How to handle abuses with a smile?

Motivation - How to handle abuses with a smile?

Once Buddha went to a village with all his five disciples. The villagers were fully against Buddha and his doctrines. So they started scolding him and his disciples with whatever un-diplomatic and un-parliamentary words they knew.

Buddha and his disciples were just hearing all those abuses and were smiling. The villagers and their chief increased the intensity of their abuse, but still there was no change in the facial expression of the great saint and his disciples. The villagers changed the style and intensity of their abuse and continued to spell them out till they got tired.

At last, the village chief asked Buddha,

“Are you not ashamed? You are smiling even after hearing so much of abuse”

The Saint replied,

“Earlier in the day we were in a neighbouring village where they offered us lots of sweets. As we could not eat them all, we took only what we could eat and returned everything back to them”

“We don’t have any need of the abuse all of you are showering on us and hence we have returned everything back to you”

The chief and villagers were shocked by the reply and later became the Saint’s Disciples.

Every day we see lots of things in shops and malls but we purchase only the things that we need and neglect all other unwanted things.

Why can’t we follow the same principle to the words we hear? Bad words and abuses are common and we get influenced by them. Sometime we get irritated, get angry and even retaliate that has lots of repercussions.

Why get into such troubles when you have an easy way of just ignoring it. Do not take everything you hear to your mind and get influenced by them. Ignore and reject those unwanted words that are not pleasant and this would let your mind stay in peace.