Buddha seemed quite unruffled by the insults hurled at him by a visitor. When his disciples later asked him what the secret of his serenity was, he said: “Imagine what would happen if someone placed an offering before you and you did not pick it up. Or someone sent you a letter that you refused to open; you would be unaffected by its contents, would you not? Do this each time you are abused and you will not lose your serenity.”
 
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A man came upon a tall tower and stepped inside to find it all dark. As he groped around, he came upon a circular staircase. Curious to know where it led to, he began to climb, and as he climbed, he sensed a growing uneasiness in his heart.So he looked behind him and was horrified to see that each time he climbed a step, the previous one fell off and disappeared. Before him, the stairs wound upward and he had no idea where they led; behind him yawned an enormous black emptiness.
 
 
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King Pyrrhus of Epirus was approached by his friend Cyneas and asked, “If you conquer Rome, what will you do next, sir?”Pyrrhus replied, “Sicily is next door and will be easy to take.”“And what shall we do after Sicily is taken?”“Then we will move over to Africa and sack Carthage.”“And after Carthage, sir?”“The turn of Greece will come.”

“And what, may I ask, will the fruit of all these conquests be?”

“Then,” said Pyrrhus, “we can sit down and enjoy ourselves.”

“Can we not,” said Cyneas, “enjoy ourselves now?”

 
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Life is ten percent what happens to you and ninety percent how you respond.
 
(~_~)
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