The Sword and the Lotus
Individual Talk
From:Christianity, the Deadliest Poison and Zen, the Antidote to All Poisons
In stock
"Friends,
"One sannyasin has asked that his parents, and particularly his mother, harass him very much while he is meditating. She says to him, 'Why are you wasting your time sitting here, doing nothing? Who..."
"One sannyasin has asked that his parents, and particularly his mother, harass him very much while he is meditating. She says to him, 'Why are you wasting your time sitting here, doing nothing? Who..."
"Friends,
"One sannyasin has asked that his parents, and particularly his mother, harass him very much while he is meditating. She says to him, 'Why are you wasting your time sitting here, doing nothing? Who..."
Osho continues:
"One sannyasin has asked that his parents, and particularly his mother, harass him very much while he is meditating. She says to him, 'Why are you wasting your time sitting here, doing nothing? Who..."
"But all the religions, particularly Christianity, go on emphasizing, 'Do virtuous acts. Don't sit silently, it is selfish.'
"I have to ask, first: when you succeed as a rich man nobody says to you that it is selfish. Everybody praises you: that is great. When you succeed as a politician and become a president or a prime minister nobody says it is selfish, everybody praises you.
"Thirty million dollars are being spent celebrating President Bush's success. Success is not selfish – do you see the point? – being super-rich is not selfish, creating materials for destruction of the world is not selfish, accumulating nuclear weapons is not selfish.
"And what is your virtue? Is it unmotivated? Are you not being virtuous doing service to the poor, or the sick, or the orphans, in order to get into paradise with all its pleasures? It is simply business. Who says it is virtue?
"I am reminded of an ancient Chinese parable.
"There used to happen in the capital of China every year a festival. Millions of people gathered – the fair lasted for one month – and even the emperor used to come to inaugurate it. But in those days, in China, the water wells were not protected by walls. In darkness one could easily fall into a well, because there was no wall as a protection.
"A man fell into a well. It was getting dark and his eyesight was not good, he was almost blind. He shouted for help, but with millions of people there was so much noise – who is going to hear him?
"A Confucian monk passed by the side of the well and he heard the noise of the man asking for help, to be taken out of the well. The Confucian monk said to him, 'Don't be worried. Our master, Confucius, has written in his books that every water well should have walls, and I am going to create a tremendous uproar in the country!'
"The poor man said, 'By the time you create the great uproar in the whole country and all the wells start having protecting walls, I will be dead. Just think of me first!'
"The monk said, 'Individuals don't matter, what matters is society.' That is the Confucian idea."
"I have to ask, first: when you succeed as a rich man nobody says to you that it is selfish. Everybody praises you: that is great. When you succeed as a politician and become a president or a prime minister nobody says it is selfish, everybody praises you.
"Thirty million dollars are being spent celebrating President Bush's success. Success is not selfish – do you see the point? – being super-rich is not selfish, creating materials for destruction of the world is not selfish, accumulating nuclear weapons is not selfish.
"And what is your virtue? Is it unmotivated? Are you not being virtuous doing service to the poor, or the sick, or the orphans, in order to get into paradise with all its pleasures? It is simply business. Who says it is virtue?
"I am reminded of an ancient Chinese parable.
"There used to happen in the capital of China every year a festival. Millions of people gathered – the fair lasted for one month – and even the emperor used to come to inaugurate it. But in those days, in China, the water wells were not protected by walls. In darkness one could easily fall into a well, because there was no wall as a protection.
"A man fell into a well. It was getting dark and his eyesight was not good, he was almost blind. He shouted for help, but with millions of people there was so much noise – who is going to hear him?
"A Confucian monk passed by the side of the well and he heard the noise of the man asking for help, to be taken out of the well. The Confucian monk said to him, 'Don't be worried. Our master, Confucius, has written in his books that every water well should have walls, and I am going to create a tremendous uproar in the country!'
"The poor man said, 'By the time you create the great uproar in the whole country and all the wells start having protecting walls, I will be dead. Just think of me first!'
"The monk said, 'Individuals don't matter, what matters is society.' That is the Confucian idea."
| Publisher | Osho International |
|---|---|
| Duration of Talk | 206 mins |
| File Size | 50.9 MB |
| Type | Individual Talks |
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