Buddha was preaching the Dhamma which was against some myths practised by Brahmins in then India, a man came and spat on the Buddha's face. The Buddha wiped his face and asked the man " Have you got anything more to say". The Buddha's disciple, Ananda became very angry and said "Give me permission to put this man in his place.
This is too much. I can't tolerate this". Buddha said "He has not spat on your face. It's my problem and I can solve that problem. He wants to say something to me. But has inadequate words to say that. He has no words to express his anger just as I have so much love that no word, no act can express it".
The man was looking at the Buddha in astonishment. He wouldn't have been shocked if the Buddha had hit him in return or Ananda jumped upon him. That would have been expected and natural. This is how human beings react. But the Buddha seeing the man's difficulty of expressing anger, felt for the man.
The man went home, couldn't sleep throughout the night, pondered over it the whole night with a great feeling of pain over his unmindful behaviour.
The next day he rushed to the Buddha and fell at his feet, kissed his feet and begged pardon.The Buddha said to Ananda, "Look, now he is feeling so much for me, he cannot speak in words. He is touching my feet. Man is so helpless. Anything that is too much cannot be expressed, cannot be conveyed, cannot be communicated. Some gestures has to be found to symbolise it. Look!"
The man started crying and said "Excuse me, sir. I am immensely sorry. It was absolute stupidity on my part to spit on you, a man like you".
The Buddha said "Forget about it! The man you spat upon is no more, and the man who spat is no more. You're new, I'm new! Look - this sun that is rising is new.
Everything is new.
The yesterday is no more. Be finished with it! And how can I forgive? Because you never spat on me. You spat on someone who has departed".
The Buddha remembers perfectly that the previous day this man had spat on him, but he also remembers that neither this man is the same nor he is the same
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