The Abusive Brothers
ONCE THERE WAS A BRAHMIN whose wife loved to praise and speak kindly of the Buddha. He did not
mind it at first, but soon his wife’s increased fondness for the Buddha caused
him to become jealous.
One day he went to where the Buddha was staying, armed with a question
he thought would leave the Buddha baffled and humiliated. In that way, he
thought his wife would realize how misplaced her admiration for
the Buddha was.
The
husband asked the Buddha, “What do we have to kill to be able to live happily
and peacefully?” The Buddha’s reply was simple but one that left the angry man
appeased and inspired. “To be able to live happily and peacefully,” the Buddha
replied, “one has to kill anger, for anger itself kills happiness and peace.”
The man reflected on the Buddha’s answer and decided to become a bhikkhu
himself. Finally he became an arahat.
When the younger brother heard that his elder brother had become a
monk, he in turn became very angry, He went and confronted the
Buddha, abusing him badly. When he had finished his string of abusive words,
the Buddha asked him, if you offered some food to a guest who came to your
house, and the guest left without eating any of it, who would the food belong
to?” The brahmin conceded that the food would belong to him. The Buddha then
said, in the same way, I do not wish to accept your abuse, so the abuse belongs to
you.” The man realized his mistake and felt great respect for the Buddha
because of the lesson he had taught him. He, too, became a bhikkhu and later
also attained araharship.
The
bhikkhus remarked how wonderful it was that the Buddha could make those who
came to abuse him realize the Dhamma and take refuge in him. The Buddha
replied, “Because I do not answer wrong with wrong, many have come to take
refuge in me.”
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