The Meeting with King Prasenajit

In the meantime, the refugees besieging King Prasenajit’s palace were growing more demanding. Here is what transpired:

Now on that occasion great crowds of people were gathering at the gates of King Prasenajit’s inner palace, very loud and very noisy, crying: “Sire, the bandit Angulimala is in your realm; he is murderous, bloody-handed, given to blows and violence, merciless to living beings! Villages, towns, and districts have been laid waste by him! He is constantly murdering people and he wears their fingers as a garland! The king must put him down!

Then in the middle of the day King Prasenajit of Kosala drove out of Shravasti with a cavalry of five hundred men and set out for the park. He drove thus as far as the road was passable for carriages, and then he dismounted from his carriage and went forward on foot to the Blessed One. After paying homage to the Blessed One, he sat down at one side, and the Blessed One said to him: “What is it, great king? Is King Seniya Bimbisara of Magadha attacking you, or the Licchavis of Vaishali, or other hostile kings? (Ibid, p. 712)

Was the Buddha just joking with King Prasenajit? The Buddha knew full well why the king had set out, and in fact had the king’s quarry sitting right by him, though now shaved and accoutered as a monk. Considering what had happened it seems like an odd time to make light jests. However, more likely the Buddha was hoping to draw out the reason for the king’s expedition in order to begin a discussion of Angulimala’s fate. King Prasenajit indeed responded by telling the Buddha of the purpose of his expedition, ending with a rather gloomy appraisal of his ability to catch or kill the bandit: “I shall never be able to put him down, venerable sir.”

Of course the Buddha had already conquered the bandit Angulimala, but in a non-violent way. Now he needed to reveal to King Prasenajit that his problems were over:

“Great king, suppose you were to see that Angulimala had shaved off his hair and beard, put on the yellow robe, and gone forth from the home life into homelessness; that he was abstaining from killing living beings, from taking what is not given and from false speech; that he was refraining from eating at night, ate only in one part of the day, and was celibate, virtuous, of good character. If you were to see him thus, how would you treat him?”

“Venerable sir, we would pay homage to him, or rise up for him, or invite him to be seated; or we would invite him to accept robes, almsfood, a resting place, or medicinal prerequisites; or we would arrange for him lawful guarding, defense, and protection. But venerable sir, he is an immoral man, one of evil character. How could he ever have such virtue and restraint?” (Ibid, pp. 712-713)

Note that in this passage the exemplary roles of the Buddhist monastic and the supportive householder are outlined. The monastic is to renounce the secular pleasures of home life and live a life of simplicity and restraint, extending even to total sexual abstinence and the regulation of eating. The faithful householder, on the other hand, shows respect to the monastics, supplies their basic needs and even offers protection. At this point, however, King Prasenajit cannot imagine that one such as Angulimala could so transform his character. But he is about to discover that the Buddha is not talking about a hypothetical situation.

Now on that occasion the venerable Angulimala was sitting not far from the Blessed One. Then the Blessed One extended his right arm and said to King Prasenajit of Kosala: “Great king, this is Angulimala.”

Then King Prasenajit was frightened, alarmed, and terrified. Knowing this, the Blessed One told him: “Do not be afraid, great king, do not be afraid. There is nothing for you to fear from him.”

Then the king’s fear, alarm, and terror subsided. He went over to the venerable Angulimala and said: “Venerable sir, is the noble lord really Angulimala?”

“Yes, great king.”

“Venerable sir, of what family is the noble lord’s father? Of what family is his mother?”

“My father is a Gagga, great king; my mother is a Mantani.”

“Let the noble lord Gagga Mantaniputra rest content. I shall provide robes, almsfood, resting place, and medicinal prerequisites for the noble lord Gagga Mantaniputra.”

Now at that time the venerable Angulimala was a forest dweller, an almsfood eater, a refuse-rag wearer, and restricted himself to three robes. He replied: “Enough, great king, my triple robe is complete.” (Ibid, p. 713)

King Prasenajit was as good as his word. For a second time the king spared Angulimala’s life, the first being the time when he declined to allow infanticide in the case of the baby who was predisposed to grow up to be a mass murderer. Rather than arrest Angulimala, he did what he said he would do. He offered Angulimala the respect normally due to any monk and also offered to supply his clothing, food, shelter, and medicine – the four necessities. This also shows that King Prasenajit trusted the Buddha’s judgment that Angulimala had really changed. He entrusted Angulimala to the Buddha’s care rather than insisting on his arrest and execution, which was certainly in his power as king.

As for Angulimala, he declined the king’s offer and in fact revealed that he was following the ascetic practices allowed by the Buddha that are called the dhuta. These practices included such things as dwelling under the trees in the forest except during the rainy season, not accepting dinner invitation but only collecting food on alms rounds, and wearing only rags gathered from refuse piles and graveyards rather than donated cloth. None of these practices were harmful, at least in the climate of the Indian subcontinent, and thus were held to be in accord with the Middle Way. They were undertaken by the monastics either for set periods of time or permanently in order to strengthen their discipline and humility by refusing the “luxuries” allowable to the monastics in order to live as simply as possible. It is not told why Angulimala took up the dhuta, but perhaps it was a way of expiating past misdeeds, or perhaps it was to further discipline himself, or perhaps it was just another manifestation of his uncompromising resolve which was now turned to simple living and the contemplative life rather than murderous fanaticism.   

King Prasenajit then returned to the Blessed One, and after paying homage to him, he sat down at one side and said: “It is wonderful, venerable sir, it is marvelous how the Blessed One tames the untamed, brings peace to the unpeaceful, and leads to Nirvana those who have not attained Nirvana. Venerable sir, we ourselves could not tame him with force and weapons, yet the Blessed One has tamed him without force or weapons. And now, venerable sir, we depart. We are busy and have much to do.”

“Now is the time, great king, to do as you think fit.”

Then King Prasenajit of Kosala rose from his seat, and after paying homage to the Blessed One, keeping him on his right, he departed. (Ibid, pp. 713-714)

Here the king acknowledges that what force could not accomplish has been accomplished through the Dharma. Where before, the king saw only the possibility of bloody slaughter, and perhaps a perpetual cycle of violence, now peace had been restored due to the Buddha’s act of courage and compassion that gave Angulimala a chance to turn his life around. Of course this does not mean that the king was relinquishing his responsibility to keep the peace or to protect the borders of his kingdom from criminals, bandits, or invaders. The king did not go out and disband his army. Neither did the Buddha make any such recommendation. In fact the Buddha does say to him, “Now is the time, great king, to do as you think fit.” This means that the Buddha acknowledged that the time had come for the king to return to his secular duties and responsibilities. In that sphere it would be up to the king to govern himself and fulfill his duties to his kingdom in accord with his own conscience.