The Power of Honesty in Blessings: Lessons from Venerable Angulimala : หน้า 173/207

A respected senior monk gave an explanation regarding this matter. He said, “A blessing’s sacredness” is dependent upon “how honest the blessing-giver is towards his virtues.” If a blessing-giver is honest towards his virtues, his blessings will be very powerful. However, if a blessing-giver is not honest towards his virtues, his blessings will be less powerful. He pointed out examples recorded during the Lord Buddha’s time, especially the story of Venerable Angulimala (Ahimsaka) vividly described in the Buddhist Canon. The respected senior monk illustrated: “Before Venerable Angulimala ordained, he had been a serial killer. He had killed nearly a thousand people. The last or the 1,000th person he was going to kill was his mother. However, the Lord Buddha foresaw this event, so He blocked him from committing the evil deed. When Venerable Angulimala saw Him, he thought about killing Him as well. Then the Lord Buddha tried to bring his senses back by reminding him of the evil deed in his mind. He gave him a particular sermon on the road side. In the end, Venerable Angulimala had repented and requested ordination as a monk from the Lord Buddha. When he became a monk, he conscientiously practiced Dhamma at His temple. “As a result of being a famous killer in the past, when he went on his alms round in the morning in the beginning of his monkhood, he often came back with nothing because the villagers recognized him as the killer. Some ran away from him. Some threw stones at him until he was covered with blood. “One day, while he was on his alms round, he met a pregnant woman who was nearing full term. As soon as she recognized him, she was overwhelmed with fright and tried to run away until she fell down and scrambled to stand again and again. Eventually, she became exhausted and gaped at him in fear, as if she was dying in front of him. “Venerable Angulimala really wanted to help her, but he who could do about it? In the end, he gave her a blessing based on his honesty towards his virtues: “From the point of noble birth in having ordained in the Lord Buddha’s temple, I have never thought of exploiting or harming any living beings. With this truth, may you safely give birth to your child.” “After his powerful blessing, the woman easily and safely delivered her child. Because the event occurred before Venerable Angulimala attained Arahanthip (the perfected one), it can be deduced that the power of the honesty towards his virtues created a holy blessing. “Hence, the right method of giving a blessing is that it must be dependent on honesty towards the virtues of the blessing-giver.