Osho's perspective on Contentment
When Osho Spoke About Contentment
Passages from the discourses where this theme comes alive.
Beloved Osho, is it necessary to develop a sense of divine discontentment, when being around you provokes nothing but divine contentment? Or is it enough just to be sad about not being realized?
There is no need to develop a divine discontentment. It is for those who are contented with mundane things -- with money, with power, with prestige -- they need to develop a sense of divine discontentment. But if you have a divine contentment, you are in a totally different category. You need not be sad that you don't have discontent, you should be happy and rejoice. Medicines are for those who are sick. When you are not sick, don't be sad -- "How unfortunate I am that I have to live without medicines." Divine discontent is a medicine for those who are feeling contented with things which are simply rubbish, crap. They have to be drawn out of their so-called contentment, and a discontent for the divine has to be created in them. But you are feeling a divine contentment, you are feeling health; you don't need the medicine. Now…
I am discontented with everything. What can I get so I can attain contentment?
As long as you think in terms of the language of getting you will not find contentment. Discontent arises from the very language of getting. As long as you say, what can I get, you will remain discontented. Contentment is in celebrating the festival of what is. Discontentment is in the desire, in the thirst to get what is not. And there is much that you do not have. If you go off to get it you will continue going, continue going, you will never be able to get it all. You will never become contented. Your life's story will continue in discontented anguish. No, what is, is not lacking. You have received life. Have you given thanks to god for this life? And if you had to go buy this life then what price might you be ready to pay! He gave these eyes, he gave these burning lamps.…
Question: First question: Osho, isn’t it right to live with contentment? Devdas! There is a great difference between one kind of contentment and another. One is the contentment of a dead man, a defeated man, a man who has lost. It looks like contentment, but it is not. Inside, the flames of discontent are raging, but outwardly he has put on a show, reasoned himself into it; he could not win, and even bearing defeat seems hard, so he whitewashes his defeat to look like contentment. There is Aesop’s old story: a fox keeps leaping—leaping many times—to reach bunches of grapes; but she cannot reach, her reach falls short. Tired, beaten, with a sorrowful heart, she turns back. At least there is the reassurance that no one has seen her defeat. But just then a rabbit, hidden in a nearby thicket, comes out and says: Auntie, what happened?
Osho, I am dissatisfied with everything. What should I attain so that I may find contentment?
As long as you think in the language of getting, you will not find contentment. It is the very language of getting that creates discontent. As long as you keep asking, “What should I get?” you will remain dissatisfied. Contentment is in celebrating what is. Discontent is in the desire to obtain what is not, in craving. And there is so much that you do not have. If you set out to get what is not, you will keep on going and going; you will never get it all. You will never be content. Discontent will remain the tale and the torment of your life. No; what is, is not little. You have been given life—have you offered thanks to the Divine for this life? And if you had to go purchase this life, how high a price would you not be ready to pay? These eyes were given, these…
Is it necessary to develop a sense of divine discontentment when experiencing divine contentment?
outcome"When divine contentment blossoms within you, rejoice and deepen it; do not invite the shadows of discontent that can derail your inner flowering."
"True contentment is not the absence of desire, but the dissolution of the ego, where silence exists without a silent man, allowing for effortless growth."
"Contentment is not found in acquiring more, but in celebrating what is; let gratitude expand your heart and life will give you more."
What is the difference between a contented pig, a discontented Socrates, and a natural man of Zen?
definition"The natural man of Zen embodies total awareness and effortless contentment, transcending pain and living life in its wholeness."
"True contentment is the silent witnessing of life, where chaos and calm coexist, and joy springs from simply being, not from the circumstances around you."
"True contentment is so total that it forgets itself, and in that selflessness lies the essence of real happiness, untouched by the duality of happy and unhappy."
"Total contentment arises not from the absence of desire, but from the blossoming of intelligence that recognizes the futility of seeking, allowing desire to effortlessly fall away."
"Contentment is the art of being fully present, where the simplicity of today fulfills all needs and the restless ego fades away, allowing you to blossom like a flower in the moment."
"True contentment is not the absence of desire, but the profound understanding that fulfillment cannot be found in external cravings; it blossoms from awareness and brings effortless serenity."
"Contentment is not found in acquiring more, but in celebrating the unearned gift of life and cultivating gratitude for each breath."
Profound Quotes on Contentment
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