Angulimala (Aṅgulimāla, “finger necklace” in Pāli) is one of the most haunting figures in Buddhist tradition… a brilliant young man manipulated into becoming a feared killer who collected the fingers of his victims.
In his youth as a student, he was his teacher’s favorite. Some versions say jealous classmates conspired against him; others tell of the teacher’s wife falsely accusing him after he rejected her advances.
In every version, betrayal drives him into madness as he obeys his teacher’s cruel command: to gather a thousand human fingers.
In my interpretation, Angulimala longs for a way out of this violence.
One hand grips the garland of fingers, feeling the weight of the lives he has taken. The other holds the strand of prayer beads…a hesitant gesture toward peace, witnessed only by a crow.
Here is the turnaround:
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