Change anyone with Divine Love - Lord Buddha

[Guest guest]

Jaya Sri Radhey! Namaste.

 

Here is an excerpt from a reply given by Osho about compassion and

forgiveness:

 

If your meditations bring you to the state of a rain cloud, you will

forgive without any judgment out of your abundance, out of your love,

out of your compassion.

 

In fact I would like to make the statement that the man who is

unworthy deserves more than the man who is worthy. The man who does

not deserve, deserves more, because he is so poor; don't be hard upon

him. Life has been hard upon him. He has gone astray; he has suffered

because of his wrong doings.

 

Now don't you be hard on him. He needs more love than those who are

deserving; he needs more forgiveness than those who are worthy. This

should be the only approach of a religious heart.

 

This question was raised before Gautam Buddha, because he was going

to initiate a murderer into sannyas -- and the murderer was no

ordinary murderer. His name was Angulimal. Angulimal means a man who

wears a garland of human fingers.

 

He had taken a vow that he would kill one thousand people; from each

single person he would take one finger so that he could remember how

many he had killed and he will make a garland of all those fingers.

In his garland of fingers he had nine hundred and ninety-nine

fingers -- only one was missing. And that one was missing because his

road was closed; nobody was coming that way.

 

But Gautam Buddha entered that closed road. The king had put guards

on the road to prevent people, particularly strangers who didn't know

that a dangerous man lived behind the hills. The guards told Gautam

Buddha, "That is not the road to be used. You will have to take a

little longer route, but it is better to go a little longer than to

go into the mouth of death itself. This is the place where Angulimal

lives. Even the king has not the guts to go on this road. That man is

simply mad.

"His mother used to go to him. She was the only person who used to

go, once in a while, to see him, but even she stopped.

 

The last time she went there he told her, `Now only one finger is

missing, and just because you happen to be my mother... I want to

warn you that if you come another time you will not go back. I need

one finger desperately. Up to now I have not killed you because other

people were available, but now nobody passes on this road except you.

So I want to make you aware that next time if you come it will be

your responsibility, not mine.' Since that time his mother has not

come."

The guards said to Buddha, "Don't unnecessarily take the risk." And

do you know what Buddha said to them? Buddha said, "If I don't go

then who will go? Only two things are possible: either I will change

him, and I cannot miss this challenge; or I will provide him with one

finger so that his desire is fulfilled. Anyway I am going to die one

day. Giving my head to Angulimal will be at least of some use;

otherwise one day I will die and you will put me on the funeral pyre.

I think that it is better to fulfill somebody's desire and give him

peace of mind. Either he will kill me or I will kill him, but this

encounter is going to happen; you just lead the way."

 

Angulimal was sitting on his rock watching. He could not believe his

eyes. A very beautiful man of such immense charisma was coming

towards him. Who could this man be? He had never heard of Gautam

Buddha, but even this hard heart of Angulimal started feeling a

certain softness towards the man. He was looking so beautiful, coming

towards him. It was early morning... a cool breeze, and the sun was

rising... and the birds were singing and the flowers had opened; and

Buddha was coming closer and closer.

 

Finally Angulimal, with his naked sword in his hand, shouted, "Stop!"

Gautam Buddha was just a few feet away, and Angulimal said, "Don't

take another step because then the responsibility will not be mine.

Perhaps you don't know who I am!"

 

Buddha said, "Do you know who you are?"

 

Angulimal said, "This is not the point. Neither is it the place nor

the time to discuss such things. Your life is in danger!"

Buddha said, "I think otherwise -- your life is in danger."

That man said, "I used to think I was mad -- you are simply mad. And

you go on moving closer. Then don't say that I killed an innocent

man. You look so innocent and so beautiful that I want you to go

back. I will find somebody else. I can wait; there is no hurry. If I

can manage nine hundred and ninety-nine... it is only a question of

one more, but don't force me to kill YOU."

 

Buddha said, "You are absolutely blind. You can't see a simple thing:

I am not moving towards you, you are moving towards me."

 

Angulimal said, "This is sheer craziness! Anybody can see that you

are moving and I am standing on my rock. I have not moved a single

inch."

 

Buddha said, "Nonsense! The truth is, since the day I became

enlightened I have not moved a single inch. I am centered, utterly

centered, no movement. And your mind is continuously moving round and

round in circles... and you have the guts to tell to me to stop. You

stop! I have stopped long ago."

 

Angulimal said, "It seems you are impossible, you are incurable. You

are bound to be killed. I will feel sorry, but what can I do? I have

never seen such a mad man."

 

Buddha came very close, and Angulimal's hands were trembling. The man

was so beautiful, so innocent, so childlike. He had already fallen in

love. He had killed so many people... He had never felt this

weakness; he had never known what love is. For the first time he was

full of love. So there was a contradiction: the hand was holding the

sword to kill the person, and his heart was saying, "Put the sword

back in the sheath."

 

Buddha said, "I am ready, but why is your hand shaking? -- you are

such a great warrior, even kings are afraid of you, and I am just a

poor beggar. Except the begging bowl, I don't have anything. You can

kill me, and I will feel immensely satisfied that at least my death

fulfills somebody's desire; my life has been useful, my death has

also been useful. But before you cut my head I have a small desire,

and I think you will grant me a small desire before killing me."

Angulimal said, "What do you want?"

 

Buddha said, "I want you just to cut from the tree a branch which is

full of flowers. I will never see these flowers again; I want to see

those flowers closely, feel their fragrance and their beauty in this

morning sun, their glory."

 

So Angulimal cut with his sword a whole branch full of flowers. And

before he could give it to Buddha, Buddha said, "This was only half

the desire; the other half is, please put the branch back on the

tree."

Angulimal said, "I was thinking from the very beginning that you are

crazy. Now this is the craziest desire. How can I put this branch

back?"

 

Buddha said, "If you cannot create, you have no right to destroy. If

you cannot give life, you don't have the right to give death to any

living thing."

A moment of silence and a moment of transformation... the sword fell

down from his hands.

 

Angulimal fell down at the feet of Gautam Buddha, and he said, "I

don't know who you are, but whoever you are, take me to the same

space in which you are; initiate me."

 

Buddha said again, "If I don't initiate him, who will initiate him?

And I love the man, I love his courage. And I can see tremendous

possibility in him: a single man fighting against the whole world. I

want this kind of people, who can stand against the whole world. Up

to now he was standing against the world with a sword; now he will

stand against the world with a consciousness which is far sharper

than any sword. I told you that murder was going to happen, but it

was not certain who was going to be murdered -- either I was going to

be murdered, or Angulimal. Now you can see Angulimal is murdered. And

who I am to judge?"

 

The question is not whether anybody is worthy or not. The question is

whether you have the consciousness, the abundance of love -- then

forgiveness will come out of it spontaneously. It is not a

calculation, it is not arithmetic.

 

Life is love, and living a life of love is the only religious life,

the only life of prayer, peace, the only life of gratitude, grandeur,

splendor.

 

source: http://www.barnett.sk/software/osho/askindex.htm

 

 

Jaya Sri Radhey!

[Guest guest]

Wao pyari!!! what a story. I have heard similar stories about

Buddhist monks and warriors, but this one is the best! Thank you.

 

The problem is where are the Buddhas of today? It goes back to the

question I posed earlier.. while individuals may not be totally

Buddhas yet, collectively we are all ready. But love energy doesn't

seem to have the committment to band together to create that

indominatable force that nothing can stand against.

 

My endeavour with this question is to see if we can collectively

bring some insight into the obstacles and blocks we face that can

trigger some change however minute it may be, or whatever form it may

take.

 

_/\_ Tat twam asi

 

Uma

 

, pyari_h <no_reply> wrote:

> This question was raised before Gautam Buddha, because he was going

> to initiate a murderer into sannyas -- and the murderer was no

> ordinary murderer. His name was Angulimal. Angulimal means a man

>who wears a garland of human fingers.