Thag 16:8 Aṃ gulimṅla

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So saying, the bandit hurled his sword & weapons over a cliff into a chasm, a pit. Then the bandit paid homage to the feet of the One Well-Gone, and right there requested the Going-forth. The Awakened One, the compassionate great seer, the teacher of the world, along with its devas, said to him then: "Come, monk." That in itself was monkhood for him. * * * Aṃgulimṅla: Who once was heedless, but later is not, brightens the world like the moon set free from a cloud.1 His evil-done deed is replaced with skillfulness: He brightens the world like the moon set free from a cloud.2 Whatever young monk devotes himself to the Buddhaâs bidding: He brightens the world like the moon set free from a cloud. May even my enemies hear talk of the Dhamma. May even my enemies devote themselves to the Buddhaâs bidding. May even my enemies associate with those people who—peaceful, good— get others to accept the Dhamma. May even my enemies hear the Dhamma time & again from those who advise     endurance, forbearance, who praise non-opposition, and may they follow it. For surely he wouldnât harm me, or anyone else; he would attain     the foremost peace, would protect     the feeble & firm. Irrigators guide     the water. Fletchers shape     the arrow shaft. Carpenters shape     the wood. The wise control themselves.3 Some tame with a blunt stick, with hooks, & with whips But without blunt or bladed weapons I was tamed by the one who is Such. "Doer of No Harm" is my name, but I used to be a doer of harm. Today I am true to my name, for I harm no one at all. A bandit I used to be, renowned as Aṃgulimṅla. Swept along by a great flood, I went to the Buddha as refuge. Bloody-handed I used to be, renowned as Aṃgulimṅla. See my going for refuge! Uprooted is [craving], the guide to becoming. Having done the type of kamma that would lead to many bad destinations, touched by the fruit of [that] kamma, unindebted, I eat my food.4 Theyâre addicted to heedlessness —dullards, fools— while one who is wise cherishes heedfulness as his highest wealth.5 Donât give way to heedlessness or to intimacy with sensual delight— for a heedful person, absorbed in jhṅna, attains an abundant bliss.6 This7 has come well & not gone away, it was not badly thought through for me. From among well-analyzed qualities, I have obtained the best. This has come well & not gone away, it was not badly thought through for me. The three knowledges have been attained; the Awakened Oneâs bidding, done.8 Where once I stayed here & there with shuddering mind— in the wilderness, at the foot of a tree, in mountains, caves— with ease I now lie down, I stand, with ease I live my life. O, the Teacher has shown me sympathy! Before, I was of brahman stock, on either side high-born. Today Iâm the son of the One Well-Gone, the Dhamma-king, the Teacher. Rid of craving, devoid of clinging, sense-doors guarded, well-restrained, having killed the root of evil, Iâve reached the end of the effluents. The Teacher has been served by me; the Awakened Oneâs bidding, done; the guide to becoming,     uprooted; the heavy load,       laid down. Notes 1. This verse = Dhp 172. 2. This verse = Dhp 173. 3. This verse = Dhp 80. 4. This verse illustrates the kammic principle stated in AN 3:101. This is one of the ways in which the Buddhist doctrine of kamma differed from that of the Jains. For them, a person could not reach arahantship without having suffered retribution for every kammic misdeed, a process that could take many lifetimes—in the course of which, one might create more bad kamma, delaying arahantship still further. But for the Buddhists, training in virtue, discernment, and the ability not to be overcome by pleasure or pain could take the mind to a state where the results of past bad kamma would "be experienced in the here-and-now, and for the most part would appear only for a moment." In other words, in the Buddhist teaching, but not in the Jain, the state of the mind in the present plays a major role in how the effects of past kamma will be experienced. 5. This verse = Dhp 26. 6. This verse = Dhp 27. For a detailed discussion of "intimacy," see SN 22:3. 7. "This" apparently refers to the abundant bliss mentioned in the previous verse. 8. The verses in MN 86 end here. - --> - - - -