A very dangerous place Zen The Solitary Bird Cuckoo Of The Forest #5
Questions in this Discourse
Maneesha has asked:
BELOVED OSHO,
IS NOT THE WAY OF THE BIRDS BEYOND MORALITY?
BELOVED OSHO,
IS NOT THE WAY OF THE BIRDS BEYOND MORALITY?
It is. Morality is only for mediocre people. Morality is a strategy of the priest to exploit the masses. And it differs from place to place. What is moral to a Hindu may not be moral to a Christian, what is moral to a Christian may not be moral to a Jaina.
A Jaina saint was asking me, "Do you consider Jesus in the same category as Mahavira? Because he used to eat meat, drink wine -- how can you say that he was a saint, or even a good man?"
But the Christian would ask, "How many orphanages did Mahavira open? How many poor people did he manage to help survive? How many schools for the aboriginals did he open? What kind of goodness, what kind of morality did he have? Standing naked, that's all that he did!"
For the Christian, Mahavira cannot be considered a saint. For the Jainas, Mohammed cannot be considered to be a saint -- he had sixteen wives! Now this is not right for a gentleman, what to say about a saint. Only Hindus will be a little less disturbed, because Krishna had sixteen thousand wives; Mohammed is just a poor fellow.
And Mohammed at least married those sixteen women. Krishna had married only one woman; the rest were other people's wives. Whoever he found to be beautiful, his soldiers would force her into his palace. He never considered whether they had children, a husband, old parents to look after -- it did not matter. Anything that he liked ... And Hindus say that he is the perfect incarnation of God. Of course he must be perfect, because I don't think anybody else can defeat him. People have tried. The Nizam of Hyderabad, just forty years ago when he died, had five hundred wives. But five hundred is not much compared to sixteen thousand.
Who is going to decide what is moral and what is immoral? The Bird's Way does not divide into morality and immorality, into goodness and badness. It simply says that the decisive factor is your awareness: if your awareness acts in a certain way, that is moral for you; it does not matter what others say. You should be satisfied that you are acting out of awareness. Then whatever you do is right -- right for you. But if you are unconscious, as people are, and go on doing things which others are doing, copying, imitating ... They may become saints, but deep down they are simply actors. They may do good, but their goodness is just a practice. Not their awareness, not their intrinsic being, blossoming into their acts.
The Birds' Way is beyond good, beyond bad. And the way of Buddha is the Way of the Birds. It does not leave any footprints behind. Every bird is free in the sky to move in any direction. No bird leaves any footprints for other birds. It is only the human beings who write scriptures for others to follow. They not only become decisive for themselves, they become slave-creators. Everybody has to follow them; they don't want you to be conscious of what you are doing. They want you to do it because they have decided what is right.
But remember, in every disease the same medicine will not do. And in every time, in every age, the same criterion will not do. And with every individual, other than his own consciousness there is no criterion. Nobody can decide for anybody else.
This is simply the meaning of freedom. The Bird's Way is the way of freedom. It is the individual as the ultimate value.
Before we enter into our daily meditation, just to take away your seriousness ... and the bamboos are waiting so silently for your laughter.
Nurse Ratchett notices a mental patient with his ear close to the wall, listening intently.
As she approaches, the looney holds up a warning finger and says, "SHHHH! Be quiet!" Then he beckons Nurse Ratchett to come closer. "Listen here," says the mad guy, pointing to a spot on the wall.
Ratchett listens for some time and then says, "I can't hear anything."
"I know," says the patient, "and it has been like this all day!"
Paddy decides to go and visit his old friend, Fergus MacDuffy, who owns a pub in the woods called The Old Log Inn. But when Paddy arrives, Fergus is shocked to see that he has been beaten up. His eyes are swollen and he has a bloody nose and mouth. "My god!" cries Fergus, "what happened to you?"
"Well," replies Paddy, "on my way here I got lost in the woods, I did not know where I was going. Then I saw a couple making love under a tree. So I went over to them, and all I asked was, `How far is The Old Log Inn?'"
Chuck Farley goes out carousing and gambling all night. He drinks a few too many bottles of rum and simply never makes it home. At dawn the next morning, Chuck is aching with a hangover and has no idea where he is or how he got there. He looks over at a man and a woman sleeping in his bed. The woman looks something like his wife and he wonders how he is going to get out of this.
Finally, after stumbling out of the building exhausted, he hits upon an idea and grabs a nearby pay phone. When his wife answers, Chuck shouts, "Don't pay the ransom, honey. I have escaped!"
(THERE IS A BLANK SILENCE WHILE EVERYBODY TRIES TO WORK THIS ONE OUT. THEN A ROAR OF LAUGHTER AS OSHO CHUCKLES ...)
You have missed. You missed it!
Okay, we will try another. But you have to get it no matter what.
Dr. Bones is doing his monthly turn at the Infant Welfare Clinic. It has been a very busy day and Bones has just about had enough. A woman with a baby is next in line and she is shown into the doctor's office by the nurse in charge.
Bones examines the baby, and then asks the woman, "Is he breast-fed or bottle-fed?"
"Breast-fed," she replies.
"Strip down to the waist," orders Bones. She does, and he examines her. He presses each breast, increasing and decreasing pressure. He squeezes and pulls each nipple. Suddenly he remarks, "No wonder this child is so thin -- you don't have any milk!"
"Naturally," she replies. "I am his aunt! But I am glad I came!"
Now ... Nivedano, give the first beat and everybody goes absolutely crazy.
(Drumbeat)
(Gibberish)
(Drumbeat)
Become silent. Close your eyes.
No movement, as if you are just a stone statue.
Now, go in ... deeper and deeper.
Fearlessly, penetrate like an arrow, to the very center of your being.
This is the search for the roots.
The roses will come on their own accord.
Nivedano ...
(Drumbeat)
Everybody falls dead.
Don't be afraid, this is just to make your whole life energy centered within.
The body goes on breathing.
Relaxed as if you are dead, you can experience your life's source more clearly in this context.
In this moment, you ARE the buddha.
To be a buddha is not a question of good and bad.
To be a buddha is simply to be.
Nivedano ...
(Drumbeat)
Come back, all the buddhas.
Don't forget the experience.
Sit like a buddha, silent, utterly fulfilled.
Blessed is this experience and blessed is the moment. Let this peace continue.
Whatever you do does not matter if underneath, this silence goes on moving like a river.
Your consciousness is a river from eternity to eternity.
Okay, Maneesha?
Yes, Osho.
Can we celebrate ... so many buddhas together under one roof?
Yes!
A Jaina saint was asking me, "Do you consider Jesus in the same category as Mahavira? Because he used to eat meat, drink wine -- how can you say that he was a saint, or even a good man?"
But the Christian would ask, "How many orphanages did Mahavira open? How many poor people did he manage to help survive? How many schools for the aboriginals did he open? What kind of goodness, what kind of morality did he have? Standing naked, that's all that he did!"
For the Christian, Mahavira cannot be considered a saint. For the Jainas, Mohammed cannot be considered to be a saint -- he had sixteen wives! Now this is not right for a gentleman, what to say about a saint. Only Hindus will be a little less disturbed, because Krishna had sixteen thousand wives; Mohammed is just a poor fellow.
And Mohammed at least married those sixteen women. Krishna had married only one woman; the rest were other people's wives. Whoever he found to be beautiful, his soldiers would force her into his palace. He never considered whether they had children, a husband, old parents to look after -- it did not matter. Anything that he liked ... And Hindus say that he is the perfect incarnation of God. Of course he must be perfect, because I don't think anybody else can defeat him. People have tried. The Nizam of Hyderabad, just forty years ago when he died, had five hundred wives. But five hundred is not much compared to sixteen thousand.
Who is going to decide what is moral and what is immoral? The Bird's Way does not divide into morality and immorality, into goodness and badness. It simply says that the decisive factor is your awareness: if your awareness acts in a certain way, that is moral for you; it does not matter what others say. You should be satisfied that you are acting out of awareness. Then whatever you do is right -- right for you. But if you are unconscious, as people are, and go on doing things which others are doing, copying, imitating ... They may become saints, but deep down they are simply actors. They may do good, but their goodness is just a practice. Not their awareness, not their intrinsic being, blossoming into their acts.
The Birds' Way is beyond good, beyond bad. And the way of Buddha is the Way of the Birds. It does not leave any footprints behind. Every bird is free in the sky to move in any direction. No bird leaves any footprints for other birds. It is only the human beings who write scriptures for others to follow. They not only become decisive for themselves, they become slave-creators. Everybody has to follow them; they don't want you to be conscious of what you are doing. They want you to do it because they have decided what is right.
But remember, in every disease the same medicine will not do. And in every time, in every age, the same criterion will not do. And with every individual, other than his own consciousness there is no criterion. Nobody can decide for anybody else.
This is simply the meaning of freedom. The Bird's Way is the way of freedom. It is the individual as the ultimate value.
Before we enter into our daily meditation, just to take away your seriousness ... and the bamboos are waiting so silently for your laughter.
Nurse Ratchett notices a mental patient with his ear close to the wall, listening intently.
As she approaches, the looney holds up a warning finger and says, "SHHHH! Be quiet!" Then he beckons Nurse Ratchett to come closer. "Listen here," says the mad guy, pointing to a spot on the wall.
Ratchett listens for some time and then says, "I can't hear anything."
"I know," says the patient, "and it has been like this all day!"
Paddy decides to go and visit his old friend, Fergus MacDuffy, who owns a pub in the woods called The Old Log Inn. But when Paddy arrives, Fergus is shocked to see that he has been beaten up. His eyes are swollen and he has a bloody nose and mouth. "My god!" cries Fergus, "what happened to you?"
"Well," replies Paddy, "on my way here I got lost in the woods, I did not know where I was going. Then I saw a couple making love under a tree. So I went over to them, and all I asked was, `How far is The Old Log Inn?'"
Chuck Farley goes out carousing and gambling all night. He drinks a few too many bottles of rum and simply never makes it home. At dawn the next morning, Chuck is aching with a hangover and has no idea where he is or how he got there. He looks over at a man and a woman sleeping in his bed. The woman looks something like his wife and he wonders how he is going to get out of this.
Finally, after stumbling out of the building exhausted, he hits upon an idea and grabs a nearby pay phone. When his wife answers, Chuck shouts, "Don't pay the ransom, honey. I have escaped!"
(THERE IS A BLANK SILENCE WHILE EVERYBODY TRIES TO WORK THIS ONE OUT. THEN A ROAR OF LAUGHTER AS OSHO CHUCKLES ...)
You have missed. You missed it!
Okay, we will try another. But you have to get it no matter what.
Dr. Bones is doing his monthly turn at the Infant Welfare Clinic. It has been a very busy day and Bones has just about had enough. A woman with a baby is next in line and she is shown into the doctor's office by the nurse in charge.
Bones examines the baby, and then asks the woman, "Is he breast-fed or bottle-fed?"
"Breast-fed," she replies.
"Strip down to the waist," orders Bones. She does, and he examines her. He presses each breast, increasing and decreasing pressure. He squeezes and pulls each nipple. Suddenly he remarks, "No wonder this child is so thin -- you don't have any milk!"
"Naturally," she replies. "I am his aunt! But I am glad I came!"
Now ... Nivedano, give the first beat and everybody goes absolutely crazy.
(Drumbeat)
(Gibberish)
(Drumbeat)
Become silent. Close your eyes.
No movement, as if you are just a stone statue.
Now, go in ... deeper and deeper.
Fearlessly, penetrate like an arrow, to the very center of your being.
This is the search for the roots.
The roses will come on their own accord.
Nivedano ...
(Drumbeat)
Everybody falls dead.
Don't be afraid, this is just to make your whole life energy centered within.
The body goes on breathing.
Relaxed as if you are dead, you can experience your life's source more clearly in this context.
In this moment, you ARE the buddha.
To be a buddha is not a question of good and bad.
To be a buddha is simply to be.
Nivedano ...
(Drumbeat)
Come back, all the buddhas.
Don't forget the experience.
Sit like a buddha, silent, utterly fulfilled.
Blessed is this experience and blessed is the moment. Let this peace continue.
Whatever you do does not matter if underneath, this silence goes on moving like a river.
Your consciousness is a river from eternity to eternity.
Okay, Maneesha?
Yes, Osho.
Can we celebrate ... so many buddhas together under one roof?
Yes!