"He is the master, you are behaving like a slave.

"Let me tell you one story, but don't let me driftbecause stories are dangerous, intriguing. And when I start a story I have something in my mind, and by the time I end the story I have forgotten why I had started it. So I have to start again from something, where the story ends. But this story is not like that.

"It is reported that Gautam the Buddha was passing by the side of a village. The village was populated by anti-Buddhists; so much so that although Buddha had just bypassed them – he had not even entered the village for the simple reason that he did not want to create any unnecessary scene there – those idiots were not going to leave him so easily.

"They came rushing out of the village behind him surrounded him and started abusing him in every possible way, using language which one should not use against another human being – what to say of a man like Gautam the Buddha. The followers of Buddha really became angry. They were ready to hit back, but in front of Gautam the Buddha it was impossible for them to take any action before he said something. And what he said puzzled everybody, shocked everybody.

"He turned to his disciples and said, 'You have disappointed me. Those people are doing their thing. They are angry. They think that I am an enemy of their religion, of their moral values – naturally they are angry. And I am listening to them; they are abusing me, not abusing you. Why are you getting angry? Although you are controlling yourself, that does not make any difference. You have allowed those people to manipulate you. Are you their slaves?'

"The people of the village were also puzzled. They fell into a strange silence. Buddha said to them, 'I am in a hurry to reach the other village, where people are waiting for me. If you are finished, I can go. Or if something else is still there in your mind, when I come back I will inform you ahead. At that time you can complete the whole thing."