Key to Enlightenment

 

The Buddha then elaborated “That is what I am saying. You came to me with the gift of curses and threats. I do not accept them, so they remain with you.” Buddha's equanimity in the face of "curses and threats" led to the transformation of the Brahman cursing and threatening with a stick. He asked the Buddha to teach him the Dharma after Buddha calmly refused his gifts.
Ra Divakar: Equanimity! "Stay collected and composed at the mental level at all times!"

The Buddha then elaborated “That is what I am saying. You came to me with the gift of curses and threats. I do not accept them, so they remain with you.” Buddha's equanimity in the face of "curses and threats" led to the transformation of t...he Brahman cursing and threatening with a stick. He asked the Buddha to teach him the Dharma after Buddha calmly refused his gifts.
Ra Divakar: Equanimity! "Stay collected and composed at the mentals level at all time."

The Real Purpose Of Worship(the whole story)

THE BUDDHA Whenever the weight of evil begins to burden the world, Vishnu incarnates to abolish it, one way or the other. This tale is about Buddha, His nin.th incarnation, who transformed the world into a better place by his peaceful teachings. One particular story of him reforming a pious Brahmin is quite enriching. The
Brahmin was an old, religious man who was very strict with his daily routine of rites and rituals and prayed regularly. Being a conformist himself, he expected the same from his family as well. But he was annoyed to notice that all his sons and daughters-in-law one after another were beginning to follow Buddha’s teachings. This angered the Brahmin so much that he decided to set straight Buddha, the one who was the “problem”, himself. So he headed out to see Buddha and carried a stick along so he could break His head. Buddha, on seeing him, remarked that the old man was looking upset and asked him to come and sit near him. All the way, the raging Brahmin had been hurling curses at Him and this continued even then. Buddha then asked him if the old man got a lot of visitors at home to which he irritatedly replied in the affirmative. The Buddha then enquired if the guests ever brought any gifts along. Highly impatient by now, he snapped at him, saying that yes they did, and the Buddha should not have anything to do with it. The God then demanded a last answer, that if the family did not accept the presents, then who did they remain with. The man said, obviously with the guests only. The Buddha then elaborated “That is what I am saying. You came to me with the gift of curses and threats. I do not accept them, so they remain with you.” Now the Brahmin was a wise old man, whose intelligence had been shielded due to a blinding infatuation with rites and rituals. He understood what Buddha wanted to say, immediately asking for forgiveness and also asked Buddha to teach him Dharma. The outcome of the above story is that it teaches us that the tame rites and rituals of the world alone will not make us a good person. We need to understand the purpose behind devotion, that is, to be able to stay calm and concentrate our mind in the right direction as this is what will actually lead us towards being a better person. A strong mind leads to self-control which is the real pusher towards success.

Recently, a study conducted by University of Utah researchers showed that mindfulness is linked with greater emotional stability and self control, not to mention better sleep.