PureInsight | December 17, 2007
[PureInsight.org] In your
living circle, when you are hurt, criticized or humiliated by other
people's words, how do you react? Do you lose your temper and curse
back angrily or swallow your anger and force it back inside? After
that, do you become angrier while thinking about it more and have your
mood adversely affected? For an ordinary person, it is very difficult
to control his emotions well under this kind of situation. However, as
a well-cultivated person, one will be able to face the tribulation with
a calm heart and behave with great composure in the face of crisis.
There is a story that goes like this: One day, when Buddha was passing
by a village, some people who went out to meet with him talked to him
in a very impolite manner, and some even spit out dirty words. The
Buddha stood there listening quietly, and then he said: "Thank you for
you coming to see me. I have to get on the road because people in the
next village are waiting for me. But when I come back tomorrow, I will
have more time. If you have more things to say to me, please come again.
Those people couldn't believe what they heard with their ears and what
they saw with their eyes. What happened to this person? One of them
asked the Buddha: "Did you actually hear our words? We talked about you
as if you were nothing, yet you didn't have any reaction!"
The Buddha answered: "If what you want is my reaction, then, you came
too late. You should have come to see me ten years ago. I would have
reacted back then. However, during the past ten years, I have become
free from control by other people. I am no longer a slave and I am the
master of myself. I do things based on myself, not reacting according
to others."
I have heard another story: One person always buys his newspaper from a
particular newspaper stand. Although the newspaper seller has a
constant cold and unfriendly face, this person always politely says
"thank you" to him. One day, his colleague saw the situation and asked
him: "Dose he always look like that when he's selling things?"
"Yes."
"Why do you then still treat him so politely?"
The person answered: "Why do I have to let him make the decision about what my actions will be?"
It's so true! Why do we have to let other people's actions and words
make decisions about our feelings? We cannot stop other people's manner
in dealing with us, but we can control our own emotions and not let
them be influenced by others. Of course, it requires a process of
xinxing cultivation to achieve this. Let us start from changing our
inner state and let our own emotions be governed by ourselves.
Translated from:
http://www.xinsheng.net/xs/articles/gb/2007/12/5/42002.htm
