One of the most feared criminals of the Buddha’s time, Angulimala distinguished himself by his habit of garlanding himself with the served fingers of his murdered victims. When word got out that he and his band were in certain area of the countryside, all who could possibly avoid travelling in that area would do so. The Buddha’s followers naturally beseeched their teacher not to make himself vulnerable to the bandit, but he obstinately refused to capitulate to their warnings and set out on the country roads that led toward the murder’s turf.
On seeing the Buddha from afar, Angulimala armed himself and began to follow the holy man. But the Buddha, through his extraordinary powers, made it impossible for Angulimala to catch up with him no matter how strenuously he was pursued. Exasperated, Angulimala paused and shouted out. “Stop, recluse! Stop!”
Although the Buddha continued to walk, he shouted back paradoxically, “I have stopped, Angulimala, you stop too.”
Puzzled, Angulimala gave his famous response: “While you are walking, you tell me you have stopped, but now, when I have stopped, you say I have not stopped. I asked you now about the meaning: How is it that you have stopped and I have not?”
– Mark Spstein (1999), Going to pieces without fallig apart. London: Thorsons. pp56-57.)
The full story is at Angulimala Sutta
See also –
How does Jesus set free? – The woman caught in adultery