One day, an angry man with a bad temper went to see
the Buddha. The man used harsh words to abuse the
Buddha. The Buddha listened to him patiently and quietly,
and did not say anything as the man spoke. The angry man
finally stopped speaking. Only then did the Buddha ask
him, “If someone wants to give you something, but you don’t
want to accept it, to whom does the gift belong?” “Of course it belongs to the person who tried to give it away in
the first place,” the man answered.
“Likewise it is with your abuse,” said the Buddha. “I do
not wish to accept it, and so it belongs to you. You would have
to keep this gift of harsh words and abuse for yourself. And
I am afraid that in the end you will have to suffer for it, for a
bad man who abuses a good man can only bring suffering on
himself. It is as if a man wanted to dirty the sky by spitting at
it. His spittle can never make the sky dirty, it would only fall
onto his own face and make it dirty instead.”
The man listened to the Buddha and felt ashamed. He
asked the Buddha to forgive him and became one of his
followers.
Only kind words and reasoning can influence
and transform others.
the Buddha. The man used harsh words to abuse the
Buddha. The Buddha listened to him patiently and quietly,
and did not say anything as the man spoke. The angry man
finally stopped speaking. Only then did the Buddha ask
him, “If someone wants to give you something, but you don’t
want to accept it, to whom does the gift belong?” “Of course it belongs to the person who tried to give it away in
the first place,” the man answered.
“Likewise it is with your abuse,” said the Buddha. “I do
not wish to accept it, and so it belongs to you. You would have
to keep this gift of harsh words and abuse for yourself. And
I am afraid that in the end you will have to suffer for it, for a
bad man who abuses a good man can only bring suffering on
himself. It is as if a man wanted to dirty the sky by spitting at
it. His spittle can never make the sky dirty, it would only fall
onto his own face and make it dirty instead.”
The man listened to the Buddha and felt ashamed. He
asked the Buddha to forgive him and became one of his
followers.
Only kind words and reasoning can influence
and transform others.
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