In the life of the Buddha, when he was still a simple seeker, a remarkable incident occurred. Together with a fellow traveler, he passed through some village. Both were engaged in a lively conversation when a fly landed on the Buddha's neck. Buddha raised his hand and waved away the fly. The fly flew away, but Buddha suddenly stopped.
“I made a grave mistake,” he said.
Then he repeated the gesture of driving away the fly.
The friend exclaimed:
- What are you doing? The fly has already flown away.
Buddha replied:
“Now I drive away the fly the way I should.” Now I am fully aware of what I am doing. Now, when I raised my hand, I was fully aware that the hand was rising and moving towards the neck to ward off the fly. Then I got too carried away by the conversation; my movement was automatic. I have committed a sin towards the body.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru