One day:
Buddha was sitting under a tree with his disciples. A man came and spat on his face. Buddha wiped his face and asked the man, “Anything else? What else do you want to say?” The man was shocked because he didn’t expect someone to respond with “What else?” after being spat on. He had never experienced such a reaction before. In the past, whenever he insulted people, they had always reacted with anger or fear, trying to appease him. But Buddha did neither; he didn’t get angry, nor did he show fear. He simply asked, “What else?”
However, Buddha’s disciples were furious and reacted. His closest disciple, Ananda, said, “This is too much; we cannot tolerate this.”
Buddha spoke: “Stay silent. He didn’t anger me, but you did. He is a stranger, new to this place. He must have heard something about me, perhaps that this man is godless, dangerous, leading people astray. He formed an opinion about me. He didn’t spit on me; he spat on his own idea of me. How could he have spat on me when he doesn’t know me? If you think about it, he spat on his own mind. I am not a part of that, and I can see that this poor man must have something else to say. Because spitting is a way of expressing something. Sometimes, there are moments when language fails; in deep love, intense anger, hatred, or prayer, there are moments when words are not enough. At those times, you have to do something. When you feel deep love, you embrace someone; what are you doing there? You are saying something. When you are extremely angry, you might hit someone, spit on them; you are saying something. I understand this man. He must have something else to say. That’s why I asked, ‘What else?’”
The man was even more surprised! And Buddha said to his disciples, “You angered me more because you know me, you have lived with me for years, and yet you are still reacting.”
The man, shocked and confused, went home. He couldn’t sleep all night. The next morning, he returned. He bowed at Buddha’s feet. Buddha asked, “Anything else? This is another way of expressing something that words cannot. When you touch my feet, you are saying something that cannot be conveyed through ordinary language.” Buddha continued, “Look, Ananda, this man is here again, saying something. He is a man with deep emotions.”
The man looked at Buddha and said, “Forgive me for what I did yesterday.” Buddha replied, “Forgive? But I am not the man you spat on yesterday. The Ganges River flows constantly; it is never the same Ganges. Every person is like a river. The man you spat on is no longer here; I may look like him, but I am not the same. So much has happened in these twenty-four hours! A lot of water has flowed down the river. So I cannot forgive you because I am not angry with you.”
“And you have also changed. I see that you are not the same man who came yesterday because that man was angry. He was angry, but now you are bowing before me and touching my feet. How could you be the same person? You are not, so let’s forget about it. Those two men—the one who spat and the one who was spat on—are no longer here. Come closer. Let’s talk about other things.”