The Majjhima Nikāya of the Southern tradition records that while the Buddha was staying at the Jetavana in Sāvatthī, there was in King Pasenadi's realm a bandit, Aṅgulimāla, who killed people and strung their fingers into a garland. After his alms round the Buddha walks alone along the road the bandit haunts; Aṅgulimāla chases him with a sword but cannot catch up, and shouts “Stop, ascetic!”, to which the Buddha replies: “I have stopped; you too should stop.” Aṅgulimāla lays down his sword and asks to go forth; the Buddha accepts him with “Come, ” (the Buddha's own words “Come, bhikkhu” admitting him to the Sangha), and he later attains . King Pasenadi comes to the Jetavana with troops to arrest him, and seeing that he has become a monastic is greatly astonished and offers to support him. Taishō Canon
Pali Canon
More sources (2)
Different Accounts
Place: the Majjhima Nikāya of the Southern tradition and the Chinese Ekottarika Āgama have the Jetavana at Sāvatthī; the Chinese Saṃyukta Āgama has a wood in the country of Aṅguttarāpa; the Chinese Bieyi za ahan jing has a wood by the Tao river in Magadha. Taishō Canon
More sources (1)
More differences between accounts (2)
The Buddha's reply: the Majjhima Nikāya of the Southern tradition has “I have stopped”; the Chinese Saṃyukta Āgama has “I have always been standing still; it is you who have not stopped”; the Bieyi za ahan jing uses similar words.
The Pali Vinaya takes this event as the occasion for the rule that a bandit whose notoriety is public may not go forth; the preface to the rules in the Chinese Dharmaguptaka Vinaya also mentions Aṅgulimāla in verse.
Dating
Year uncertain, with no possible year at all. Neither the sutras, the Vinaya nor the later commentaries record in which year after the Awakening this happened, so the age cannot be reckoned either; the “twentieth year” given in modern dictionaries has no traceable original source and is not listed as a possible year.
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Research Notes: Reliability, Dating and Sources
- How Reliability Is Assessed
Recorded by two schools, the Pali canon of the Southern tradition and the Chinese Saṃyukta Āgama. Recorded by two schools.
- Dating Evidence and Precision
Source of the date not recorded. Time precision: year uncertain.
Sources
- Pali Canon巴利 MN 86:1.2
- Pali Canon巴利 Thag 16.8Entire text
- 大正藏大正藏 T02 no.99 p.280c
- 大正藏大正藏 T02 no.100 p.378b
- 大正藏大正藏 T02 no.125 p.719b
- 大正藏大正藏 T04 no.194 p.134c
- 大正藏大正藏 T04 no.202 p.423b
- Pali Canon巴利律 Kd 1:41.1.1–41.1.7
- 大正藏大正藏 T22 no.1428 p.568b
- 大正藏大正藏 T24 no.1462 p.697b
- 大正藏大正藏 T24 no.1462 p.718a
- 巴利註解書巴利註釋 MN-a
- 巴利註解書巴利註釋 Thag-a
- 巴利註解書巴利註釋 Ja-a，§370
- 轉引自現代整理本轉引自現代整理本：aimwell.org DPPN
- 大正藏大正藏 T02 no.120 p.520b
- 大正藏大正藏 T04 no.193Entire text
- 大正藏大正藏 T04 no.193 p.82b