What is the world of the empty heart of Zen?

Question: Maneesha has asked: OUR BELOVED MASTER, IN THE WEST, THEY SAY THAT LOVE -- TWO FULL HEARTS -- MAKES THE WORLD GO ROUND. JUDGING BY THE CASUALTY RATE, FULL HEARTS DON'T SEEM TO BE THE ANSWER. WHAT IS THE WORLD OF THE EMPTY HEART OF ZEN? "Well," explains Stonehead, "after dinner we went back to her apartment. We sat on her bed listening to music, talked for a while, and drank some herb tea. Then she slowly undressed, pulled back the bed covers, lay down, reached over me, and turned out the light." "So?" asks Haridas. "What happened?" "Well, I can take a hint," replies Stonehead. "So I went home!" Nivedano... (Gibberish) Nivedano... Be silent. Close your eyes. Feel your body to be frozen; gather all your life energy inwards and look in. Deeper and deeper. Find the center of your being.

Question: OUR BELOVED MASTER, A MONK ASKED RINZAI, "WHAT IS THE ATTITUDE OF THE HEART WHICH DOES NOT CHANGE FROM MOMENT TO MOMENT?" THE MASTER SAID: "FROM THE MOMENT YOU SET YOURSELF TO ASK THIS QUESTION, THERE IS ALREADY THE DIFFERENCE, AND YOUR ESSENTIAL NATURE AND YOUR ACTION BECOME SEPARATE.... DO NOT BE DECEIVED. IN AND OUT OF THE WORLD THERE IS NOT A THING THAT HAS A SELF-NATURE, NOR A NATURE THAT IS PRODUCTIVE OF A SELF. ALL IS BUT EMPTY NAMES, AND THE VERY LETTERS OF THESE NAMES ARE ALSO EMPTY. "IF YOU TAKE THESE EMPTY NAMES FOR REAL, YOU MAKE A BIG MISTAKE. FOR THOUGH THEY EXIST, THEY BELONG IN THE REALM OF DEPENDENT CHANGE, ARE LIKE ROBES TO PUT ON AND OFF. "THERE IS THE ROBE OF BODHI, OF NIRVANA, OF DELIVERANCE, OF THE TRIKAYA, OF OBJECTIVE WISDOM, OF BODHISATTVAS AND OF BUDDHA.

Question: BELOVED OSHO, EMPEROR WU OF LIANG ASKED BODHIDHARMA, "WHAT IS THE FIRST PRINCIPLE OF THE HOLY TEACHINGS?" BODHIDHARMA SAID, "EMPTINESS, NO HOLINESS." "WHO IS THIS STANDING BEFORE ME?" "NO KNOWING." THE EMPEROR DID NOT GRASP HIS MEANING. THEREUPON BODHIDHARMA CROSSED THE RIVER AND WENT TO THE LAND OF WEI. THE EMPEROR LATER SPOKE OF THIS TO SHIKO WHO SAID, "DO YOU IN FACT KNOW WHO THIS PERSON IS?" THE EMPEROR SAID, "NO KNOWING." SHIKO SAID, "THIS IS THE BODHISATTVA KANNON, THE BEARER OF THE BUDDHA'S HEART SEAL." THE EMPEROR WAS FULL OF REGRET AND WANTED TO SEND FOR BODHIDHARMA, BUT SHIKO SAID, "IT IS NO GOOD SENDING A MESSENGER TO FETCH HIM BACK. EVEN IF ALL THE PEOPLE WENT, HE WOULD NOT TURN BACK." SETCHO PUT IT LIKE THIS: THE HOLY TEACHING? "EMPTINESS!" WHAT IS THE SECRET HERE? AGAIN, "WHO STANDS BEFORE ME?" "NO KNOWING!

Osho, what is zen?

These sounds, these birds, these trees, these people, this silence... three thousand people disappearing into a silence, losing their identities, egos... and suddenly Zen is there! It becomes almost tangible. You can touch it, you can eat it, you can drink it. But there is no way to convey it through words. You have to be calm and quiet and contented so that you can be in the present. You have to be free of all care. Care simply means you are not trusting existence; you are trying to be careful on your own. You are afraid. You are not yet aware that existence cares for you, that it mothers you, that it fathers you. Once you start feeling the mothering, the fathering that surrounds you, in the air, in the sun, in the moon, in the stars, you drop caring for yourself. There is no need to be worried.…

Osho, do you really think zen is full of zest, zip, zap and zing?

The father, not wanting to leave his son without an answer, says, 'Listen to the following, son. Let us suppose that two men come into a restaurant, one with dirty hands and the other with clean hands. Which one is going to go and clean his hands?' 'The one with dirty hands, of course, Daddy!' 'Very good,' says the father. 'Now let's suppose that the two men walk into a restaurant, one with dirty hands and the other with clean hands. Which one is going to go and wash his hands?' 'The one with dirty hands, Dad. I just told you!' 'No, not this time, son. The one who will go and wash his hands is the one who already has clean hands, because he is in the habit of cleaning them. The one with dirty hands is in the habit of keeping his hands dirty.' 'What a mess, Daddy!'…