In the Akkosa Sutta, a man named Akkosa found out that one of his clansmen had just become a disciple of the Buddha. Outraged, Akkosa went to the Buddha to give the Buddha a piece of his mind – he hurled abuse and insults at the Buddha, telling the Buddha what he thought of him in no uncertain terms.
The Buddha was unmoved in the slightest by this barrage of insults and just asked a question in return:
“Do you sometimes receive visitors as guests?”
“Yes I do” replied Akkosa.
“And when they come, do you offer them food and drink and courtesies?” asked the Buddha.
“Yes, sometimes I do” Akkosa said.
“So what if your guests don’t accept what you offer to them – where do the food, drink and courtesies return to?”
“They return to me of course!” Akkosa answered.
“Akkosa, you came here today, hurling insults and abuse at me. I do not accept what you have offered. So where do these insults and abuse return?”
Akkosa got the picture
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