Zen: The Path of Paradox - Softcover

OSHO, .

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0312320493 ISBN 13: 9780312320492

Verlag: Griffin, 2003

Inhaltsangabe

In Zen: The Path of Paradox, Osho suggests Zen as a possible bridge between East and West, and between the scientific and the spiritual.

"Without science, the East has lost much; without meditation, the West has lost much. I am trying to bring together East and West, because together they will create the whole."

Osho encourages the reader to throw off the accumulated "knowing" of a lifetime-to let go of physical, mental, and emotional tensions, to relax into the flow of an extraordinary discourse and become receptive to the present moment and the potential within.

Osho challenges readers to examine and break free of the conditioned belief systems and prejudices that limit their capacity to enjoy life in all its richness. He has been described by the Sunday Times of London as one of the "1000 Makers of the 20th Century" and by Sunday Mid-Day (India) as one of the ten people-along with Gandhi, Nehru, and Buddha-who have changed the destiny of India. Since his death in 1990, the influence of his teachings continues to expand, reaching seekers of all ages in virtually every country of the world.

Über diesen Titel

Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

Osho is one of the most provocative and inspiring spiritual teachers of the twentieth century. Known for his revolutionary contribution to the science of inner transformation, the influence of his teachings continues to grow, reaching seekers of all ages in virtually every country of the world. He is the author of many books, including Love, Freedom, Aloneness; The Book of Secrets; and Innocence, Knowledge, and Wonder.

Auszug. © Genehmigter Nachdruck. Alle Rechte vorbehalten.

Zen

The Path of Paradox

By Osho

St. Martin's Press

Copyright © 2001 Osho International Foundation
All rights reserved.

ISBN: 978-0-312-32049-2

Contents

Title Page, 
Copyright Notice, 
Acknowledgments, 
Introduction, 
1. EMPTY SKY, 
2. TOO MUCH ZEN, 
3. THE GOVERNOR OF KYOTO, 
4. THE MAN ON THE HILL, 
5. A GOOD SWIFT KICK, 
6. THE PATH OF PARADOX: Responses to Questions, 
About the Author, 
Copyright, 

CHAPTER 1

EMPTY SKY

Like the empty sky it has no boundaries, yet it is right in this place, ever profound and clear. When you seek to know it, you cannot see it. You cannot take hold of it, but you cannot lose it. In not being able to get it you get it. When you are silent it speaks; when you speak, it is silent. The great gate is wide open to bestow alms, and no crowd is blocking the way.

First, a few fundamentals ...

Zen is not a theology, it is a religion — and religion without a theology is a unique phenomenon. All other religions exist around the concept of God. They have theologies. They are God-centric not man-centric; man is not the end, God is the end. But it is not so for Zen. For Zen, man is the goal; man is the end unto himself. God is not something above humanity, God is something hidden within humanity. Man is carrying God in himself as a potentiality.

So there is no concept of God in Zen. If you want, you can say that it is not even a religion — because how can there be a religion without the concept of God? Certainly those who have been brought up as Christians, Mohammedans, Hindus, Jews, cannot conceive of what sort of religion Zen is. If there is no God then it becomes atheism — it is not. It is theism to the very core, but without a God.

This is the first fundamental to be understood. Let it sink deep within you, then things will become clear.

Zen says that God is not extrinsic to religion, it is intrinsic. It is not there, it is here. In fact there is no "there" for Zen, all is here. God is not then, God is now — and there is no other time. There is no other space, no other time. This moment is all. In this moment the whole existence converges, in this moment all is available. If you cannot see it, that does not mean that it is not available — it simply means you don't have the vision to see it. God has not to be searched for, you have only to open your eyes. God is already the case.

Prayer is irrelevant in Zen — to whom to pray? There is no God sitting there somewhere in the heavens and controlling life and existence. There is no controller. Life is moving in a harmony, of its own accord. There is nobody outside it giving it commandments. When there is an outside authority it creates a kind of slavery. A Christian becomes a slave, the same happens to a Mohammedan. When God is there commanding, you can be at the most a servant or a slave. You lose all dignity.

Not so with Zen. Zen gives you tremendous dignity. There is no authority anywhere. Freedom is utter and ultimate.

Had Friederich Nietzsche known anything about Zen he might have turned into a mystic rather than going mad. He had stumbled upon a great fact. He said, There is no God. God is dead — and man is free. But basically he was brought up in the world of the Jews and the Christians, a very narrow world, very much confined within concepts. He stumbled upon a great truth: There is no God. God is dead, hence man is free. He stumbled upon the dignity of freedom, but it was too much. For his mind it was too much. He went mad, he went berserk. Had he known anything like Zen he would have turned into a mystic — there was no need to go mad.

One can be religious without a God. In fact, how can one be religious with a God? That is the question Zen asks, a very disturbing question. How can a man be religious with a God? — because God will destroy your freedom, God will dominate you. You can look into the Old Testament. God says, I am a very jealous God and I cannot tolerate any other God. Those who are not with me are against me. And I am a very violent and cruel God and I will punish you and you will be thrown into eternal hellfire. How can man be religious with such a God? How can you be free and how can you bloom? Without freedom there is no flowering. How can you come to your optimum manifestation when there is a God confining you, condemning you, forcing you this way and that, manipulating you?

Zen says that with God, man will remain a slave; with God, man will remain a worshipper; with God, man will remain in fear. In fear how can you bloom? You will shrink, you will become dry, you will start dying. Zen says that when there is no God there is tremendous freedom, there is no authority in existence. Hence there arises great responsibility. Look — if you are dominated by somebody you cannot feel responsible. Authority necessarily creates irresponsibility; authority creates resistance; authority creates reaction, rebellion in you — you would like to kill God.

That's what Nietzsche means when he says God is dead — it is not that God has committed suicide, he has been murdered. He has to be murdered. With him there is no possibility to be free — only without him. But then Nietzsche himself became very afraid. To live without God requires great courage, to live without God requires great meditation, to live without God requires great awareness — that was not there. That's why I say he stumbled upon the fact, it was not a discovery. He was groping in the dark.

For Zen it is a discovery. It is an established truth: There is no God. Man is responsible for himself and for the world he lives in. If there is suffering, you are responsible; there is nobody else to look to. You cannot throw off your responsibility. If the world is ugly and is in pain, we are responsible; there is nobody else. If we are not growing we cannot throw the responsibility on somebody else's shoulders. We have to take the responsibility.

When there is no God you are thrown back to yourself. Growth happens. You have to grow. You have to take hold of your life, you have to take the reins in your own hands. Now you are the master. You have to be more alert and more aware because for whatsoever is going to happen, you will be responsible. This gives great responsibility. One starts becoming more alert, more aware. One starts living in a totally different way. One becomes more watchful. One becomes a witness.

And there is no beyond. ... The beyond is within you, there is no beyond beyond you. In Christianity the beyond is beyond; in Zen the beyond is within. So the question is not to raise your eyes to the sky and pray — that is meaningless, you are praying to an empty sky. The sky is far lower in consciousness than you. Somebody is praying to a tree. ... Many Hindus go and pray to a tree, many Hindus go to the Ganges and pray to the river, many pray to a stone statue, many pray to the sky or many pray to a concept, an idea. The higher is praying to the lower.

Prayer is meaningless, Zen says. Only meditation — it is not that you have to kneel down before somebody, drop this old habit of slavery; all that is needed is that you have to become quiet and silent and go withinward to find your center. That very center is the center of existence too. When you have come to your innermost core you have come to the innermost core of existence itself. That's what God is in Zen. But they don't call it God. It is...

Details zur Ausgabe

• Verlag: Griffin
• Erscheinungsdatum: 2003
• Sprache: Englisch
• ISBN 10: 0312320493
• ISBN 13: 9780312320492
• Einband: Taschenbuch
• Anzahl der Seiten: 194
• Kontakt zum Hersteller: Nicht verfügbar
• Verantwortliche Person: gpsr@libri.de; gpsr@libri.de; ; Europaallee 1; Bad Hersfeld; 36244; Deutschland