One day Buddha walked through a village. A very angry and rude young man came up and began insulting him.
“You have no right teaching others” he shouted. “You are as stupid as everyone else. You are nothing but a fake.”
Buddha was not upset by these insults. Instead he asked the young man “Tell me, if you buy a gift for someone and that person does not take it, to whom does the gift belong?”
The man was surprised to be asked such a strange question and answered “It would belong to me because I bought the gift.”
The Buddha smiled and said “That is correct. And it is exactly the same with your anger. If you become angry with me and I do not get insulted, than the anger falls back on you. You are the only one who becomes unhappy, not me. All you have done is hurt yourself.”
The man looked all confused.
The Buddha continued “If you want to stop hurting yourself, you must get rid of your anger and become loving instead. When you hate others, you yourself become unhappy. But when you love others,” The Buddha smiled,
“everyone is happy.”
