22. A Rude Man

Another day Buddha was walking through a village. A very angry and rudeyoung man came up and began insulting him. "You have no right teachingothers," he shouted. "You are as stupid as everyone else. You are nothingbut 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 takeit, 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 samewith 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 becomesunhappy, not me. All you have done is hurt yourself.

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

The young man listened closely to these wise words of the Buddha. "Youare right, O Blessed One," he said, "Please
teachme the path of love. I wish to become your follower."

And Buddha answered, "Of course. I shall teach anyone who truly wants tolearn. Come with me."