We are not the same

Nobody has developed benevolence and compassion like Buddha did in his time. Among his cousins, there was the evil Devadatta, who was always jealous and determined to make him look bad. He was even willing to kill him.

One day as Buddha was calmly strolling along; his cousin Devadatta threw a heavy rock at him from atop a hill. The rock fell beside Buddha and Devadatta failed to end his life. Buddha, even after realizing what had happened, remained impassive, never letting the smile slip from his face.

Days later, Buddha ran into his cousin and greeted him warmly. Very surprised, Devadatta asked him: “Are you not angry?” “No, of course not”, assured Buddha.

Still shocked, Devadatta asked him: “Why not?” And Buddha affirmed: “Because you’re no longer the one who threw the rock, and I’m no longer the same one who was there when the rock was thrown.”

“To he who knows how to see, everything is transitory; to he who knows how to love, everything is forgivable.”

When someone is upset with us, we should show restraint and let the crisis pass bearing in mind that the circumstances are not good and not the person. 

Let us learn to get along with each other in our houses in these times of the Covid-19 crisis.