What is the significance of abandoning the false in Zen practice?

Osho, is it not necessary to desire, to long and to seek truth and avoid the untrue, to seek truth and renounce the false?

The Master said, "Now you are clinging to the idea of emptiness. This is not emptiness -- this is not true emptiness. Now you are full of the idea of emptiness. Once it was light, once it was energy, once it was fragrance now it is emptiness. It is nothing but labels changing. And unless you throw this too you will not be truly empty. A truly empty person is neither empty nor nonempty. There is nothing to experience, not even emptiness. And in that state of silence when there is nothing to experience -- no object, no content, but only consciousness, only the observer and nothing to observe only the seer and nothing to see -- one attains truth." Yoka says: <q>OUR SPIRIT IS LIKE A CLEAR MIRROR THUS IT REFLECTS THE UNIVERSE HARMONIOUSLY OUR SPIRIT AND THE UNIVERSE ARE ONE.</q> Once you are utterly empty you are a…

Osho, in the Dwarka camp you said that meditation and samadhi are a voluntary, conscious entry into the state of death, through which the illusion of death dissolves. Then the question arises: to whom does the illusion of death occur? Does it occur to the body or to consciousness? Since the body is only an instrument, it cannot have delusive awareness; and there is no reason for consciousness to be deluded. Then what is the cause and basis of this event of delusion?

They sent word. She came very annoyed. “It’s his same old habit,” she said. “He’s grown old but hasn’t dropped it. Even at death he will create mischief.” She came with a stick, banged it on the ground and said, “Stop this devilry! If you must die, die properly!” The man laughed, came down, and said, “I was only playing a little—wanted to see what they would do. Now I will die properly, conventionally.” Then he lay down and died. His sister left, saying, “Fine, now finish the rites. There is a right way for everything; do things properly.” Our illusion about death is a social delusion. It can be broken. There are methods and arrangements to break it. And even if no one else breaks it for you, anyone who has done a little meditation will break it himself at the time of death. No outside help is needed.…

Osho, what is zen?

He knows that all is illusory so there is no need to escape. It is unfounded, you need not be worried about it. It is a rope -- it appears to be a snake. So why escape? Why renounce? Let it appear to be a snake, let it be there as a rope. Whatsoever it is, the appearance is unfounded, hence there is no need to renounce. Zen does not teach renunciation. It teaches understanding, awareness, alertness, the capacity to see things as they are. And then there is no need to escape from anywhere. Wherever you are, Zen helps you to relax. And there is no need to search for God, to search for satori, samadhi, enlightenment -- the very search is a barrier. We search for things only if they are not within our being; if they are within our being, there is no need to seek and…

Maneesha's question: beloved Osho, in her book, `the world of zen,' nancy wilson ross says of zen -- in particular, when working on a koan -- "again and again it is emphasized that one cannot take hold of the truth merely by abandoning the false." isn't truth what is left when the false is recognized for what it is? Or is there more to it?

Christians go on saying that he touched the eyes of blind people and they started seeing immediately. Either these miracles are simply invented by the disciples... because the Bible was compiled three hundred years after, so there was not a single witness. You will be surprised to know that the Roman emperor, Constantine, called a council after the crucifixion of Jesus -- three hundred years after -- and in the council, by voting, it was decided that he was divine. By voting...! After three hundred years, and under the compulsion of Constantine! He was the president of the council, and he wanted to declare himself a prophet. And he did both -- he declared, "Jesus is a prophet, but he is a failure; I am a prophet who is a success." And the council accepted it. Rome became the capital of Christianity under Constantine. But they had to accept Constantine…

Mistaking the false for the true and the true for the false, you overlook the heart and fill yourself with desire.

SEE THE FALSE AS FALSE, THE TRUE AS TRUE. LOOK INTO YOUR HEART. FOLLOW YOUR NATURE. AN UNREFLECTING MIND IS A POOR ROOF. PASSION, LIKE THE RAIN, FLOODS THE HOUSE. BUT IF THE ROOF IS STRONG, THERE IS SHELTER. WHOEVER FOLLOWS IMPURE THOUGHTS SUFFERS IN THIS WORLD AND THE NEXT. IN BOTH WORLDS HE SUFFERS, AND HOW GREATLY, WHEN HE SEES THE WRONG HE HAS DONE. BUT WHOEVER FOLLOWS THE LAW IS JOYFUL HERE AND JOYFUL THERE. IN BOTH WORLDS HE REJOICES, AND HOW GREATLY, WHEN HE SEES THE GOOD HE HAS DONE. FOR GREAT IS THE HARVEST IN THIS WORLD, AND GREATER STILL IN THE NEXT. HOWEVER MANY HOLY WORDS YOU READ, HOWEVER MANY YOU SPEAK, WHAT GOOD WILL THEY DO YOU IF YOU DO NOT ACT UPON THEM? ARE YOU A SHEPHERD WHO COUNTS ANOTHER MAN'S SHEEP, NEVER SHARING THE WAY? READ AS FEW WORDS AS YOU LIKE…