{"collection":"Khuddaka Nikaya","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/suttacentral_thag16.8/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/suttacentral_thag16.8","id":"suttacentral_thag16.8","license":"CC0","rights_basis":"suttacentral_bilara_data_cc0","source":"suttacentral","source_url":"https://suttacentral.net/thag16.8/en/sujato","summary":null,"tags":["Early Buddhist Texts","Khuddaka Nikaya"],"text":"\u201cWhile walking, ascetic, you say \u2018I\u2019ve stopped.\u2019 And I have stopped, but you tell me I\u2019ve not. I\u2019m asking you this, ascetic: how is it you\u2019ve stopped and I have not?\u201d \u201cA\u1e45gulim\u0101la, I have forever stopped\u2014 I\u2019ve laid aside violence toward all creatures. But you can\u2019t stop yourself <j>from harming living creatures; that\u2019s why I\u2019ve stopped, but you have not.\u201d \u201cOh, at long last a renowned great seer, an ascetic has followed me into this deep wood. Now that I\u2019ve heard your verse on Dhamma, I shall discard a thousand evils.\u201d With these words, <j>the bandit hurled his sword and weapons down a cliff into an abyss. He venerated the Holy One\u2019s feet, and requested the going forth <j>from the Buddha right away. Then the Buddha, the compassionate great seer, the Teacher of the world with its gods, said to him, \u201cCome, monk!\u201d And with that he became a monk. \u201cHe who once was heedless, but turned to heedfulness, shines upon this world, like the moon freed from clouds. Someone whose bad deed is supplanted by the good, shines upon this world, like the moon freed from clouds. A young mendicant devoted to the Buddha\u2019s teaching, shines upon this world, like the moon freed from clouds. May even my enemies <j>hear a Dhamma talk! May even my enemies <j>devote themselves to the Buddha\u2019s teaching! May even my enemies associate with those good men who establish others in the Dhamma! May even my enemies <j>hear Dhamma at the right time, from those who teach acceptance, praising acquiescence; and may they follow that path! For then they\u2019d never wish harm upon myself or others. Having arrived at ultimate peace, they\u2019d look after creatures firm and frail. For while irrigators guide water, fletchers bend arrows straight, and carpenters bend timber straight, the astute tame themselves. Some tame by using the rod, some with goads, and some with whips. But the unaffected one tamed me without rod or sword. My name is \u2018Harmless\u2019, though I used to be harmful. The name I bear today is true, for I do no harm to anyone. I used to be a bandit, the notorious A\u1e45gulim\u0101la. Swept away in a great flood, I went to the Buddha for refuge. I used to have blood on my hands, the notorious A\u1e45gulim\u0101la. See the refuge I\u2019ve found\u2014 the leash to existence is eradicated. I\u2019ve done many of the sort of deeds that lead to a bad destination. The result of my deeds has already struck me, so I enjoy my food free of debt. Fools and simpletons devote themselves to negligence. But the wise protect diligence as their best treasure. Don\u2019t devote yourself to negligence, or delight in erotic intimacy. For if you\u2019re diligent and practice absorption, you\u2019ll attain ultimate happiness. It was welcome, not unwelcome, the advice I got was good. Of the well-explained teachings, I arrived at the best. It was welcome, not unwelcome, the advice I got was good. I\u2019ve attained the three knowledges, and fulfilled the Buddha\u2019s instructions.\u201d \u201cIn the wilderness, at a tree\u2019s root, on mountains, or in caves\u2014 it used to be that wherever I stood, my mind was anxious. But now I lie down happily and stand up happily, I live my life happily, out of M\u0101ra\u2019s reach; the Teacher had sympathy for me. I used to be of brahmin birth, highborn on both sides, now I\u2019m a son of the Holy One, the Teacher, King of Dhamma. I am rid of craving, free of grasping, my sense doors are guarded and well-restrained. I\u2019ve destroyed the root of gloom, and attained the ending of defilements. I\u2019ve served the Teacher and fulfilled the Buddha\u2019s instructions. The heavy burden is laid down, the leash to existence is eradicated.\u201d","title":"A\u1e45gulim\u0101la","tradition":"Khuddaka Nikaya","translated_text":null,"word_count":623}