When a simpleton abused him, Lord Buddha listened to him in silence, but when the man had finished, the Buddha asked him, ‘Son, if a man declined to accept a present offered to him, to whom would it belong?’ The man answered ‘To him who offered it.’ ‘My son’, Buddha said, ‘I decline to accept your abuse. Keep it for yourself.’
It’s not what we’re told, it’s what we hear for which we are answerable. Likewise, it’s not what is said to us or about us, it’s what we hear and how we interpret what we hear that determines our actions.
Here's our choice when, say, someone badmouths us: We can let them as per the Buddha or we can badmouth them right back. For those seeking still more spiritual growth, that's a no-brainer...but do we do it? A no-brainer sometimes means we act as if we had no brains. I'm a believer that our resentments live in what we choose to hear and/or how we choose to interpret what we hear.
Here's our choice when, say, someone badmouths us: We can let them as per the Buddha or we can badmouth them right back. For those seeking still more spiritual growth, that's a no-brainer...but do we do it? A no-brainer sometimes means we act as if we had no brains. I'm a believer that our resentments live in what we choose to hear and/or how we choose to interpret what we hear.
Why is that such a hard lesson to learn? Very likely because we'd rather feel the victim, hurt and/or angry, than be at peace...resistant as opposed to transparent.
Resistant, we're in control; transparent...uh-oh...where's me?
The peace of mind so many of us seek is already ours, has always been ours, cannot not be ours simply by our choice to trust God...and row.
Thank you.
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