Sutra:
Ignorant people
With evil mouths will revile us,
Or even beat us with knives or staves,
But we will endure it all.

Commentary:
In the Dharma-ending age ignorant people, stupid people with evil mouths will revile us. They behave in a coarse manner, speak harshly, and scold others, never saying anything positive or pleasant. They will have accomplished the dharmas of scolding people. If you scold someone, however, and that person refuses to be moved by your words, then the scolding comes back to you. If you give someone a present and he doesn't accept it, you have to take it back.

It works the same way with scolding. It's also like someone who looks up at the sky and spits at it. The spittle falls back on his own face. If someone spits at us, we would find it most insulting and disrespectful. If someone spits on Maitreya Bodhisattva's face, he just lets it dry and doesn't even bother to wipe it off. If you spit at the sky, the spittle doesn't reach the sky but falls back on your own face. Scolding works the same way. Intelligent people just ignore it when people scold them. I often tell you that if people scold you, just pretend you don't understand. You can think, "Oh, he must be speaking Japanese."

When a Japanese person insults you by calling you bajia, you think, "What does bajia mean? I don't understand." He is calling you a rotten egg, but if you don't know Japanese, you won't understand. You will think that he is singing a song or praising your intelligence. If you don't know English, when someone scolds you in English, you may pretend they are teaching you the ABC's in English. For example, if someone calls you a thief yet you don't understand English, you will wonder, "What is he saying?" The Chinese also have a lot of expressions for scolding people.

Up until I was twelve, I often scolded people. Nobody was more fierce than I! After the age of twelve, however, I never scolded others again. I don't ever want to say anything derogatory. I used Japanese as an example because few people here know Japanese. When people scold you, pretend they are singing a song for you; pretend they are praising you. If they insult you but you regard their words as praise, then there's no problem.

You should Know Flatterers who praise you and give you high hats to wear are hurting you. People who scold you a bit are testing your ability to endure insults. If you endure insults well, it's as if nothing's the matter when people berate you or beat you. No matter how badly people speak of you, it doesn't matter. Even if people accuse you of cheating, it's no problem. So I often say that I am cheating you. I call myself a cheater. Not only do I cheat you, I also cheat myself, telling myself not to go down a bad road no matter what happens. People who scold you are actually praising you and helping you from the opposite direction.

Or it may be that people even attack us with knives or staves, intending to kill us, but we will endure it all. See? It's not that easy to be a Bodhisattva. You can't just say, "I am a Bodhisattva," and then get angry when someone insults you. What kind of Bodhisattva is that? Bodhisattvas have to endure what others cannot endure, yield where others cannot yield, eat what others cannot eat, take what others cannot take. If you don't have that much patience, be careful not to put a high hat on yourself and say, "I am a Bodhisattva." What are you-a nasty-tempered, uptight Bodhisattva?

To be continued