One day while Buddha was teaching the The Dharma The eternal law or teaching in Buddhism to a crowd that had gathered to hear him, a member of the crowd arrived angry. The Buddha had left the samaṇas, an honorable well-known respected group of wandering ascetics People who practice severe self-discipline and abstain from all forms of indulgence, typically for religious or spiritual reasons , intent on finding his own way. The man was attached to the idea that the samaṇas held the truth and was angry with the Buddha for, in his view, being selfish and egotistical. It is a fair point, Buddha spent 5 years with the samanas, practicing severe austerities.

The man rose up from the crowd while the Buddha was speaking, pointed his index finger^* at The Buddha and started a tirade.

“You are a FAKE! Who are you to say that you are teaching the truth! You couldn’t even hang with the samanas! You are weak-minded and a PHONY!”

The Buddha observed the main without reaction as the man continued his tirade. Eventually the man’s anger flamed out and he finished with, “So what do you have to say for yourself?”

The Buddha asked the man, “If someone gives a gift to someone else, and it’s not accepted, to whom does it belong?”

The man, surprised by the question and Buddha’s calm, answered the obvious, “To the giver.”

“Yes. Now dear Sir, I do not accept your anger, you can have it back.”

This is not canonical story - it’s not in the Pali Canon. It is a more recent parable.

^* The index finger is the finger of the ego, the selfish mind. Watch how you and people around you use the index finger, especially when pointing. They are projecting their mind to the outside. Remember, when you point your finger at someone else, you point four back to yourself.

Find our more about my path, The Blissful Path, at Ananda Marga.