temper and that he never became angry with anyone. Everybody
respected him for that and the word about him went around. A warrior
heard about the sage and did not want to believe that the sage never
got angry with anyone. He decided to prove it wrong and went to the
sage’s temple, and tried to offend the sage. The warrior tried everything
to make the sage angry but he could not. He was rude and crude but
the sage took no offence and was as composed as always. Whatever
the warrior did, the sage stayed calm and collected. The warrior was
amazed and grew to respect the sage.
On his way to leave the temple, the warrior went to say good-bye to
the sage and told him, "I respect you tremendously but you must learn
to stand up for yourself. You must not allow people to be mean to you –
you must set them straight. Isn’t it the right thing to do?"
The sage answered, "I understand what you mean, but before I answer
your question, can you answer mine?"
"Sure", said the warrior.
"If you offer someone a gift, and they refuse to take it, to WHOM does
the gift belong?"
"Why, of course if they refuse to take my gift, the gift is still mine!"
"Now, if you offer someone an offence, and they refuse to take it – to
whom does THE OFFENCE belong?"
Story is in '12 Simple Rules' - by Elena Solomon
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