According to Osho, existence itself is utterly questionless; all questions—and the ready-made answers to them—are human inventions. Religions market invented answers and demand belief to stop inquiry, while real intelligence honors doubt and direct experience. Rather than seeking metaphysical solutions, drop borrowed beliefs, stay inquisitive, and live the mystery spontaneously; then life reveals itself without ideological cages.
Life isn’t asking questions—people are; be curious and see for yourself instead of swallowing secondhand answers.
From the Discourses
Passages where Osho speaks to this question — each links to the complete discourse.
Beloved Osho, is there any existential question in existence? Are all existential questions man-made?
He ran back to his home and asked his father, "What has to be done, because I had never expected such an experience?" The father said, "Don't be worried, I have also experienced it. But it is very simple. You just go back, sit under the tree and throw your cap!" The boy said, "What is that going to do? Only one cap is left and you are saying throw it?" His father said, "You simply go and do what I am saying." The boy threw his cap, and all the monkeys threw their caps. They are imitative. All these religions are teaching you to imitate. Imitate Jesus Christ, imitate Gautam Buddha, imitate this, imitate that. By imitation you will become a saint, a holy man. I would like to say to you, "You will only become a monkey again." All your saints and all your holy men have fallen…
Osho, what is the meaning of existence?
Buddha says: The inner emptiness is so beautiful, don't stuff it with junk, leave it as it is. And that's what meditation is all about, that's what Zen is. It means living out of emptiness, asking nothing from life, living moment to moment for no other reason, just enjoying being alive. It is more than you can ask for! What more meaning do you need? Is breathing not enough? Is this chirping of the birds not enough? Is the green and the red and the gold of the trees not enough? Is this vast existence with all its splendor not enough? You want some meaning? Yoka says: <q>THE MOON RISES ABOVE THE RIVER. ON THE BANK THE WIND PLAYS SOFTLY IN THE PINES ALL NIGHT LONG, PURE AND CALM. WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THAT SERENITY? LOOK ON THE BUDDHA'S PRECEPTS OF NATURE. WINTER AND AUTUMN MISTS, DEW, CLOUDS, SPRING…
As I have heard from you, the whole existence is the answer, not the question. So when the answer exists, not the question, why does the question come from the answer?
It does not come from the answer, it comes from you, and it comes from you because you have not seen the answer yet, you have not heard the answer yet. To know existence you have to be existential. You are not existential, you live in thoughts. You live in the past, in the future, but never here and now. And existence is right here now. You are not here, hence the question arises. The question arises because of you not meeting with existence. You think you live, but you don't live; you think you love, but you don't love -- you only think about love, you think about life, you think about existence, and that very thinking is the question, that thinking is a barrier. Drop all thoughts and see. You will not find a single question there, only the answer exists. That's why I insist again and again…
Osho, all questions seem to be pointless. Only the answerless question of life remains.
IT IS SO. ALL QUESTIONS NOT only seem to be pointless, they are. In your mind there is still a lurking doubt. Hence you say: ALL QUESTIONS SEEM TO BE POINTLESS. It is not a question that they SEEM, that they APPEAR -- they are. The moment you understand that they are pointless, even the answerless question of life will not remain. Then there is mystery -- no questions, no answers. Then there is tremendous mystery. One is not trying to solve it because it is not a problem. One is not seeking for any answer because it is not a question. One starts LIVING it. And the day you start living life as a mystery you have entered into God. Life understood as a question creates science; life understood as a mystery creates religion. And you say: ONLY THE ANSWERLESS QUESTION OF LIFE REMAINS. If it is answerless, how…
Beloved Osho, you have often used the word "existentialism," and you have referred to yourself as an existentialist. Please define these words.
And once a man has tasted a meditative state, then there is no problem for him. He knows the secret key, he knows the alchemy of transformation. He can go on moving deeper and deeper into the present -- it is infinite. You can never come to the borderline where it ends. And your joy goes on growing, your laughter goes on becoming more and more crystal clear and more and more innocent. Now you are not laughing because somebody has told you a joke; there is no cause to your laughter, it is simply bubbling inside you, uncaused. Now you cannot resist singing. All prayers are bogus, unless the song comes from your heart for no reason at all. Perhaps just as flowers blossom in the trees, songs blossom in the meditative man. Soon you will be dancing. And the crowd will think you certainly mad. But one who…