I read the following on the internet:
> Yet there were still a few who could not forget that Angulimala the
> bandit, with his superior prowess, had shown them in their weakness
> and thus had humiliated them. Out of that resentment, as an act of
> revenge, they were mean enough to injure the venerable Angulimala by
> throwing stones and sticks which struck him when he had gone for alms.
> They must have done so from a safe distance.
>
> Then with blood running from his injured head, with his bowl broken,
> and with his patchwork robe torn, the venerable Angulimala went to the
> Blessed One. The Blessed One saw him coming, and he told him: "Bear
> it, brahmana, bear it, brahmana! You have experienced here and now the
> ripening of kamma whose ripening you might have experienced in hell
> over many a year, many a century, many a millennium."
>
> Being a saint, his mind and heart were firm and invulnerable. **But the
> body, the product of former craving, the symbol and fruit of previous
> kamma, was still there in present existence and was still exposed to
> the effects of former evil deeds.** Even to the Buddha himself it
> happened that, as a result of former deeds, Devadatta was able to
> cause him a slight injury. Also his two chief disciples had to
> experience bodily violence. The venerable Sariputta had been hit on
> the head by a mischievous demon, and the venerable Maha-Moggallana was
> even cruelly murdered. If this occurred in the case of these three
> Great Ones, how could Angulimala have fully avoided bodily harm — he
> who in his present life had committed so much evil! Yet, it was only
> his body that received these blows, but not his mind. That remained in
> invulnerable equipoise.
In the sutta about Angulimala, King Pasenadi forgave Angulimala of his evil deeds. The sutta says:
> "Great king, suppose you were to see Angulimala with his hair & beard
> shaved off, wearing the ochre robe, having gone forth from the home
> life into homelessness, refraining from killing living beings,
> refraining from taking what is not given, refraining from telling
> lies, living the holy life on one meal a day, virtuous & of fine
> character: what would you do to him?"
>
> "We would bow down to him, lord, or rise up to greet him, or offer him
> a seat, or offer him robes, almsfood, lodgings, or medicinal
> requisites for curing illness; or we would arrange a lawful guard,
> protection, & defense. But how could there be such virtue & restraint
> in an unvirtuous, evil character?"
>
> Now at that time Ven. Angulimala was sitting not far from the Blessed
> One. So the Blessed One, pointing with his right arm, said to King
> Pasenadi Kosala, "That, great king, is Angulimala." Then King Pasenadi
> Kosala was frightened, terrified, his hair standing on end. So the
> Blessed One, sensing the king's fear & hair-raising awe, said to him,
> "Don't be afraid, great king. Don't be afraid. He poses no danger to
> you."
>
> So King Pasenadi Kosala went to the Blessed One and on arrival, having
> bowed down, sat to one side. As he was sitting there he said to the
> Blessed One, "It's amazing, lord. It's astounding, how the Blessed One
> has tamed the untamed, pacified the unpeaceful, and brought to
> Unbinding those who were not unbound. For what we could not tame even
> with blunt or bladed weapons, the Blessed One has tamed without blunt
> or bladed weapons. Now, lord, we must go. Many are our duties, many
> our responsibilities."
Was the forgiveness of King Pasenadi Kosala towards Angulimala a fruit or product of the old evil kamma of Angulimala?
Since the suttas say "kamma is intention", did Angulimala "will" the forgiveness from King Pasenadi Kosala; similar to how a sexy lady may intentionally seduce a man?
Asked by Paraloka Dhamma Dhatu
(48030 rep)
Aug 5, 2019, 07:25 AM
Last activity: Sep 4, 2019, 06:54 PM
Last activity: Sep 4, 2019, 06:54 PM