monastery at
Shravasti in
Uttar Pradesh, India|upright=1.3
Historical The giving of goodbye gifts to one's teacher was customary in ancient India. There is an example in the "Book of Pauṣya" of the Vedic epic
Mahābhārata. Here the teacher sends his disciple Uttanka away after Uttanka has proven himself worthy of being trustworthy and in the possession of all the
Vedic and
Dharmashastric teachings. Uttanka says to his teacher: Indologist Friedrich Wilhelm maintains that similar phrases already occur in the
Book of Manu (II,111) and in the
Institutes of Vishnu. By taking leave of their teacher and promising to do whatever their teacher asks of them, brings, according to the Vedic teachings, enlightenment or a similar attainment. It is therefore not unusual that Aṅgulimāla is described to do his teacher's horrible bidding—although being a good and kind person at heart—in the knowledge that in the end he will reap the highest attainment. (depicted here).|upright=0.6Indologist
Richard Gombrich has postulated that the story of Aṅgulimāla may be a historical encounter between the Buddha and a follower of an early
Saivite or
Shakti form of
tantra. Gombrich reaches this conclusion on the basis of a number of inconsistencies in the texts that indicate possible corruption, and the fairly weak explanations for Aṅgulimāla's behavior provided by the commentators. He notes that there are several other references in the early Pāli canon that seem to indicate the presence of devotees of
Śaiva,
Kali, and other divinities associated with
sanguinary (violent) tantric practices. The textual inconsistencies discovered could be explained through this theory. The idea that Aṅgulimāla was part of a violent cult was already suggested by the Chinese pilgrim
Xuan Zang (602–664 CE). In his
travel accounts, Xuan Zang states that Aṅgulimāla's was taught by his teacher that he would be born in the Brahma heaven if he killed a Buddha. A Chinese early text gives a similar description, stating that Aṅgulimāla's teacher followed the gruesome instructions of his guru, to attain immortality. Xuan Zang's suggestion was further developed by European translators of Xuan Zang's travel accounts in the early twentieth century, but partly based on translation errors. Regardless, Gombrich is the first recent scholar to postulate this idea. However, Gombrich's claim that tantric practices existed before the finalization of the
canon of Buddhist discourses (two to three centuries BCE) goes against mainstream scholarship. Scholarly consensus places the arising of the first tantric cults about a thousand years later, and no corroborating evidence has been found, whether textual or otherwise, of earlier sanguinary tantric practices. Though Gombrich argues that there other, similar
antinomian practices (going against moral norms) which are only mentioned once in
Buddhist scriptures and for which no evidence can be found outside of the scriptures, Buddhist Studies scholars Mudagamuwa and Von Rospatt dismiss these as incorrect examples. They also take issue with Gombrich's metrical arguments, thus disagreeing with Gombrich's hypotheses with regard to Aṅgulimāla. They do consider it possible, however, that Angulimāla's violent practices were part of some kind of historical cult. Buddhist Studies scholar
L. S. Cousins has also expressed doubts about Gombrich's theory. In the Chinese translation of the Damamūkhāvadāna by
Hui-chiao, as well as in archaeological findings, Aṅgulimāla is identified with the mythological Hindu king
Kalmashapada or Saudāsa, known since Vedic times. Ancient texts often describe Saudāsa's life as Aṅgulimāla's previous life, and both characters deal with the problem of being a good
brahman. Studying art depictions in the
Gandhāra region, Archeologist Maurizio Taddei theorizes that the story of Aṅgulimāla may point at an Indian mythology with regard to a
yakṣa living in the wild. In many depictions Aṅgulimāla is wearing a headdress, which Taddei describes as an example of
dionysian-like iconography. Art historian Pia Brancaccio argues, however, that the headdress is an Indian symbol used for figures associated with the wild or hunting. She concurs with Taddei that depictions of Aṅgulimāla, especially in Gandhāra, are in many ways reminiscent of dionysian themes in Greek art and mythology, and influence is highly likely. However, Brancaccio argues that the headdress was essentially an Indian symbol, used by artists to indicate Aṅgulimāla belonged to a forest tribe, feared by the early Buddhists who were mostly urban.
Doctrinal Among Buddhists, Aṅgulimāla is one of the most well-known stories. Not only in modern times: in ancient times, two important Chinese pilgrims travelling to India reported about the story, and reported about the places they visited that were associated with Aṅgulimāla's life. From a Buddhist perspective, Aṅgulimāla's story serves as an example that even the worst of people can overcome their faults and return to the right path. The commentaries uphold the story as an example of good karma destroying evil karma. Buddhists widely regard Aṅgulimāla as a symbol of complete transformation and as a showcase that the Buddhist path can transform even the least likely initiates. Buddhists have raised Aṅgulimāla's story as an example of the
compassion () and supernatural accomplishment () of the Buddha. Aṅgulimāla's conversion is cited as a testimony to the Buddha's capabilities as a teacher, and as an example of the healing qualities of the teaching of the Buddha (
Dharma). Through his reply, the Buddha connects the notion of 'refraining from harming' () with
stillness, which is the cause and effect of not harming. Furthermore, the story illustrates that there is spiritual power in such stillness, as the Buddha is depicted as outrunning the violent Aṅgulimāla. Though this is explained as being the result of the Buddha's supernatural accomplishment, the deeper meaning is that "... 'the spiritually still person' can move faster than the 'conventionally active' person". In other words, spiritual achievement is only possible through non-violence. Furthermore, this stillness refers to the Buddhist notion of liberation from karma: as long as one cannot escape from the endless law of karmic retribution, one can at least lessen one's karma by practicing non-violence. The texts describe this as form of stillness, as opposed to the continuous movement of karmic retribution.
Other planting a
Bodhi Tree in honor of the Buddha. The story of Aṅgulimāla illustrates how criminals are affected by their psycho-social and physical environment.
Jungian analyst Dale Mathers theorizes that Ahiṃsaka started to kill because his
meaning system had broken down. He was no longer appreciated as an academic talent. His attitude could be summarized as "I have no value: therefore I can kill. If I kill, then that proves I have no value". Summarizing the life of Aṅgulimāla, Mathers writes, who bridges giving and taking life." Similarly, referring to the psychological concept of
moral injury, theologian John Thompson describes Aṅgulimāla as someone who is betrayed by an authority figure but manages to recover his eroded moral code and repair the community he has affected. and describes the ethics presented in the narrative as inspiring responsibility. The story is not about being saved, but rather saving oneself with help from others. Ethics scholar
David Loy has written extensively about Aṅgulimāla's story and the implications it has for the justice system. He believes that in
Buddhist ethics, the only reason offenders should be punished is to reform their character. If an offender, like Aṅgulimāla, has already reformed himself, there is no reason to punish him, even as a deterrent. Furthermore, Loy argues that the story of Aṅgulimāla does not include any form of
restorative or
transformative justice, and therefore considers the story "flawed" as an example of justice. Former politician and community health scholar
Mathura Shrestha, on the other hand, describes Aṅgulimāla's story as "[p]robably the first concept of transformative justice", citing Aṅgulimāla's repentance and renunciation of his former life as a brigand, and the pardon he eventually receives from relatives of victims. Writing about capital punishment, scholar Damien Horigan notes that
rehabilitation is the main theme of Aṅgulimāla's story, and that witnessing such rehabilitation is the reason why King Pasenadi does not persecute Aṅgulimāla. In Sri Lankan pre-birth rituals, when the Aṅgulimāla Sutta is chanted for a pregnant woman, it is custom to surround her with objects symbolizing fertility and reproduction, such as parts of the coconut tree and earthen pots. Scholars have pointed out that in Southeast Asian mythology, there are links between bloodthirsty figures and fertility motifs. The shedding of blood can be found in both violence and childbirth, which explains why Aṅgulimāla is both depicted as a killer and a healer with regard to childbirth. With regard to the passage when the Buddha meets Aṅgulimāla, feminist scholar Liz Wilson concludes that the story is an example of cooperation and interdependence between the sexes: both the Buddha and Aṅgulimāla's mother help to stop him. Similarly, Thompson argues that mothers play an important role in the story, also citing the passage of the mother trying to stop Aṅgulimāla, as well as Aṅgulimāla healing a mother giving childbirth. Furthermore, both the Buddha and Aṅgulimāla take on motherly roles in the story. Although many ancient Indian stories associate women with qualities like foolishness and powerlessness, Aṅgulimāla's story accepts feminine qualities, and the Buddha acts as a wise adviser to use those qualities in a constructive way. Nevertheless, Thompson does not consider the story feminist in any way, but does argue it contains a feminine kind of
ethics of care, rooted in Buddhism. == In modern culture ==