According to Osho, repeating the same mistakes means we’re unconscious—playing hide-and-seek with ourselves—and so we fall into the same ditch again and again. Nothing else is possible until awareness dawns; no learning happens, suffering simply recycles. He feels no frustration because he has no expectations; it’s our choice how long to continue the games before becoming conscious.
If we keep doing the same wrong things, it’s because we’re asleep inside, and we’ll keep getting hurt until we wake up and pay attention.
From the Discourses
Passages where Osho speaks to this question — each links to the complete discourse.
Osho, do you ever get frustrated with us because we are continuously making the same mistakes and playing the same games over and over again?
I REALLY ENJOY IT! There is no way for me to get frustrated. You cannot do anything that can make me frustrated, because frustration happens only when there is expectation. I don't expect anything. I have no expectations from anybody. I accept you the way you are. If I have some expectations then, of course, in the wake frustration is bound to happen. I accept you as you are because for me you are all enlightened. What more can happen? There is nothing more. As far as I am concerned, all that has to happen has already happened. Now it is up to you how long you want to go on playing the games -- the games of hide-and-seek. It is up to you! If you are enjoying it, why should I get frustrated? If you are not frustrated, who am I to be frustrated with your games? It's perfectly…
Osho, I make many mistakes in life—the same mistakes again and again. I want to know why human beings don’t learn from their mistakes.
…I was a guest in Kolkata at the home of a friend, Sohanlal Dugar—one of the most prominent wealthy Jains in India. A courageous man—only then could he host me! Because inviting me home is not free of risk. He said it was fine despite all the Jains’ opposition. I told him at the airport, “You’re putting me up, but you’ll get into trouble.” He said, “You know I’m a gambler. All India knows I’m a bookie; betting is my business. I’ve placed all kinds of bets—this one too! Although I’ve been warned by Jain monks not to host you.” The whole house was air‑conditioned. Not a single fly or mosquito. But no night meal. They don’t even drink water at night. When Mahavira said don’t eat at night, there was no electricity. There weren’t even oil lamps in every home. People ate in the dark, as many villagers still…
It’s no surprise that a thief would return to such a house! Fifteen or twenty days later, the thief came again. This time the man was determined not to repeat the old mistake. But when we do not repeat the old mistake, we only repeat it in a new way; only the style changes. It seems man learns nothing from experience. He went and grabbed the thief straightaway and said, “Now I won’t make the old mistake of asking who you are, because last time you tricked me by saying there was nobody.” Holding the thief, he set off toward the police station. Halfway there the thief said, “Forgive me, I’ve made a slip—I’ve left my shoes back at your house.” The man said, “Go, fetch your shoes. I’ll wait right here. I won’t take the trouble of walking all the way back again.
An old man who was born in yen, but grew up in chu'u decided to return to his native country.
WHILE HE WAS PASSING THROUGH THE STATE OF CHIN HIS COMPANIONS DECIDED TO PLAY A JOKE ON HIM. POINTING TO A CITY THEY SAID TO HIM: THIS IS THE CAPITAL OF YEN. THE OLD MAN COMPOSED HIMSELF AND LOOKED SOLEMN. INSIDE THE CITY THEY POINTED OUT A SHRINE: THIS IS THE SHRINE OF YOUR QUARTER. HE BREATHED A DEEP SIGH. THEY POINTED OUT A HUT: THIS WAS YOUR FATHER'S COTTAGE. TEARS WELLED UP. THEY POINTED OUT A MOUND: THIS IS YOUR FATHER'S TOMB. HE COULD NOT HELP WEEPING ALOUD. HIS COMPANIONS ROARED WITH LAUGHTER: WE ARE TEASING YOU -- YOU ARE STILL ONLY IN CHIN. THE OLD MAN WAS VERY EMBARRASSED. WHEN HE REACHED YEN, AND REALLY SAW THE CAPITAL, AND THE SHRINE OF HIS QUARTER, AND HIS FATHER'S COTTAGE AND TOMB, HE DID NOT FEEL IT SO DEEPLY. It happened: There was one woman whose only child had died.…
Osho, if the movement of life is circular—like day and night, like months and seasons—does it mean we, too, keep merely repeating ourselves again and again?
Strive! Buddha’s last words at the moment of farewell were: Ananda, be ceaselessly engaged in effort! Do not be negligent even for an instant! Do not let even a trace of sloth settle within! For a little sloth, and much is lost. Keep toiling until you awaken; until then, do not grant yourself any rest. Tireless effort! You will have to strike again and again; only then will this darkness break—because you have been maintaining this darkness for so long. Your state has become rock-like, inert. The crust has grown very strong. The soul is hidden within; the spring is within; but the doors are closed. By striking, the doors will break. By striking continuously, the doors will break. Even if the blows are gentle, they must be unbroken. Water falls—gentle blows—and rocks are split. Let the stream of your remembrance fall upon the mechanical rocks within you. If not…