On
one occasion the Blessed One(The Buddha) was staying near Rajagaha in the
Bamboo Grove, the Squirrels' Sanctuary. Then the brahman Akkosaka[1] Bharadvaja
heard that a brahman of the Bharadvaja clan had gone forth from the home life
into homelessness in the presence of the Blessed One. Angered & displeased,
he went to the Blessed One and, on arrival, insulted & cursed him with
rude, harsh words.
When
this was said, the Blessed One said to him: "What do you think, brahman:
Do friends & colleagues, relatives & kinsmen come to you as
guests?"
"Yes,
Master Gotama, sometimes friends & colleagues, relatives & kinsmen come
to me as guests."
"And
what do you think: Do you serve them with staple & non-staple foods &
delicacies?"
"Yes,
sometimes I serve them with staple & non-staple foods &
delicacies."
"And
if they don't accept them, to whom do those foods belong?"
"If
they don't accept them, Master Gotama, those foods are all mine."
"In
the same way, brahman, that with which you have insulted me, who is not
insulting; that with which you have taunted me, who is not taunting; that with
which you have berated me, who is not berating: that I don't accept from you.
It's all yours, brahman. It's all yours.
"Whoever
returns insult to one who is insulting, returns taunts to one who is taunting,
returns a berating to one who is berating, is said to be eating together,
sharing company, with that person. But I am neither eating together nor sharing
your company, brahman. It's all yours. It's all yours."
"The
king together with his court know this of Master Gotama — 'Gotama the
contemplative is an arahant' — and yet still Master Gotama gets angry."[2]
[The Buddha:]
Whence
is there anger
for
one free from anger,
tamed,
living in tune —
one
released through right knowing,
calmed
& Such.
You
make things worse
when
you flare up
at
someone who's angry.
Whoever
doesn't flare up
at
someone who's angry
wins a battle
hard to win.
You
live for the good of both
— your own, the other's —
when,
knowing the other's provoked,
you mindfully grow calm.
When
you work the cure of both
— your own, the other's —
those
who think you a fool
know
nothing of Dhamma.
When
this was said, the brahman Akkosaka Bharadvaja said to the Blessed One,
"Magnificent, Master Gotama! Magnificent! Just as if he were to place
upright what was overturned, to reveal what was hidden, to show the way to one
who was lost, or to carry a lamp into the dark so that those with eyes could
see forms, in the same way has Master Gotama — through many lines of reasoning
— made the Dhamma clear. I go to the Blessed One for refuge, to the Dhamma,
& to the community of monks. Let me obtain the going forth in Master
Gotama's presence, let me obtain admission."
Then
the brahman Akkosaka Bharadvaja received the going forth & the admission in
the Blessed One's presence. And not long after his admission — dwelling alone,
secluded, heedful, ardent, & resolute — he in no long time reached &
remained in the supreme goal of the holy life, for which clansmen rightly go
forth from home into homelessness, knowing & realizing it for himself in
the here & now. He knew: "Birth is ended, the holy life fulfilled, the
task done. There is nothing further for the sake of this world." And so
Ven. Bharadvaja became another one of the arahants.
Note
1.
=
"Insulter."
2.
Akkosaka
thinks that the Buddha is cursing him — and thus angry — when actually the
Buddha is simply stating a fact in line with the law of kamma.
Source
: E-buddhism.com