Walking in Zen, Sitting in Zen is an illuminating exploration of Zen Buddhism as envisioned by Osho, emphasizing the seamless integration of meditation and daily life. Osho deconstructs traditional notions, advocating for a form of spiritual practice that transcends rigid rituals and enters the realm of spontaneous, mindful living. He articulates Zen as an art of living in the moment, wherein both walking and sitting—movement and stillness—are avenues for meditation. This dual approach invites the practitioner to experience the extraordinary within the ordinary, urging a shift from doing to being. Osho's discourse challenges the conventional separation between 'the spiritual' and 'the mundane' by promoting a consciousness that is consistently present, whether one is engaged in action or in contemplation. Through anecdotal wisdom and profound insights, he encourages a playful, non-serious seriousness in spiritual pursuit, stressing that enlightenment is not an achievement but a natural state of awareness obscured by life's distractions. This series serves as a guide to living a life of authenticity and presence, offering an accessible pathway to spiritual awakening in the hustle and bustle of the modern world.
-
Chapter 1: The Breath of the Soul
Meditation must permeate life like breathing: walk, sit, sleep in Zen; face inner chaos courageously to transform breakdowns into breakthroughs.
-
Chapter 2: This Is Sacred, This Is Divine
Zen is an immediate slipping out of mind into being—forget learned ideas, surrender into presence; ordinary life becomes sacred and sudden satori is possible.
-
Chapter title:... And Something More
Discipline is watchful awareness, not repression; by becoming the mirror and witnessing mind's traffic, gaps of no-mind arise and truth descends.
-
Chapter 4: A Question Of Being
Absolute negation (neither this nor that) dissolves the mind; from chaos and emptiness creativity and satori arise through zazen—drop ego, be ordinary.
-
Chapter 5: Playing On The Path
Witnessing is pure no-thought; calling it 'I am witnessing' turns it into thought. Drop judgments, let presence mirror reality and play on the path.
-
Chapter 6: Absolute Love In Absolute Freedom
Ego must vanish for awakening; the true self is beyond the 'I' - zazen's non-doing enables sudden awakening, and love grows only in absolute freedom.
-
Chapter 7: Better Mad Than Stupid
Longing for God and loving another are the same: desire creates dependence and suffering; drop desire, awaken to inner fullness, then true sharing arises.
-
Chapter 8: The Head And The Heart
Two kinds of masters: one crystallized in the heart who needs an interpreter, and one who shuttles between mind and no-mind; Osho explains why.
-
Chapter 9: To Enjoy Life Is Bliss
Unable to find lasting meaning? Osho: stop seeking permanence-life is impermanent; drop expectations, flow, let-go like a sannyasin to taste bliss.
-
Chapter 10: The Garden Of Tathagata
Meditation has no goal: drop past and future, be utterly present; cut the mind’s root not branches; true courage is dying to the past to live freely.
-
Chapter 11: The Law Of Grace
Existence is beyond meaning; abandon projections and live joyously in emptiness—surrender (not obedience) awakens the law of grace, rising beyond ego.
-
Chapter 12: The Heart Always Knows
See without the mind—instant, mirror-like awareness; meditation dissolves questions and lets the heart know, transforming life, desire and the fear of death.
-
Chapter 13: Light In The Seed
Discover the Buddha within and be your own light: stop striving to become, watch thoughts and breath, and let your innate radiance gently unfold.
-
Chapter 14: Don't Abandon Existence
Desiring and seeking truth is futile because truth is already your being; drop even emptiness, but don't abandon ordinary existence—live present and joyous.
-
Chapter 15: So Lost And So At Home
Losing the ego in a Buddhafield feels both lost and at home: old identity dies as you merge into oceanic oneness; non-being becomes the door to true being.
-
Chapter 16: All Moons In The One Moon
Zen transcends philosophy and the mind; it must be realized in meditation - a no-mind where vision is clear yet no objects, no person, no Buddha.