A Humanitarian Re-Reading of the Angulimala Sutta

 

A Humanitarian Re-Reading of the Angulimala Sutta

This is a True Story of a ruthless Serial Killer named Angulimala, born in Shravasti, India, who roamed the countryside, killing people and collecting their fingers as a necklace. He was feared by many, but deep down, he felt miserable and alone. The Angulimala Sutta is a riveting tale from the Buddhist scriptures of a blood-thirsty murderer who lived during the time that the Buddha walked the earth. Terrorizing the realm of King Pasenadi, Angulimala was known for the garland of fingers that he severed from his victims and wore around his neck. “Brutal, bloody-handed, devoted to killing & slaying, showing no mercy to living beings, He turned villages into non-villages, towns into non-towns, settled countryside into unsettled countryside.” As the story goes, the Buddha was staying in the region where Angulimala was on the loose. The Buddha went into town for alms, and when he had finished his meal, he took his bowl and walked along the road to where Angulimala was staying. Local farmers, shepherds, and cowherds warned the Buddha that groups of even ten, twenty, thirty, and forty men had been ambushed and killed by Angulimala. They urged the Buddha to turn back, but he did not. Resolutely, calmly, the Buddha walked in the direction of the killer’s lair. Angulimala saw the lone monk pass by and gleefully determined to kill him. Yet as he ran toward the Buddha, the Buddha “willed a feat of psychic power such that Angulimala, though running with all his might, could not catch up with the Blessed One walking at normal pace.” Amazed by this display of power, Angulimala called out, “Stop, contemplative! Stop!” locals beating Angulimala with dirt clods, stones, and potsherds until his head is broken open and dripping with blood. The Buddha never condones this violence, but encourages Angulimala to “bear with it.” Even though the misinformed people around him do not demonstrate any recognition of his humanity, Angulimala recognizes the humanity of others and does what is in his power to protect them. Left out of this Buddhist account is any mention of punishment of Angulimala. While the abandonment of his former violent life and ordination as an unarmed Buddhist monk mean that he should be protected from State violence according to modern human rights law and/or IHL, he would still be liable to stand trial and receive punishment for his crimes. Here modern criminal law and the Buddhist texts appear to diverge, with the former advocating a degree of retributive justice, while the latter perhaps represents an example of radical restorative justice, or a form of cosmic justice in which Angulimala is penalized and his victims and their families reconciled or recompensed in another way.