Synopses & Reviews
Synopsis
Once upon a time in northern India, there lived a violent and fearsome outcaste called Angulimala (meaning ?necklace of fingers?). He murdered people, adding their fingers to his gruesome necklace, and was terrorizing the towns and killing people in order to gain power and control of the state. The Buddha set out to meet this monster, and through his power of love and argument, Angulimala renounced violence and took responsibility for his past actions. He was able to create a new life built on compassion and respect for others. The Buddha and The Terrorist brings a message for our time about the importance of looking within to understand the causes of violence, and the possibility of a peaceful means of conflict resolution.
Synopsis
Among all the experiences of the Buddha, his eye-to-eye encounter with a terrorist is perhaps the most relevant and vital for those of us caught in the binds of the early 21st century.
Once upon a time in northern India, there lived a violent and fearsome outcaste called Angulimala ('necklace of fingers'). He terrorised towns and villages in order to try to gain control of the state, murdering people and adding their fingers to his gruesome necklace. The Buddha set out to meet Angulimala, and with the power of love and compassion he persuaded him to renounce violence and take responsibility for his past actions. Thus Angulimala was transformed.
The Buddha and the Terrorist brings a message for our time about the importance of looking for the root causes of violence, and of finding peaceful means to end terror. By telling the tale of the pitiless, blood-splattered Angulimala, activist Satish Kumar reminds us that when the Buddha deliberately and compassionately faced real fear, the fear in that real face evaporated.