Osho's perspective on Attachment
When Osho Spoke About Attachment
Passages from the discourses where this theme comes alive.
Osho, what is attachment? Why do we become so attached to things, ideas and persons? And is there freedom from attachment?
“So do one thing,” she told the courtesan. “I will pay you whatever you ask. Go to him at midnight. He meditates at midnight—has done so for thirty years. I want to know whether meditation has happened or not before I die. His hut door is only latched; no one ever goes there. Open it and go in. Whatever he says, notice every word and tell me. Go and embrace him—then come back and report. Before I die, I want to be sure that my service was not in vain.” The courtesan went. She opened the door. The monk was startled. He opened his eyes—he had been sitting in meditation—and shouted, “You wicked woman! Why are you here? Get out! What need have you to come at midnight?” But his tongue faltered; his body trembled. The woman had taken her money; she went right in. He cried, “Stay back! Why…
Osho, you say there is nothing to lose here. Then why is it that I still cannot stake everything?
Life can be lived in two ways: a hellish way and a heavenly way. I am teaching you the heavenly way—how to live here and now in a heavenly manner. This earth is heaven for those who know the art of joy. This earth is liberation for those who know the art of freedom. And this earth is hell for those who are skillful at manufacturing hell. Those who live on fear and greed turn life into hell. Those who live in non-greed and fearlessness turn life into heaven. And accept challenges, because only challenges bring to a polish the talent hidden within you; they give you edge. Challenges unify you. They organize you inwardly. You become concentrated. And challenges awaken you—for one whose life has no challenge, he sleeps. He whose life has challenge—how can he sleep? If your house is on fire, can you sleep? However tired you…
Would you please explain the working of that unknown force which keeps the human mind attached to wordly things and habits in spite of being fully aware that the ultimate result is nothing but misery?
The awareness is not total, the awareness is just intellectual. Logically you follow that "Whatsoever I am doing is leading me to misery," but this is not your existential experience. Just rationally you understand. If you were reason alone then there would have been no problem, but you are "unreason" also. If you had only conscious mind then it was okay. You have unconscious mind also. Conscious mind knows that you are going into misery every day by your own efforts; you are creating your own hell. But the unconscious is not aware, and the unconscious is nine times more than your conscious mind. And that unconscious goes on persisting in its own habits. You decide not to be angry again because anger is nothing but poisoning your own system. It gives you misery. But next time, when someone insults you, the unconscious will put aside your conscious reasoning, will…
Osho, what is the definition of God?
Words are very small. If you say God is light, then what of darkness? The scriptures have said that God is light. Suppose we accept this as a definition—then what about darkness? Where will darkness go? Darkness is too; in fact it is far more than light. Light sometimes is and sometimes is not; darkness is always, eternal. Where will you place darkness? If you say God is light, darkness is left out. If you say God is darkness, then light is left out. If you say God is both darkness and light, a contradiction arises: they cannot be together. Try to have both darkness and light in the same room. If you bring in light, darkness disappears; if you preserve darkness, you cannot have light. Then how can both be together? That becomes an impossibility. So you cannot say “both” either. Then the fourth device is to say: it…
"Drop the 'you' and let love flow freely; in the disappearance of the lover and beloved, pure gratitude blossoms."
"True freedom comes not from discarding possessions, but from transcending the inner bondage that gives them power over you. Use the world, but remain unattached and alert."
"Desire is the root of all passions; uproot it, and both time and its shadows—lust, anger, greed, and attachment—will dissolve."
"Witness both attachment and aversion without picking a side, for in that discerning watchfulness, the duality drops, freeing you to embrace the body and the world without clinging or hatred."
"When action arises from a place of equanimity, it transcends both violence and non-violence, allowing you to act without hate or ego, even amidst conflict."
"See the master as a mirror, not a possession; let love ripen into awareness, and in that clarity, the master will disappear, leaving you utterly alone and free."
"When you lose everything, you discover that nothing essential was ever at risk; it is fear, not loss, that truly breaks us. Embrace the freedom of letting go, for in breaking, you become a new happening."
"Whatever strings you touch continue to vibrate and grow, for existence always supplies the nourishment that matches your inner demand."
"Attachment to the physical body is love in its raw form; refine it, and it will transform into a path of freedom and communion."
"Attachment to a teacher transforms your journey into imitation, where you forget your own being and become a mere actor in a borrowed role; true growth lies in shedding masks, not donning new ones."
"When you become unattached to the teacher, you drop the burden of secondhand guidance and embrace this moment fully; in that totality lies the essence of enlightenment."
"When bliss touches you, the ego trembles and the urge to flee arises; trust this paradox, for once you have tasted true grace, nothing else will ever satisfy you."
"When you stop fighting your attachments and simply witness them, they dissolve in the light of your awareness, revealing the changeless center of your being."
"When attachment drops, you discover the beauty of solitude, and the scattered energy of your being transforms into the fuel for your inner journey towards the Divine."
What happens when my feelings towards someone change from wanting to leave to not wanting to leave?
outcome"Witness your changing feelings without identification; in silent awareness, love transforms from reaction to presence."
"Attachment to a master's physical peculiarities keeps you at the periphery, blinding you to the essence of the Master and preventing the leap beyond the mind that true love invites."
"A true master will break your heart to free you from attachment, guiding you to discover the vast emptiness within, where true freedom resides beyond dependence."
"Attachment is a subtle bondage; the more you cling, the heavier life becomes. Letting go brings clarity, transforming love and action into effortless movement."
"When you drop attachment to what you think you have, the fear that guards your illusion collapses, and you become free to risk everything for truth."
"Attachment is the absence of self-realization; when you turn inward and discover your inner wealth, clinging dissolves naturally."
"Attachment is the mind's desperate clinging to sorrow, a way to avoid the inner emptiness; true freedom arises when we dare to embrace that emptiness instead of feeding the ego with suffering."
"Attachment is the mind's clinging to illusions of pleasure, and it persists because we have yet to awaken to the truth of our own suffering."
"The unconscious is a powerful force, binding us to our habits and attachments, while the conscious mind merely observes; true liberation comes through disciplined practice that reconditions this deep-seated nature."
"Attachment is the identification with the accidental, ensuring that loss and suffering are inevitable; true awakening lies in recognizing the timeless essence of pure being beyond possessions."
What is the need to be attached to another?
definition"Stay attached where you grow, but when growth ceases, detach without guilt; your loyalty is to consciousness, not to yesterday’s boat."
Profound Quotes on Attachment
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