According to Osho, meaning is inseparable from context: every event, person, and thought belongs to an organic, interrelated whole. Isolated fragments mislead; seen within the living totality, the ‘doer’ dissolves and the spontaneous order of existence becomes evident. Because existence functions together without an external controller, understanding comes from sensing relationships and coherence, not clinging to separate parts or invented explanations like a managerial God.
Things make sense only when you see how they fit with everything else, not by looking at them alone.
From the Discourses
Passages where Osho speaks to this question — each links to the complete discourse.
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…
Osho, what is the meaning of life? Life has no meaning by itself; we have to pour meaning into it. Life is an opportunity; if you infuse it, it becomes meaningful.
Life is like a blank canvas; paint upon it and meaning will appear. The meaning will depend on your skill. If a Picasso paints, it will be worth millions; if you paint, perhaps it won’t fetch millions. There is as much meaning in life as we put into it. Life in itself is empty; life is a bare opportunity. Possibility is all; actuality is nothing. That’s why people so often think: life is futile! What meaning? People come to me asking, “What is the meaning of life?” They are imagining that meaning is some ready‑made thing—lying around somewhere to be handed to you, like predigested food. No; meaning is born of creativity. Compose a few songs; make a sculpture; dance a little. Love a little; meditate a little. Explore; dive into inquiry. And you will find that meaning begins to arrive. And the more multidimensional your being, the more unending…
And when a Buddha says "Be aware!" it becomes tremendously meaningful. Then the word "awareness" becomes alive, it starts breathing. Then it has a heart because it comes out of the experience. It is no more a mere word, it has substance. In the context of a Buddha, the word becomes tremendously meaningful. Everything needs a context to be meaningful. God is the ultimate context. Without God, everything falls apart; there is nothing to hold it together. There is no bridge between things. God is the bridge between things, God is the harmony of the whole existence. There is a subtle harmony between the smallest and the greatest, even between the grass leaf and a far, faraway star, millions of light years away. There is a bridge. That bridge is God. This universe is really a universe; literally, universe means one.
Never ask about meaning. Ask for joy, ask for delight. Asking for meaning is asking a wrong question. You will miss much. There are many people who, seeing a full moon, will ask, 'What is the meaning of it?' Once when Picasso was painting, a friend asked him, 'What is the meaning of it?' Picasso said, 'I am simply puzzled. Nobody goes to the waterfall and asks, "What is the meaning of your noise?" Nobody goes to the rosebush and asks, "What is the meaning of your flowering?" Nobody goes to the ocean and asks the wild waves roaring and crashing against the shore. Why do only I have to answer it? Can't I just paint? Can't I be allowed the same freedom that is allowed a rosebush, the ocean, the river?' Have that freedom. Meaning is a confinement. It is the greatest bondage.
Osho, why are your words so puzzling?
Now it will depend on you what meaning you give to it. Words can mean many things, and in different contexts the meaning can be very puzzling. Each word is spoken in a certain context. The context is hidden; you only hear the word. Without the context, the word has no meaning. What I am saying to you today will not have the same context again, because this morning is never going to be repeated. These people who have gathered to listen to me will not be exactly the same again gathered here. The birds that are singing around will not be in the same place again. This morning is unrepeatable. rut my words will remain -- they will lose all context; they will become independent of context. And then you will have to find meaning, give meaning to them . They can be puzzling.... I have heard: Two partners…