According to Osho, begin with the story, not the theory: pick the anecdote that vibrates with life, then 'draw the circles'—let your insights, morals, and concepts form around it. Use theory to illuminate, not to prove; let the anecdote be the center. This invites spontaneity, resonance, and self-discovery, making conversation vivid, memorable, and true.
Start with a good story and let the meaning show up around it, instead of forcing a story to fit a point.
From the Discourses
Passages where Osho speaks to this question — each links to the complete discourse.
Osho, how do you manage it -- to have always the right anecdote at the right moment?
Let me answer you by an anecdote. A king, passing through a small town, saw what he took to be indications of amazing marksmanship. On trees, barns and fences there were numbers of bull's-eyes, each with a bullet-hole in the exact center. He could not believe his eyes. It was superb marksmanship, almost a miracle of achievement. He himself was a good marksman, and he had known many great marksmen in his life, but never anything like this. He asked to meet the expert shot. It turned out to be a madman. 'This is sensational! How in the world do you do it?' he asked the madman. 'I myself am a good shot, but nothing compared to your skill and art. Please tell me.' 'Easy as pie!' said the madman and laughed uproariously. 'I shoot first and draw the circles in later!' Dig?! I choose the anecdotes first, and then…
Osho, to make an illustrative story fit your discourse you have to twist it; doesn’t that do at least a little harm to facts and to history?
No. First of all—first of all—whatever anecdotes I use are, for the most part, not historical. If they are historical, then I do not change them even a bit; I keep them exactly as they are, not changing them at all. Yes, if they are not historical...
Osho, can we accept this story as a doctrine and move ahead...?
No one ever moves ahead by accepting anything as a doctrine. To accept something as a doctrine means you have already rejected it; you have not understood. You will have to inquire. You must search for the element of this story in your own life. Only if you search will the siddhant be revealed to you. Siddhant is a very unusual word. It means that which has been proven, a consummation. There is no exact equivalent for it in English or other languages. Siddhant does not mean principle. Siddhant means that which you have proved in your own life. What has become your experience—only that is a siddhant. Without your experience, no “principle” is a siddhant at all. It is talk, hypothesis, theory, scripture—but not siddhant. You have to search in life. Search from any corner; you will arrive quickly. When anger arises, the mind at once slips into a…
Osho, how do you always manage to find the appropriate jokes for your talks?
It is just the other way round. Little Tom and his dad went to the circus. After the show on the way home the father said to little Tom 'Wasn't that clever to time the horses so finely with the music?' 'Yes indeed' answered little Tom, yet not totally convinced. Suddenly a few steps further, little Tom stops and facing his father, said in a sure voice 'What about timing the music with the horses?' It can be the other way round, too. It seems natural for you, as it looked to the father, that 'Wasn't that clever to time the horses so finely with the music?' But to little Tom, the horses are more important than the musicians. Little children live in a different world; their perspective is different. He was not totally convinced of it. He said 'What about timing the music with the horses?' Rather than the…
Osho, you tell us so many jokes -- what is the basic secret of a joke and why do you tell them?
I HAVE TO TELL JOKES TO YOU, otherwise you will fall asleep. A joke shocks you back into awareness. It is a small electric shock. That's the beauty of a joke, and that's the secret of a joke. It is impossible even for the dullest mind to remain unalert when a joke is being told. Even the dullest, the most stupid, will become interested -- even one who is snoring will come out of his snoring and will start listening to what is going on. That's the beauty of a joke. A joke is something that brings in you a subtle awareness. The awareness comes because you have to listen to the joke very alertly, otherwise you will miss the punchline. If you miss a single word in a joke, it is lost. A joke is a very small thing -- a few lines. You cannot afford to be unaware.…