Like a Bright Shining Sun

Individual Talk

From:The Great Zen Master Ta Hui

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"In all the sutras up to now, Ta Hui has not been able to establish himself as an enlightened being. He is trying hard, he is using the most logical and intellectual methods, but they..."
Like a Bright Shining Sun
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"In all the sutras up to now, Ta Hui has not been able to establish himself as an enlightened being. He is trying hard, he is using the most logical and intellectual methods, but they..."

Osho continues:
"Perhaps in the whole world, he is the most famous of those philosophers who are trying to establish that everything is illusory. Without doubt he was a great logician, because he went on conquering other philosophers; he moved all over the country and defeated all other schools of philosophy. He established his philosophy as the only right vision, the only right perspective: that all is maya, illusion.

"Shankaracharya was in Varanasi. One day, early in the morning – it was still dark because traditionally the Hindu monks take a bath before sunrise – he took a bath. And as he was coming up the steps, a man touched him on purpose, not accidentally, and told him, 'Please forgive me. I am a sudra, I am untouchable. I am sorry, but you will have to take another bath to clean yourself.'

"Shankaracharya was very angry. He said, 'It was not accidental, the way you did that; you did it on purpose. You should be punished in hell.'

"The man said, 'When all is illusory, it seems only hell remains real.' That took Shankaracharya aback.

"The man said, 'Before you go for your bath, you have to answer my few questions. If you don't answer me, each time you come up after your bath, I will touch you.'

"It was lonely and nobody else was there, so Shankaracharya said, 'You seem to be a very strange person. What are your questions?'

"He said, 'My first question is: Is my body illusory? Is your body illusory? And if two illusions touch each other, what is the problem? Why are you going to take another bath? You are not practicing what you are preaching. How, in an illusory world, can there be a distinction between the untouchable and the brahmin? – the pure and the impure? – when both are illusory, when both are made of the same stuff as dreams are made of? What is the fuss?'

"Shankaracharya, who had been conquering great philosophers, could not answer this simple man because any answer was going to be against his philosophy. If he says they are illusory, then there is no point in being angry about it. If he says they are real, then at least he accepts the reality of bodies…but then there is a problem."
More Information
Publisher Osho International
Duration of Talk 65 mins
File Size 16.03 MB
Type Individual Talks