Angulimala's encounter with the Buddha
Angulima'a encounter with the Buddha is recorded in the following texts from the Pali canon:
- Angulimala Sutta (MN 86) in the Majjhima Nikaya
- Angulimala Thera (Thag 16.8) in Theragatha
Both of these texts offer a fairly short description of Angulimala's encounter with the Buddha, and omit much of the background information later incorporated into the story (such as Angulimala being placed under an oath by a jealous teacher).
These later additions appear in the following Theravada commentaries:
- the Papancasudani (Ps), a commentary on the Majjhima Nikaya, attributed to Buddhaghosa
- the Paramattha-dipani, a commentary on the Therigatha attributed to Dhammapala
These commentaries present Angulimala as a fundamentally good human being entrapped by circumstance, rather than as a vicious killer. The sutta texts themselves just say that he is a brutal bandit, and give no other motivation for his actions.
