In Popular Culture
In 1985, the British-born Theravada monk Venerable Ajahn Khemadhammo Mahathera founded "Angulimala: the Buddhist Prison Chaplaincy in England". It has been recognized by the British government as the official representative of the Buddhist religion in all matters concerning the British prison system, and provides chaplains, counseling services, and instruction in Buddhism and meditation to prisoners throughout England, Wales, and Scotland.
In 2003, Thai director Suthep Tannirat attempted to release a film entitled Ongkulimal (the Thai pronunciation of Angulimala) that re-told the story of the famous monk. Conservative Buddhist organizations in Thailand launched a protest, claiming that the movie distorted Buddhist teachings, and introduced Hindu and theistic influences not found in the source material. The Thai film censorship board rejected appeals to ban the film, but insisted that the director cut some violent material, and re-title the film to distance it further from its scriptural sources. Interestingly, what seemed to be most offensive to many was the fact that the director omitted commentarial information that depicted Angulimala as a hapless victim of the actions of others, and instead portrayed him (as the sutta does) as engaging in his violent behaviour of his own free choice.
In 2006, peace activist Satish Kumar retold the story of Angulimala in his short book, The Buddha and the Terrorist.'
Read more about this topic: Angulimala
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