Impulsiveness

“If you are patient in one moment of anger, you will escape one hundred days of sorrow.”

- Chinese Proverb

My last few articles have definitely been different from the way I’ve written in the past. However I received a numerous feedbacks, most suggesting that I should write something which could be comprehended without much effort. Keeping in with the spirit of my old style, here is the story, which I’m rewriting.

Most of us would know who Angulimala was. If not, don’t worry. I’m not going to ask you to shoot yourself. Over the course of this story you shall certainly find out who he was. The word ‘Angulimala’ in Sanskrit means ‘Garland of Fingers’. This was the title given to a boy whose earlier name was ‘Ahimsaka’. He was a very good student and it was this popularity, which got him the envy of his peers. They started spreading the rumors of him having an affair with his teacher’s wife. The teacher initially ignored all that was being said but later succumbed to these rumors. Instead of clarifying it with Ahimsaka he decided to punish him in an indirect way. He assigned him a task of, killing a thousand people and make a garland out of their index fingers. Trusting the teacher’s words blindly, Ahimsaka went to woods in search of people whom he could kill. He soon became a monster and whose only aim was to kill people. This was reported to the king who ordered the killing of this freak, who was now known as Angulimala. By now, Angulimala had become unstoppable and none of the soldiers sent by the king succeeded in nabbing him. So, the king persuaded his mother to visit him and advise him. Many were sure that he would not even spare his mother as he was just one short of the magical number of thousand index fingers. Buddha who often wondered in the same jungle realized that if he didn’t intervene now, he would witness a son killing his own mother. He appeared before Angulimala who was joyous of finding his 1000th prey. Buddha patiently said to him, “I shall allow you to kill me, but before that, you should fulfill my wish” In the eagerness of achieving his target, he agreed. Buddha gave him a task of bringing him an attractive leaf from the woods. This was no big deal. He was back in a flash with a leaf that he had plucked from a nearby tree. Buddha smiled and said, “Now, I would like you to attach this leaf back to the same branch”. Angulimala was confused and asked Buddha, “How is that possible?” The Buddha replied, “When you cannot attach a simple leaf back to its original position, do you think you will ever be able to give back 999 lives and their index fingers" Buddha’s profoundly wise deed reformed Angulimala, who later followed Buddha and became a Buddhist monk, preaching ahimsa. Yes, there are many things that we cannot undo in this life, yet anyone can reform.

There are several human emotions that this story portrays: jealousy, suspicion, and impulsiveness. The teacher’s impulsive reaction to rumors resulted in Ahimsaka becoming Angulimala. For Angulimala, it was initially the blind faith in his teacher and then the madness of achieving a number goal which almost got him killed. It required the great Buddha and his infinite wisdom to reform someone who had lost track. Today, if we chose to react in an impulsive way, even Buddha might not help us, not because he doesn’t exist but because he would be tired of reiterating his long taught lesson. It would make sense for us to learn from someone else’s mistake and avoid being impulsive. Being impulsive would assure us nothing but a life full of repentances.