Art of answering Irrelevant Questions: What Buddha did when Uttiya tried to corner and insult him

Buddha was often asked irrelevant and pointed questions to corner him, insult him or simply defeat him. How did Buddha answer those irrelevant questions which were not asked with honest intentions to understand the deeper meaning of life or to attain enlightenment?
The story of his conversations with the ascetic Uttiya is a good example of the art of answering irrelevant questions.


Once the ascetic Uttiya came to meet Buddha. After sharing the greetings he sat on one side. He took his place and started asking irrelevant and pointed questions. He tried to corner him and put him down through his questions. The response of buddha and his chief disciple Ananda has got several hidden answers to handle awkward and pointed questions.

#Buddha #Buddhastory #Communication

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Attribution: Photo Dharma from Sadao, Thailand, CC BY 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/..., via Wikimedia Commons