The Buddha and the Terrorist [Hardcover]

Satish Kumar (Author), Allan Hunt Badiner (Afterword), Thomas Moore (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 2006

Not every book will change your life, but any book can. Not every discussion will make a difference, but a conversation can change the world.

In this timely retelling of an ancient Buddhist parable, peace activist Satish Kumar has created a small book with a powerful spiritual message about ending violence. It is a tale of a fearsome outcast named Angulimala ("Necklace of Fingers"), who is terrorizing towns and villages in order to gain control of the state, murdering people and adding their fingers to his gruesome necklace. One day he comes face to face with the Buddha and is persuaded, through a series of compelling conversations, to renounce violence and take responsibility for his actions.

The Buddha and the Terrorist addresses the urgent questions we face today: Should we talk to terrorists? Can we reason with religious fundamentalists? Is nonviolence practical? The story ends with a dramatic trial that speaks to the victims of terrorism—the families whose mothers, fathers, sons, and daughters Angulimala has murdered. It asks whether it is possible for them to forgive. Or whether it is even desirable.

No one can read The Buddha and the Terrorist without thinking about the root causes of terrorism, about good and evil, about justice and forgiveness, about the kind of place we want the world to be, and, most important, about the most productive and practical way to get there.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Kumar (You Are, Therefore I Am) neatly reworks an ancient allegory of Buddha's conversion of a bloodthirsty killer. In the northern Indian city of Savatthi, a renegade Untouchable called Angulimala murders people indiscriminately and cuts off their fingers (his name means "Wearer of a Finger Necklace"). Apprised of the danger, Buddha insists that he must also console "those who are possessed with anger and ignorance" and seeks him out. With Buddha's gentle instruction in the forest, Angulimala recognizes the futility of violence in dealing with his profound sense of abandonment and separation from loved ones. He takes the name Ahimsaka ("Nonviolent One"), becomes a monk and lives by the Four Noble Truths. The king and relatives of Angulimala's victims nevertheless cry out for vengeance. Skillfully, Kumar demonstrates the transformation necessary in the consciousness of a society bent on punishment rather than persuasion, or as the king says: "What one person, the Buddha, has achieved, my entire army could not." In a foreword, Thomas Moore draws parallels between this parable and the Gospels, the Tao De Ching and the Sufi "way of love." More a pamphlet than a novella, this short piece hits its mark with studied grace. (Sept. 1)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Peace activist and spiritual thinker Kumar retells a story from the Buddhist scriptures to show that there is a better way to defuse terror than "meeting fire with fire." The Buddha meets up with a man who has been terrorizing the countryside. Named Angulimala for his horrific practice of wearing a necklace of severed fingers, the killer is stunned by the Buddha's willingness to listen to his story. Born into a low and much-despised caste, Angulimala has turned misery into murderous rage. Transformed by the Buddha's teaching that compassion, not vengeance, is the way to battle injustice, Angulimala becomes a monk known as Ahimsaka (the Nonviolent One). Now the king and the victims' loved ones must decide whether to execute the former terrorist for his crimes or recognize that he has repented and become a force for good. Introduced by Thomas Moore, this classic Buddhist tale seems a simple offering in the face of today's rampant terrorism, but nonetheless it presents a crucial alternative to the unending cycle of bloodshed and retaliation. Donna Seaman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 116 pages
• Publisher: Algonquin Books (September 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1565125207
• ISBN-13: 978-1565125209
• Product Dimensions: 7.2 x 5.3 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #867,164 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Satish Kumar is editor of Resurgence and author of Path without Destination: An Autobiography.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A fine primer on nonviolence -- and the rest of the Dhamma, too, October 18, 2006

By 

Sean Hoade (Las Vegas, Nevada USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Buddha and the Terrorist (Hardcover)

This book took me about half an hour to read, and in that time I was charmed, moved to teariness, and called to action. Mr. Kumar brings gentleness and clarity to the well-worn story of Angulimala, making its relevance very clear in today's "us vs. them" world.

At times Mr. Kumar makes it a little *too* obvious (I believe one person wanting revenge says that the Buddha "is either with us or against us") but all of his points are well taken. It is an enjoyable and quite moving read.

Also, because this little gem of a book plays a bit fast and loose with the timelines of the Buddha's teachings -- many things he said either earlier or later are included here to give an idea of the depth and breadth of the Dhamma -- one shouldn't read this as any kind of fictional historical reconstruction like Old Path, White Clouds. Instead, one should read it for what it is: A reminder of the Buddha's words on nonviolence and a call for all of us, whether his followers or not, to embrace the gentle middle way.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Extremely significant, then and now, October 15, 2006

By 

Molly Bloom "sun_in_my_mouth" - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Buddha and the Terrorist (Hardcover)

Buy this book for the parable, which is well-crafted and lightly sprinkled with Buddhist "tenets," but not enough to be heavy-handed.

I enjoyed the story, but the foreword alone is worth the purchase. It is succinct and the most pertinent exposition on violence and terrorism I have heard/read. Thomas Moore's foreword should be printed and handed out to every American. Violence and terrorism, and their counterparts of peace and reconciliation, are not issues for democrats or republicans, atheists or religious people. These issues are about struggles inside every human, both now, and thousands of years ago.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Great Story Re-told, December 29, 2006

By 

Sreeram Ramakrishnan (Lynnfield, MA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Buddha and the Terrorist (Hardcover)

A centerpiece story of Buddhist philposophy is re-told in this book (though the cover comment by Deepak indicates that this is a well-written book, it is misleading. It is not an original story). Anyone familiar with Eastern philosophy will be familiar with at least some version of this parable, and for those readers, this book doesnt add any particular value. For those unfamiliar with the Buddhist way of thought, this one is a good example of how the Buddhist philosophy deals with the issue of revenge, violence and forgiveness. Presumably, the prologue of the book tries to position the book in the context of the ongoing war(s). (the reader shouldn't be put off by the number of pages indicated - this is almost a pocket sized book). A great parable re-told.