DEALING with INSULT by Lord Buddha

 

The Buddha explained how to handle insult and maintain compassion.

One day Buddha was walking through a village. A very angry and rude young man came up and began insulting him. "You have no right teaching others," he shouted. "You are as stupid as everyone else. You are nothing but a fake."

Buddha was not upset by these insults. Instead he asked the young man "Tell me, if you buy a gift for someone, and that person does not take it, to whom does the gift belong?"

The man was surprised to be asked such a strange question and answered, "It would belong to me, because I bought the gift."

The Buddha smiled and said, "That is correct. And it is exactly the same with your anger. If you become angry with me and I do not get insulted, then the anger falls back on you. You are then the only one who becomes unhappy, not me. All you have done is hurt yourself."

"If you want to stop hurting yourself, you must get rid of your anger and become loving instead. When you hate others, you yourself become unhappy. But when you love others, everyone is happy."

The young man listened closely to these wise words of the Buddha. "You are right, O Enlightened One, "he said. "Please teach me the path of love. I wish to become your follower."

The Buddha answered kindly, "Of course. I teach anyone who truly wants to learn. Come with me."

 

Gautama Buddha was a prince by birth and sheltered from all sufferings around him.But on encountering the suffering in his kingdom he decided to leave the palace at the age of 29 and go in search of truth and the real meaning of life and death which he did in his "Nirvana",a state of supreme liberation of the mind - free from ignorance,greed,hatred and other afflictive states.

He is one of the greatest man to walk in flesh and blood on this earth and his teachings bring inner peace and tranquility in a turbulent world of materialism.

 

  

 

Holding on to anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else; you are the one who gets burned.
- Buddha