Killer
Country
The Endless Further Mar
18 2015
“Some people
call me an idiot, but I know who I am. I am The
Killer.”
– Jerry Lee Lewis
Last weekend I watched all six episodes of
The Jinx, HBO’s documentary on millionaire real estate
heir Robert Durst. No doubt, you’ve heard about this guy in recent
days. He is a suspect in the 1982 disappearance of his wife,
Kathleen; in 2003, he was acquitted of murder charges in Texas,
despite that he admitted dismembering the victim; and Saturday in
New Orleans he was arrested in connection with the 2000
execution-style murder of his friend Susan Berman here in Los
Angeles. It’s an engrossing story, and in a warped sort of way,
Durst is a highly interesting person.
What is it about killers
that fascinates us so? Macbeth, Jack the Ripper, Lizzie Borden,
Charles Manson, Hannibal Lecter, and my all-time favorite, Dexter
Morgan – fictional or real, we love ‘em. Can’t get enough of their
stories. Perhaps it is because they commit the foulest of all
deeds, the taking of life. Whatever it may be, I am not going to
try to analyze it here. Instead, I would like to recount for you
briefly the story of the Buddha and a murderer named
Angulimala.
The story of Angulimala
(“finger garland,” or “necklace of fingers”) comes from the early
sutras. Angulimala’s father was the Brahmin minister to the king of
Kosala. The story goes that when Angulimala was born, a
“constellation of thieves” appeared in the sky, prophesying he
would become a robber. And as it often happens in tales like this,
the prophesy was fulfilled, in a manner of speaking.
Angulimala was sent to study
in Taxila, in present day Pakistan, where one of the earliest
universities in the world existed. He became the student of a
Brahmin teacher and he excelled at his studies. Other students
resented Angulimala’s brilliance and they made up stories that
caused the teacher to believe Angulimala was evil. The teacher
demanded that Angulimala provide him with a gift before he would be
allowed to “graduate.” The gift the teacher requested was 1,000
fingers, each taken from a different victim. The teacher figured
that that Angulimala would get himself killed during the course of
collecting the fingers and thus he would be rid of this evil
student.
Evidently, Angulimala had no
problem accepting this grisly assignment. He became a highwayman,
hiding in the forest and robbing travelers of their fingers.
Unfortunately, the travelers died as a result of these
holdups.
The people in the area asked
the king of Kosala to capture Angulimala. Angulimala’s mother went
out to find him and warn him that the king had vowed to hunt him
down. The Buddha set out to find Angulimala, too. Buddha had
divined that Angulimala had collected 999 fingers and needed only
one more.
When Angulimala saw the
Buddha enter the forest, he rushed out to murder him and take his
1000th finger. He took out his sword, raised it and chased after
the Buddha but could not catch him even though the Buddha was
walking at a slow pace. Eventually, Angulimala became wore out and
shouted for the Buddha to stop. Buddha turned and calmly said,
“Angulimala, I have stopped for all time, forsaking violence; but
you have not stopped, you have no restraint towards living beings;
that is why I have stopped and you have not.” So moved was
Angulimala by the words the Buddha spoke to him that he immediately
renounced his murderous ways and became a bhikkhu.
The story is about the
transformative power of compassion as well as the redemptive power
of the Buddha’s teachings. Transformation is always possible. Any
person, regardless of how many negative acts they have committed,
can change and live a more positive life. Compassion is more
powerful than punishment. Angulimala could have been captured,
imprisoned or executed. Instead, he changed and thus was able to
benefit far more beings than those he previously harmed. If you
accept the doctrine of karma, there is also the notion that he was
able to change his karma and improve his circumstance in future
lives, so he would not come back to kill again.
Most importantly, we should
always remember that every life matters. There is an old Buddhist
saying that even a murderer loves his mother, meaning that every
person, no matter how wretched and depraved, has some good in him
or her somewhere. Even Charles Manson is entitled to the basic
dignity of life.
It’s a safe bet that most
people who know Robert Durst or know about him believe he is guilty
of at least three murders. Whether he is or not, it doesn’t alter
the fact that even Robert Durst has a Buddha-nature.