Why is there a paradox in our relationship with the body as identification lessens?
Synthesized from Source
definition
"As you drop identification with the body, hostility fades and a natural friendliness emerges, allowing you to care for it as a sacred instrument rather than exploiting or punishing it."
According to Osho, the paradox is that the more you identify with the body, the more unconscious enmity you carry toward it—expressed as indulgent decay or ascetic torture; but as identification drops through meditation, hostility falls and a natural friendliness arises. In witnessing you choose the middle-string tuning—neither tight nor loose—caring for the body as a sacred instrument rather than exploiting or punishing it.
When you stop clinging to the body and just watch, you stop fighting it and start caring for it gently, avoiding extremes.
Why this matters practically
- Avoids self-harming extremes of pleasure and penance.
- Encourages balanced food, rest, and exercise without guilt or craving.
- Turns meditation into practical kindness toward your body and better health.
- Encourages balanced food, rest, and exercise without guilt or craving.
- Turns meditation into practical kindness toward your body and better health.
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