Monday, March 18, 2013

Silence

One day Buddha was walking through a village. A very angry and rude young man came up to him and began insulting him. 

"You have no right to be teaching others!!!" he shouted. "You are as stupid as everyone else. You are nothing but a fake!!" 

Buddha was not upset by these insults. He just smiled. The man insulted him again and again but the only reaction he could get back from the Buddha was a smile and silence. Finally he stomped his feet and left cursing. 

The disciples were feeling angry and one of the them couldn’t keep quiet and asked the Buddha, “Why didn’t you reply to the rude man?” The Buddha replied, “If someone offers you a gift, and you refuse to accept it, to whom does the gift belong?”
“Of course to the person who brought the gift,” replied the disciple. “That is correct,” smiled the Buddha.