murderer ? (by jealous colleagues, insecure teacher, and careless parents)
2. The story does talk about the horrible crimes and repentance, but what about instigation. Isn’t instigation the worst form of crime ?
I think Angulimala’s life is all the more relevant in today’s life. With rising populism and majoritarianism, more and more talented young people are outcasted and shunned by the majority – outcasted, victimised, angered, criminalised, stoned, and killed. The instigators are never examined nor heard of ever again and they go scot-free after achieving their heinous agenda, while good men are turned into rascals. Are we as a society increasingly becoming blind towards the crime of instigation ? Or are we just helpless .. ?
Dear Rinpoche ,
From this article I learnt the power of confession and not repeating the bad action. Angulimala had collected tremendous amount of bad karma because he had killed 999 people and cut off their last fingers to make a mala. This is a heinous act and he should be reborn in a hell straight away when he dies. However, when he met with Buddha, he confessed his bad actions and vowed not to repeat the act of killing ever again. His strong determination is proven when the villagers attacked him out of fear and pride which results in Angulimala suffered serious injuries which eventually cost his life. Before Angulimala pass into nirvana, he told Buddha that he is not angry of any of the villagers that hurt him because they were confuse and don’t know what they are doing. Because of Angulimala’s confession and vowed not to kill ever again, he purifies a vast amount of bad karma and even the karma of killing. This shows how powerful confessional practice are, example would be 35 confessional buddha and Kawang practices. When they are done right, they can purify tremendous amount of karma and even the karma that deemed so heavy.
Chris
No one is so bad that it is impossible for them to change. Killing people and cutting off their fingers to wear as a mala around the neck is a heinous crime. It’s hard to imagine someone who has committed such act being able to see reason, let alone repent.
The story of Angulimala is a story of hope, a story that tells us there is way out of suffering and we can find peace no matter how dire the situation.
1. The act does not always reflect a person’s true nature. We are not inherently bad. The Buddha nature does exist in all of us.
2. A good person can become “bad” due to the experiences he encountered in life. Yes, we are responsible for our own actions and choices we make. What I’m trying to highlight here is that how we treat people around us can either create a positive or negative impact on them. Be mindful of our speech and actions.
3. Never underestimate the power of compassion. Just giving someone the time of day, a piece of advise, an act of care, genuine kindness could be all it takes to change a person’s life for the better.
4. We cannot escape the karma of our actions but we are not the prisoner of our karma. We are the creator of our karma. We can stop our destructive ways, change course and move forward.
5. How we perceive a situation give rise to how we react to a situation. It is not the situation that will give us peace or anger, it is our perception.
This is a pathetic.
This is the first time for me reading the story of Angulimala. It is so fascinating. How much a person can change and transform due to regretting their past actions. Thank you Rinpoche for always reminding us that regret can be powerful only if we take actions to it. Instead of just saying that we regret for certain actions and do not take any actions to follow up on what we have realised.
I love the story of Angulimala though this comic version is different from the one i remember. In the one i have read before, Angulimala is told by his false teacher to gather 1000 fingers and he is just following his teacher’s instructions. The Buddha was going to be his 1000th victim and all he wanted was to fulfil the teacher’s instruction. This is still a good story on its own merits though. The main lesson i get from this story is that we have the power to change our karma when we change our attitude and actions. Even someone who has committed so many sins like Angulimala can become enlightened in one lifetime from his faith in the Buddha.
The story of how Angulimala healed the lady just because he had faith in the Buddha who told him he could heal also reminded me of what Tsem Rinpoche had said before, that we can have the power to bless and not just Rinpoche. If we follow Rinpoche’s instructions, are sincere and have a good motivation, we can have the power to bless people also.
The story of Angulimala is a story that should be told to all, especially people who have given up due to them being bad for a portion of their life (Like prisoners).
Angulimala’s story is proof that despite the amount of negative things you do, redemption is possible.Though Angulimala had murdered many, he still felt peace at the time of death due to his meeting with the Buddha. We should not stop doing the Dharma because we did something wrong. Instead we should work harder in the Dharma to make things right..
When Angulimala was pelted by stones, it is due to people not recognizing him as the saint he is at the time. This shows that we must always be on our best behavior as it will create the image in other’s eyes. Also, the pelting was purification to ensure Angulimala can go to a better rebirth as his bad karma had been purified.
Thank you! I am a schizophrenic longing for peace of mind. Through this article, I found peace and serenity of mind – Nirvana.
What a great story. When I reached the last two pages, I felt the sour sensation in my nose and I was tearing up.. I felt that it is not easy to realize one’s sins and repent. Angulimala must’ve did something right in his past lives to be able to cross paths with Buddha himself.. Very touching and educational at the same time! Will definitely share this story with others! It is never too late to change and repent if we are sincere.
Thank you for sharing, Rinpoche! I loved it!
The story of Angulimala is not only about the redemptive power of the Dharma which is a given, and cannot be doubted. We may read the story and instantly think that the sheer proximity to Dharma and Guru can do its work on us automatically without any involvement on our part.
Angulimala was born and given the name Ahimsa, which is a beautiful name. He wasn’t born a monster but was born with a pre-inclination to commit harm presumably from the negative karma he accrued in past lives. And here, we have to understand that we are all like that and we are born with certain imprints, which inclines us towards a certain behavior. It is something we have to be aware of in ourselves.
Ahimsa was diligent and smart and grew into a young man with a lot of potential ahead. But he encountered his share of wickedness and injustice and sadness turned into bitterness and perhaps that gave raise to all his negative karma which took over as he became Angulimala who then gave full expression to his anger and sense of hopelessness. Would he have reacted differently to his misfortune had he met the Buddha and understood the Dharma earlier? Would he have raged against the injustice he suffered as the result of his karma? Probably not.
When Angulimala met the Buddha, he did not only realize his mistake and regretted and repented. But he also let go of the ill feelings and wrongs that were brought upon him, and he also let go of the guilt and wrong-doing he committed up to that point. He did not dwell on them any longer and in releasing all the good and the bad he experienced, he made way fully for the Dharma. Angulimala did not run away from his past, he simply accepted them and moved on with the Buddha.
That interpretation may not be in the story but I think we know it to be true. We cannot embrace our future and our past at the same time. Angulimala did not provide excuses for his bad deeds, he did not blame the unfair world, he did not refer to his pain and suffering nor did he hide from his evil deeds. Like many of us, he had every reason he could have called on to justify himself but he just embraced the Dharma. And perhaps this is where we err even when we come into the Dharma. We do not let go of our pain, our fears and whatever emotions we allow to define us. We do not fully surrender and therefore we do not reap the full harvest of peace from the Dharma. Some might say that Angulimala was luck to have met the Buddha himself but I think to meet the Dharma is to have met the Buddha himself. To meet the Guru, too, is to have met the Buddha in person.
We see how the Dharma released him whatever was driving his emotions and made him into what he was. Before the Dharma, he raged against his karma as he faced afflictions. After the Dharma, he accepted his karma even as he was being beaten to death. In accepting his karma, he felt no anger and instead realized how we are all afflicted by our own karma. he is saying people are not bad on purpose, only people controlled by their ignorance. He realized compassion and took complete refuge in the Buddha (Buddham Saranam Gachami). Angulimala had more than most to overcome but in the Dharma he overcome all and attained Nirvana.
Those of us who are lucky enough to have met the Dharma should similarly let go and fully embrace the Buddha’s Dharma and let it do its work in us.
(Sorry this is so long)
Angulimala had the merit to meet with a perfect teacher, Lord Buddha himself. Thus,despite having committed such a heinous sin as murdering 999 people, he was able to purify all his negative karma and attain liberation from suffering and from samsara.
As is said in the Lamrim, “(In degenerate times),I, (Buddha ) Vajradha myself, will come in the form of Masters”. Thus,in this lifetime, we have the precious merit of meeting with our Guru(the Perfect Teacher), who is an emanation of Buddha Vajradha, himself. If we believe our Guru is Buddha and follow all his instructions, we will be able to purify all our negative karma through our Guru’s skillful methods.
If Angulimala is capable of attaining the state of Nirvana in his lifetime even after committing such heavy negative actions of killing 999 persons, it shows that we can purify even the heaviest negative karma. Nothing stays permanent. Everything changes including our karma. Hence there is hope for everyone.
We must then use our rare and golden opportunity NOW to purify our karma.
Thank you Rinpoche. This is a very meaningful story to me.
好久没阅读漫画了。这漫画真好，在娱乐的同时又学到善知识。克媒也在仁波切的启发下出版了中英文“宗卡巴大师”的生平画册。
如果善用不同的媒体，我们能把好的讯息带给大家。
这些故事都有激励的作用，不能抹杀有前科的人修行的机会。
I am in the middle of struggling on something. Feeling of unfair, angry, ego stem from the mind to heart. Thus, i search through Master Tsem’s blog trying to look for an answer. Tears in my eyes as i reading this story, wash away the hatred and ego as i reading it. To be able to forgives those people who mistreat us, it is not easy. Normally, we will thinking to fight back. But, this story gave “life” to me again. Ya, what do i need in me now. What is the final product i want? I beg myself dont leave Dharma again. Thank you Master Tsem. I prostrate to you for creating this blog to serve as a “medicine” when i am “sick”.
This is a very interesting story. It shows that everyone of us make mistakes, we have to be responsible to our mistakes. However, by being regretful and be compassionate, we will be able to ‘correct’ our mistakes. The choice is in us, no one can change our lives for better or worse except for ourselves.
Thank you for sharing the story. I have always liked this story of Angulimala. Few years ago he air this show 2 weeks after wesak in the Tourism Center 3 to 4 years ago. I watch the movie twice. I like the movie a lot. Could not find the movie anywhere later.
This sharing realy fresh my mind re the movie. It show that no matter how bad a person are there is always some goodness inside and all have equal chance to attain enlightenment.
I love these comics. . they are so easy to look at & read
with essential and important teachings of the Buddha -)
I was listening to Amy Winehouse’s ‘love is a losing game’ which
seemed to connect with the story of the lady with the mustard seed.
thank-you, so many important things to think about and try to
accommodate – its a beautiful song. .by the way!)
I always found the story of Angulimala interesting. It reminds people that no matter how bad people are, they still have a good part of them deep inside.
I have read another version of this story where it is the teacher who tells Angulimala to collect 1000 fingers. He collected a few then he discovered that crows stole the fingers from the cave he hid them in, so he hung them around his neck.
In the version I read other than the one presented here, Angulimala survives being pelted by stones. But I find this version much more interesting.
I have always liked this story of Angulimala. It shows that good and bad are nothing but our own misconceptions. Although there is always hope for us to walk out of this, nevertheless the Guru plays the utmost important role in guiding us on how to. Hence, we have to create the cause(s) to meet with the wise Guru who has no interest for his/herself but others, who is wise and enlightened, and who we will forever follow until we reach enlightenment ourselves. Homage to the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha!
Dear Rinpoche, Thank You for posting this comics. Dear Rinpoche I would like to share with you a buddhist hymms on Angulimala. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T_WL2WgETIE