When goaded, 

not fighting back takes courage. 

When surrounded by people with nothing to lose looming over you, their barely suppressed anger radiating off them in waves as they goad you into fighting back, it takes courage to remain composed, and not retaliate. Courage. Not a word we usually associate with the Buddha’s teachings. Perhaps we should. It takes courage—steadfastness in the face of fear—to forgive when wronged, to respect when derided, persist when overwhelmed, and, yes, stand peacefully when goaded. We need courage to overcome our fear of being unworthy of the trust the Buddhas and our teachers have placed in us, and courage to overcome our fear of trusting the Buddhas and our teachers. Our fear is yet one more obstacle to overcome. We need to remind ourselves, if the man in the above account could be face up to and overcome his fear, how can we, experiencing far more favorable conditions, do less?