Words of Praise

Quite soon, after he began his teaching, the Buddha had a large number of students gathered around him.

One day one of his students came to him and said, "O Blessed One, you are certainly the greatest of all the teachers who have ever lived."

The Buddha was not flattered by this praise.

Instead he asked the student, "Tell me, have you met all the great teachers who have appeared in the past?"

"No, of course not," the student answered.

"And do you know all the teachers who are alive now or will be born in the future?" the Buddha asked.

"No, I do not," the student answered again.

"Then it is foolish to say that I am the greatest of all teachers. You have no way of knowing if this is true or not."

"But I only wanted to praise you because your teachings are so excellent and helpful," the student explained.

Then the Buddha added, "If you find my teachings helpful, the best thing to do is to practice them. Do not waste your energy praising me. I'm teaching others to help them help themselves. If you want to please me, follow my teachings. This will please me much more than praise."