Big strict rules try to make you superhuman; Osho’s gentle requests invite you to be truly human and grow naturally.
From the Discourses
Passages where Osho speaks to this question — each links to the complete discourse.
Beloved Osho, moses gave us ten commandments, but you have spoken only about six requests; will you please complete the list to make it ten?
It takes care of you in every possible way, while you are awake, while you are asleep. Even in sleep it goes on taking care of you. When you are asleep and a spider starts moving on your leg, your leg throws it away without bothering you. The leg has a small brain of its own. So for small matters there is no need to go to the central system, to go to the brain -- that much the leg can do. A mosquito is biting you, your hands move it or kill it, and your sleep is not disturbed. Even while you are asleep your body is continuously protecting you, and doing things which are not generally supposed. The hand is not supposed to have a brain, but certainly it has something which can only be called a very small brain. Perhaps every cell of your body has a…
Beloved Osho, what do you think of moses' ten commandments? Do you have any commandments for us?
One day it happened, he was just going to the river. He used to carry, up to that time, a begging bowl which he used to collect food or keep water. He was running towards the river -- he was thirsty -- and just by his side a dog came running and reached the river before him and started drinking water. Diogenes said, "Great. This dog is far more independent than me." He threw the begging bowl into the river and said to the dog, "Master, you have really shown me the way. I was carrying that weight unnecessarily." He was caught by a few thieves -- because in those days people were caught and sold as slaves, and he looked very promising. He was very healthy and had a certain personality. They were certain that they would get good money if they could keep hold of him. They were…
Beloved Osho, one day -- it was friday, when orthodox jews are preparing for the sabbath -- a man who didn't like jews met an orthodox rabbi on the street. In an attempt to torment him, he asked him to express the entire philosophy of judaism while he stood on one foot. The rabbi stood on one foot and said, "do unto others as you would have them do unto you. That is the law -- the rest is commentary." if I were to be met by a tormentor and asked to stand on one foot and explain in one sentence what your teaching is, would I be correct in saying that it is freedom from suppression?
It will not be so easy. First, you don't know the name of the rabbi. His name was Hillel. He is the most famous Jewish philosopher, and he certainly condensed the whole philosophy of Judaism into a single sentence. The incident is true. He was asked to stand on one foot and answer in the shortest way what the essence of Judaism is. And what he said is beautiful, but not without flaw. He said: Do unto others what you would like to be done to you by them. This is the essential Judaism, the rest is commentary. All great scriptures of the Jews, the TORAH, the TALMUD... all are just commentaries on the single, small, seedlike statement: Do unto others what you would like to be done to you by them. As far as Judaism is concerned, no Jewish thinker has raised any suspicion about it. Neither has any…