It is said that on an occasion when the Buddha was teaching a group of people, he found himself on the receiving end of a fierce outburst of abuse from a bystander, who was for some reason very angry.
The Buddha listened patiently while the stranger vented his rage, and then the Buddha said to the group and to the stranger, "If someone gives a gift to another person, who then chooses to decline it, tell me, who would then own the gift? The giver or the person who refuses to accept the gift?"
"The giver," said the group after a little thought. "Any fool can see that," added the angry stranger.
"Then it follows, does it not," said the Buddha, "Whenever a person tries to abuse us, or to unload their anger on us, we can each choose to decline or to accept the abuse; whether to make it ours or not. By our personal response to the abuse from another, we can choose who owns and keeps the bad feelings."
Lessons- We choose our reaction to any and every negative or abusive behavior.
- We don't have to accept any if we want to.
- Step back. Draw a deep breath. Review all things in a wider and fuller perspective.
- Enjoy and prolong your life by living in harmony with God and men.
- An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth can never solve any relationship problem.
- Besides, as christian, you are required to mend all broken relations with God and men before the sun goes down.
3 comments:
December 4, 2008 at 5:58 AM
thank you, my dear supporter. I say so because you are sharing the wisdom of peace and thus empower me to smile and fly on the wings of gratitude.
What looks so simple is the hardest thing to do at times and thus this your post is just wonderful reminder - the priceless help for not to loose the light.
December 5, 2008 at 2:22 AM
That's an awesome analogy!
December 6, 2008 at 11:05 AM
As @Tomas has said this sounds so simple but is so hard to do. Most of us are so agitated all of the time that such things dont even occur to us. But yes it is so important to be quiet and listen to that inner voice.
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