Sometimes we keep running from the truth without even noticing. Staying busy feels safer than being still. An old Buddhist story shows another way. A feared bandit named Angulimala chased the Buddha with all his might, yet he couldn't catch him, even though the Buddha was only walking at a normal pace. When the bandit shouted at him to stop, the Buddha replied:
I have stopped, Angulimala. You stop.
Angulimala Sutta, MN 86
The Buddha had already stopped chasing and stopped causing harm. The bandit hadn't. In that pause, he finally saw himself clearly, put down his weapons and changed his life. The truth can't reach us while we're running from it. When we stop, it finally has room to come in. That's why slowing down on purpose matters.
