Chapter 11 Chapter 10 Man is Born of the Tao

Needs can be satisfied, but desires cannot.Desire is a mad need.Needs are simple, they come from nature; desires are very complex, they do not come from nature.They are created by thought.Needs are here and now, they are created by life itself.Desires are not here and now, they are always towards the future.They are not created by life itself, they are created by thought.Desires are artifacts, they are not real needs.This is the first thing to remember, the deeper you understand, the better.What is desire?It is the movement of the mind into the future.Needs belong to the here and now -- if you are hungry, it is a need that has to be fulfilled.This is no problem.If you are thirsty, you are thirsty here and now, you have to find water.It has to be met -- so it is a need of life.But desire is not like that.You want to be the president of a country.It is not a need, it is an ambition, it is a self-construction of the future.Either you yearn for heaven - that is also in the future, or you yearn for God - that is still in the future.Remember, needs are always here and now - they are present.Desires are never here and now -- they don't exist.They are only mental, in the mind.They are insatiable because their very nature tends toward the future.

They are like the horizon you see.It looks like the earth meets the sky somewhere nearby.It's so obvious!You can walk there!But you go on and on forever and ever, and that distance is always the same; always somewhere ahead the earth meets the sky.But you will never get to that place, where the earth meets the sky.They never intersect.It's just an appearance, what Hinduism calls an illusion: it appears, but it's not like that.If you stand at a distance, it appears.The closer you get, the more you realize it's not like that.The horizon moves farther and farther away, and the distance between you and it is always the same.

Your distance from your desire is always the same.How can you satisfy it?If you want 1 rupee, you might get it someday.But the moment you get them, desire will be doubled again.You have 1000 rupees and desire will ask for 10 thousand.Now you have 10k, desire will ask for 10.The distance is still the same.You might have 10 - it's no different.Another 10x and desire will remain as it is. The need is simple.They are satisfying.You eat when you're hungry, drink when you're thirsty, and sleep when you're sleepy. Desires are very cunning and complex.You're frustrated, but not out of need.You are frustrated by desire.If desires occupy too much of your energy, you will not even be able to satisfy your needs, because, who will satisfy them?You are moving into the future; you are thinking about the future; your mind is dreaming.Who will meet the ordinary needs of the day?you are not here.You'd rather be hungry than reach the horizon.You would rather delay the need, and the full energy flows to the desire.But in the end, you find that desires are not fulfilled because needs are ignored, and in the end you are just a waste.Lost time cannot be regained, you cannot go back.

There is a story about an old wise man named Mencius.He was a follower of Confucius and he didn't die until very, very old.He was asked, "If you were given life again, how would you begin?" Mencius said, "I will pay more attention to my needs and less to my desires." This realization will come to you too.But it always comes very late, when life is out of your hands.If you were given life again... Need is beautiful; desire is ugly.Needs are physical; desires are psychological.But look at your saints and prophets: they are always condemning your needs, always helping you to create your desires.They say, "What are you doing? Just eating? Sleeping? Wasting your life? Trying to get close to heaven! Heaven is the ultimate desire. Paradise awaits you and you're wasting your life on ordinary things - just Grow like a plant. Get up and run, for there is not much time left! Reach out! Knock on Heaven's door! Reach God! But don't stand here!"

They always condemn your needs, they always help your desires.That's why the world has become so ugly - everyone is full of desires and no one's needs are being met.That which satisfies is neglected, and that which cannot be satisfied is fed.This is human suffering.Chuang Tzu is toward need.Satisfy them, don't ask for desires.Just drop the thought, because there is no future, only reality.how beautiful it is!When you feel hungry, you eat -- there is no future.When you get so absorbed in eating, it becomes a paradise in itself.That's what Jesus said, "Don't think about tomorrow." Look at the lilies of the field, they don't store up, they don't think, they don't worry about the future.They bloom here and now.Look at the lily in bloom - it will take care of itself tomorrow.

You are just here and now.This moment is enough, don't ask for more.This is the real sage - a man who lives in the moment, for whom this moment is enough.He is satisfied.There is no heaven for him, he is heaven.For him there is no god, he himself has become divinity itself.It will be very difficult because whatever I say goes against the teachings and poisons of many centuries.Eat when you feel hungry and make eating a celebration in that moment.celebrate!Because who knows, the next moment you might not be there.Hunger may be gone, and so is this beautiful bread.Thirst may be gone, and this river may be gone.drink it!Let yourself be here until time stops, because time is not moving - your mind is moving.If you are in this moment, fully focused, enjoying with your whole being, time stops.There is no movement in time, no horizon, and no pursuit of it.But everyone hurried to the horizon.

Once Mulla Nasrudin went to a hospital.The surgeon who will perform the operation said: "We believe in speed here, we don't waste a little time. On the first day after the operation, you have to walk in the room for 5 minutes; on the second day, walk for half an hour to go outside the hospital; On the third day, a long walk of an hour. We don't waste time here. Life is short and time is money. It must be saved." Mulla Nasrudin said: "There is only one problem - do you mind if I Lay down for surgery?" Everyone is in a hurry.Where are you going in such a hurry?Have you ever seen someone get there?Have you ever heard of someone who got there in a hurry, impatiently, with speed?We hear of some who arrived by stopping, but we never hear of those who arrived by running.Buddha stopped and arrived.Jesus stopped and arrived.Zhuangzi stopped and arrived.You take your purpose with you and there is nowhere else to go.But desire leads you to distant places, distant times, distant destinations.The more greedy you are, the more hasty you are, you will go on missing yourself -- frustrated, shaken, until you die you are a waste.

But in that waste the desire is still there.You gather all the desires you've experienced throughout your life, and your thoughts say, "You failed because you didn't try hard enough. Look, other people succeeded. Look at other people, they succeeded, and you failed because you didn't run fast enough." Be ready next time." You concentrate the whole of this mentality in one seed, and you are born again, and the whole vicious circle starts again.where are you going?Is there somewhere I can go?Even when you get somewhere you are yourself.Even if you became a president at the moment, this country or some other country, do you think anything would change?You will be the same -- the same frustrated existence, the same ambitious existence, the same tensions, the same anxieties, the same nightmares.

Mulla Nasrudin once visited his therapist.Psychiatrist said: "What is the problem this time?" Mulla Nasrudin said: "I am having a nightmare and it repeats every night. Help me! I cannot sleep, it has become a heavy burden in my head Something has to be done!" He was in real trouble, his eyes were red and swollen, and his whole body looked as if he hadn't slept in many, many months.The psychiatrist paid attention.He said: "Tell me, tell me that nightmare, what is it?" Nasrudin said: "Every night I have a dream, a terrible dream. This dream is me alone with 12 beauties "The psychiatrist said: "I don't understand, what's so terrible about it? There are 12 beauties, and you are alone with them, what's so terrible about it?" Nasrudin said: "Have you tried to love 12 women? Alone? On an island?" But you are loving 12,000 women -- each desire is a woman.Your whole life becomes a nightmare: so many desires, so many horizons, so many things to do before life is lost.That's why you are in such a hurry -- you can't go anywhere.You run and run and run until you fall into the arms of death.Death is the end of all your endeavors.

Remember, first of all, need to be beautiful.This is the difference between the other sages, the so-called sages, and Chuang Tzu - need is beautiful, desire is ugly.The difference is: Needs come from the body, desires are created from the mind.Animals, birds, trees are happy because they have no intention to desire; they are happy wherever they are.They live, they die, but they are never distressed, never tense.This is the first thing to remember - the distinction, the clear distinction between desire and need.Accept needs, there is nothing wrong with them, but let go of desires - everything is wrong with them, because they do not let you live in the here and now.And that is the only possible existence.No other exists.

Open up like the lily of the field, sing like a bird in the woods, let loose like a wild animal! Don't listen to the poisoner, enjoy the simple needs of your body.How much do you need?One needs food, one needs water, one needs shade, one needs a love -- that's everything.If there were not so many desires, the whole world would be a garden of Eden at this moment.We cannot focus on simple needs because of desires.See... even the animals can have their needs met, but man can't have his needs met.Why are people poor?Not because the earth is poor, but because man is mad, he puts more energy into desire.Reaching the moon seems more important than feeding the poor.What is the use of reaching the moon?what will you doBut this is the whole tendency of the mind.The money America wasted on going to the moon can feed the whole of Asia and all the backward countries can be developed.What do you get by going to the moon?Now the American flag is on the moon - that's what you get.No one even saw it!Now other planets are targeted.The Moon has been conquered - now the other planets must be conquered.What is this moon madness for?What is this insane madness for? The word "Lunatic" (crazy) is very good, it comes from "luna", the moon.A madman is always a moon maniac, stimulated by the moon; the moon is always the goal of all madmen.The first time they reached their goal, they landed on the moon.But what do they get out of it?When you land on the moon, the target moves forward again, and the horizon advances.Now you have to go to another planet - and then another.Why such a waste of life and energy?So called religion condemns your need.This became their watchword - not to enjoy but to have faith. "Skimming" is what they condemn.Whenever they want to accuse anyone, they say, "He believes in eating, drinking, and merrymaking." But Chuang Tzu says, "Eat, drink, and play. If you're totally immersed in this, you're Tao, and you don't need anything. Simple Go with nature, don't force nature in any direction. Don't become a warrior, a fighter, a soldier against life. Surrender to life and let life happen through you." That's the first thing. Second thing: everyone looks for safety.But then, you are looking for an impossible.Whenever you search for an impossibility, you encounter frustration.It's impossible, security is not the nature of things.Insecurity is the true soul of life.Insecurity is a real taste: just as the sea tastes salty, so wherever you taste life, it tastes insecurity.Only death is safe.Life by its very nature must be insecure.Why?Whenever a thing is alive it changes; only a dead thing never changes.Whenever there is change there is insecurity.What does change mean?Change means going from the known to the unknown.The basis of all insecurity is your wanting to cling to the known. Look at it this way: a child is in the mother's womb.If you want to be safe, it is best to stay in the womb and not come out.Can you have a safer situation, a safer position than being in the womb forever? Children have no responsibilities - no jobs, no offices, no problems to solve.Everything is resolved automatically.The child doesn't even have to breathe on his own, the mother breathes for him.The child's heart beats with the mother's heartbeat, and the mother's blood keeps feeding the child.He is totally in heaven.Can you think of a better paradise than the womb--comfortable, deep sleep, not even a flickering dream, in a quiet sleepy eye?Then, birth came!Psychologists say birth is very traumatic because the child is thrown out, uprooted from his safety.A proper home, the most comfortable...we can't build anything like it.No sound enters: it's as if the world never existed.The child does not have to make any choices, is not divided; there is no training, no conditioning.He just enjoys himself as if he were the center of the world. Then suddenly birth came.It is traumatic; insecurity enters the child's being for the first time.Now he has to breathe; now he has to cry when he feels hungry, when he feels thirsty, when he feels sick.He has to make his own arrangements, he has to start worrying.He would worry if his mother wasn't there.He peed wet, he cried and cried and no one heard him.Now came the tension, the insecurity; he was always afraid that his mother would leave him.The mother keeps threatening: "Listen to me or I will leave you." The mother even threatens the child saying: "Listen, follow or I will die." This is a threat!The child trembled in his heart.He has to follow, he has to arrange, he has to fake and put on a mask.He has to play the part - even if he doesn't want to smile, he has to smile if the mother comes.He has to become a politician and care about what other people think of him, or he won't feel safe. Now he will never be as safe as he was in the womb.what should he doShould he be in the womb?It seems that the child is dependent, he does not want to come out.Many times the doctor's help was needed to bring the child out - on which his whole being depended.He rebels; he wants to exist as he is, known.Can you think of something that is more unknown and foreign to the child than the world?He opened his eyes, everything was strange, and there were voices all around.He becomes frightened.He will grow, and as he grows, more insecurity is born.Sooner or later he will be sent to school - now even home is no longer his base.Every kid rebels.You won't find a kid going to school happily - unless it's hell at home.No child wants to go to school, he resists, he depends on his mother - he is thrown out of the house.Then he will start to depend on the school. If you go to a university and feel the pulse of the students, no one wants to leave a university. There are many examples of people unconsciously making arrangements that fail over and over again, thinking that college is safe.Father takes care, he sends money, you just live like a prince.The world still doesn't come in, but the whole world drags you into insecurity, and sooner or later you're going to have to be thrown out of school.It is no accident that people all over the world refer to universities as "mothers".It is interesting.It is the mother -- you are still a child and society is taking care of you.But you still move more and more into insecurity day by day. Mother has a sense of security.Mother will love you whether you love her or not.It's a one-way traffic, and she will naturally love you.But now you have to look for a woman who doesn't love you naturally.You must love her.If you need love, you must give love.To a mother that's different, everything is taken for granted.But with another woman it will not be so; you have to get love from this woman, and that's why there is a constant struggle.A man wants his wife to be like his mother.But why should she be his mother?She is not a mother, she is a wife.She was in the same situation - she wanted that man - her husband, to be her father. What is its significance?A mother's love is unconditional.It's given to you, she shares.A father's love is unconditional - just because you are his child and he loves you, there is no need to acquire it.But when you go into the world you have to get the love of the husband, the love of the wife.It can be withdrawn at any time.Fear, insecurity... so marriage comes into existence because lovers are so insecure they want legal support.So the government protects them, and society protects them.Otherwise, what is the need for marriage?If there is true love, you don't have to get married.Why?There is a fear that love may be there today, but who knows tomorrow?If love is gone, what will you do?What will you rely on?Laws, courts, governments -- they become safe.Then you can go to court, you can ask for love. Every society makes divorce as difficult as possible and marriage as easy as possible.It seems odd that it should be just the opposite—marriage should be as difficult as possible.Because two people go into an unknown world; let them wait, watch, think, ponder, meditate.give them time.In my opinion there should be at least 3 years before the courts allow anyone to marry.I don't think anyone would ever get married then! 3 years!impossible!After the honeymoon it was all over.Then people depend on each other, because if they separate, there will be laws, security and problems that will follow.The child comes, and now marriage becomes a duty, not a joy, not an ecstasy.If you are anxious and have no joy, society is always happy, because a joyful person is not available.Only a worried man can be exploited; only a worried man can be fashioned into a slave.A joyful man can never be a slave, he is too dangerous for society.He is rebellious, he does not need society -- that is what a blissful existence means.He alone is enough.If he does not need society, society cannot impose things on him.Society wants you to worry, to be uncomfortable, then you will depend on it.Then you will go to court and you will look at the judge as if he is some god.Then the government, the country, the police, everything becomes important because you worry.But if you rejoice...the lovers forget them, but not the married ones.Lovers forget about the policeman, don't need him at all.Their love is enough, but when the love is gone, it takes the police to keep them together.A policeman is needed - now if you separate, he will cause trouble.Just to avoid trouble, people continue to live together. Life is dangerous, but that is the beauty of it -- it is insecure, because insecurity is the essence of movement, of energy, of life.The more lifeless you are, the safer you are.There is no danger when you are in your grave.What else could happen to you?there is nothing!When you die, no one will hurt you.But when you're alive, you're vulnerable and you get hurt.But I tell you, that's the beauty of life. A morning flower cannot believe that in the evening it will go away.But that's the beauty of it -- in the morning it's so glorious, so majestic, like an emperor, and at night it's gone.Just think of a flower made of stone or plastic—it stays.It stays, it will never fade.But when something never fades it means it never blooms.Marriage is a plastic flower, love is a real flower - it blooms in the morning and dies at night.The marriage goes on, it has a permanence.But in this world without eternity, what is truly eternal? Everything that is real must exist in this moment.There is insecurity; any minute it will go away.The flowers that bloom will wither; the sun that has risen will set.Everything will change.But if you are unduly afraid of being unsafe you will make arrangements.With those arrangements you will kill everything -- the wife is a dead loved one, the husband is a murdered lover.Then things worked out, no issues.But then the whole life was boring as hell. I'm not saying love can't last forever - it can.But insecurity is what it is; you can't make it permanent.remember!You have to move every moment.If it withers, you have to accept it; if it stays open, you enjoy it.It depends.But you can't feel safe about it.How can you feel safe about the future?Who knows if you are still here?If you can't even be safe with yourself, what about your love? But you keep committing and you don't know what you're doing.When you love someone, you feel that you will love him forever and ever.It's a feeling right now.Don't turn it into a promise.Just say, "At this moment, I feel like I will always love you forever, but I don't know how I'm going to feel the next moment." No one can say anything about the next moment, no one can promise.If you commit, you're living in a plastic world.Promises cannot be given.This is the truth and sincerity of love, which cannot be promised.But everyone wants commitment, just to be safe; the more scared you are, the more commitment you demand.That's why women want more commitment than men, they are more afraid, they naturally feel more insecure.They want to make everything eternal, only then will they take a step.So you keep making false promises that you can't keep.Every promise is broken.With every promise your heart breaks, so do others.With every promise gone, life becomes futile and meaningless; the poetry is lost, it becomes a flat prose, a legal phenomenon.You come to make love to your wife.It becomes a legal matter, you have to do it, it's not spontaneous.You have to kiss your baby, it's not spontaneous, you have to do it, it's a responsibility. Responsibility is the ugliest thing, I tell you, love is the most beautiful thing; responsibility is the ugliest. Love is an unknown phenomenon, you cannot manipulate it.Responsibility is a social product.Now the wife says, "You have to love me; it's your responsibility, you made a promise!" You know you made a promise.So what can you do?What if the love is gone, or you don't feel in love at this moment, or you don't want to have sex tonight?It's just that you have to cheat to keep past promises.So you say, "Well, yes, I made a promise." What are you going to do?Can you promise love as requested?Is this possible?did it happen?Can you make love? You can't, but you will pretend.That pretense will become more and more fixed because spontaneity is not allowed.Then everyone feels cheated, because a feigned love cannot be fulfilled.Everyone knows it's fake and you can see through it.You do all the acts of love, but there is no love.It is like a yoga practice: the movement is there, the posture is there, but the mind is absent.You are somewhere else, dutiful or required, but you also feel: Yes, I made a promise. I tell you, promises may be all right, but every promise is temporary.You can't guarantee that you will be there tomorrow, how can you guarantee that your love is still there?You can only say this is the feeling of the moment: I will love you forever and ever, but it is a temporary feeling - what can I do if things are gone in the next moment?But security creates problems -- you need security for everything, that's why everything becomes false. Life is not safe!Let this truth penetrate you deeper and deeper.Let it be a seed deep within you that life is not safe.This is its nature and there is nothing you can do about it - everything you do will be harmful.You will only kill.The more secure you feel, the less alive you will be.Look at the people who are really safe by the wealth, the privilege, the castles that surround them - you'll see them dead.Just look at their faces, eyes, it looks as if they are made of stone.Their faces look like masks, they are "characters"; their actions are automatic, they are not within them, they are imprisoned rather than fluid - frozen and immobile.They do not dance and run like rivers, towards the sea.They are dead, stagnant ponds that go nowhere and flow nowhere.Every moment you have to face the unknown.This is not safe: the past is gone, the future is not yet here.The future is unpredictable, and every moment you stand at the door of the unpredictability.This must be welcome.Every unknown moment is a guest. In India we have a very beautiful word for guests, no other language has that word.It is atithi.It means: a person who comes without warning, a person who visits without any appointment. Atithi means "no date"; he doesn't have an appointment with you, he just knocks on the door.But we are so crazy and obsessed with security, we even kill the guests.If a guest comes, he must first inform you and ask for permission before coming.Because you have to prepare the room for him, you have to make arrangements.No one will suddenly knock on your door. In the West the guest disappears altogether; even when he comes, he lives in a hotel.There are no more guests, because the West is more entwined with security than the East.Of course, because of that entanglement they amassed more wealth, more defenses, more bank balances.Everything is insured, but people are dead.Now there is no atithi, now there is no stranger knocking on your door, the unknown stops coming to you.Everything becomes known, and you enter a vicious circle of the known.You go from one known to another known, from that known to another, and you say, "Why is there no meaning to life?" Meaning comes from the unknown, from the strange, from the unexpected knock on your door -- a A flower suddenly opens and you never expect it; a friend suddenly happens to be in the street and you never wait.Love blossoms suddenly and you don't even know it's coming, you don't even think about it, you don't even dream about it.Then life has meaning.Then life has a dance.Then every step is joyful, because it is not a step full of responsibilities, it is a step into the unknown.The river goes to the sea. Insecurity is the essence of Tao.Don't create security -- otherwise you isolate yourself from nature, from the Tao.The safer you are, the further away you will be.Step into the unknown and let the unknown follow its own path.Don't force it, don't push the river, let it flow, don't promise anyone a rose garden.When you love, be innocent and honest.When you love, be innocent and honest, just say, "This is how I feel right now, and I'll tell you when the next moment comes"... as if this moment is the whole of life.I tell you, if you love like this in this moment, you will love even more in the next moment, because the next moment is born of this moment.But that's not a promise, it's not an insurance.If you love so completely in one moment, you will love even more completely in the next moment.This seems absurd - how can it be "more" at all?But it happens. Life is ridiculous.If you love with total innocence, honesty, and openness in this moment, why be afraid of the next moment?You will be open.Even if this flower withers, another flower will come.Don't care about this flower.Life keeps blooming in this flower, in that flower, sometimes in this tree, sometimes in another tree.But life goes on and the flowers wither.It means that the visible withers, and the invisible continues.So why care?But you care because you miss this moment, that's why you make safety in the next moment.You have not lived this moment; that is why you are so afraid of the unknown.You are creating security for how you will live your life in the next moment.It is a vicious circle, because you will exist with all your habits, patterns, dead routines.You kill this moment, you also kill the next moment. Forget about the future!To live in the present moment, to be so completely immersed in it, and everything that comes out of that totality will be a blessing.Even if the flowers wither, it will be beautiful.Have you ever actually watched a flower wither?it is beautiful.It has a kind of sadness, but who told you that sadness is not beautiful?Who told you that only laughter is beautiful?I tell you if there is no sadness in the laughter it is shallow.If there is no smile in sorrow, it is dead.They are not opposites, they enrich each other. When you laugh with a deep sadness, there is depth in the laughter.There is a joy in your sorrow when it smiles.Life is not divided into parts; life is against any division.It is your thoughts that make the airlock.Life is overflowing -- it knows not the difference between life and death; it knows not the difference between blooming and withering; it knows not the difference between sunrise and sunset.It operates between these poles.These are the two banks, and the river just flows between them. Don't worry about the future.Live this moment so completely that the next moment out of it is golden.It will take care of itself.That's what Jesus said - don't think about tomorrow, tomorrow will take care of itself.You don't have to worry about it. Life is insecurity, and if you can live insecurity, that is the only security possible.Happy is the man who can survive insecurity because he is the only one who is safe, safe in the arms of life itself.His safety is not man-made, its safety is the Tao, the ultimate source.Life takes care of you, why do you worry so much about taking care of yourself?Why isolate yourself from life?Why uproot yourself from your life?Life feeds you, life breathes in you, life lives in you.Why do you worry so much about yourself?A man who worries too much about himself is a housekeeper, a man who does not worry about himself is a sannyasin, a man who says "life takes care of me".This is what I mean by sannyas.It is not a renunciation of life, it is a renunciation of self-care.It is not giving up life, it is giving up worries, concerns, a kind of excessive pretension, a kind of excessive push to the river.The river brought you to this moment, this shore, and the river will bring you to many other shores.why worry?The birds are not worried, the trees are not worried.Man is the most conscious being, why should he worry?If the Tao looks after a rock, if the Tao looks after a river, if the Tao looks after a tree, why do you doubt that life will look after you?You are the supreme flower of life at this moment.Life must take care of you more than anything else.Life favors you more because you have more dangers -- you are a challenge.Life becomes conscious through you; life becomes more and more conscious through you.You are going to a summit -- life is trying to go to a summit through you.So life will take care.Go with life, don't take care of your ego, you yourself are given up.For me this is sannyas. My sannyas is completely different; it is not at all the old concept.The old concept is to leave life, to give up life, the old concept is just the opposite of me - it is very concerned about yourself, you have to take care of yourself, you have to take care of your meditation, your yoga, you have to take care of your practice, you Care must be taken to see yourself reaching God before anyone else.My sannyas is just the opposite.I say you need not worry -- you will arrive, but you will not arrive by worrying.You don't even have to make any effort.Inaction.Let your whole life flow downstream and you will arrive.Life looks after.In your own hand you are in the hand of a danger; in the hand of the Tao you are in the hand of the mother -- the ultimate mother.Now listen to these words: Fish are born in water, and people are born in Tao. Zhuangzi said that just as fish are born in water, so people are born in Tao.Water takes care of the fish, Tao takes care of you.你是道中的鱼，自然——你把它称作神，庄子机敏地故意从来不用那个词，因为它背负着那么多的胡说八道。他只是用道——一个更加自然的词。 《吠陀经》用Rit这个词，Rit就是道，自然。人生于道，那就是为什么我们不能感觉到它。鱼不觉得水，它们知道得太深因为它们是由它而生的。它们与它共存，从未有过分离。鱼从不知道水是什么。它们在其中运动，它们在其中生存，在其中死去，它们进入其中又消失在其中，但它们不知道水是什么。 据说曾经有一条幼鱼非常担忧，她听说那么多海洋的事情，她想知道海洋是什么。她去问了一条又一条聪明的鱼。她去寻找一位师父。有许多师父——鱼有它们自己的师父。它们说了许多事情，因为当你去找一位师父，即使他不懂，他也要说些什么，只是为了保持他的师道尊严。它们说了许多关于海洋的事情，但那条鱼并不满足，因为她想要尝尝它。 一个师父说："太远了，要到那里很困难；极少有人到达海洋。别傻了。你必须为此准备几百万世。这不是一件平常的事，它是一项伟大的任务。首先净化你自己，做一些帕坦加利八重道瑜伽的正坐（asanas）。" 有人是佛教徒，他说："这没有用。走佛教的路吧，佛教的八戒会有帮助——首先完全地净化，没有不纯的东西留下，那时只有你才被准许去看海洋。"然后另一个人说："在加里约加，这个年头，只有念诵南无的名字才有用。念诵南无，南无，南无——只有靠他的恩典你才能到达。"鱼总是在海洋里的。她找了又找，翻查了许多经文，许多教条，寻问了许多空谈家、医生，拜访了许多修行者，但是，什么地方也没有去成，她变得越来越困惑。海洋在哪里？它成了一种缠绕。然后有一天她碰到一条鱼，一条非常普通的鱼——他一定像庄子那样，只是普通。没有谁会想到这条鱼会是一个师父，只是过着一种平常的鱼的生活。这条鱼说："别疯了，别傻了。你已经在海洋里了，你在周围看到的一切就是海洋。它不是非常遥远，它就在近旁，那就是你为什么看不见它。因为要看一种东西，距离是必须的；要有一种透视，空间是必须的。它是那么近，你无法看见它；它在你外部，它在你内里，你只是海洋中的一股波浪——一个部分，是它的能量的缩影。" 但寻求者不相信。寻求者说："看来你是疯了。我拜访了许多师父，他们都说它非常遥远。首先你必须净化，做瑜伽，修炼戒律、性格、道德，有宗教信仰，通过许多仪式，那样在几百万世之后它出现了。如果你果真抵达了海洋，那也是神的恩典。" 但庄子是真实的。海洋就在你周围。你在其中，你不会是别的样子。如果神不在你之中呼吸，你怎么能生活？谁在你之中呼吸？谁进入了你的血液？谁消化你的食物？谁在你之中做遥远的梦想？谁诞生了诗歌和爱情？谁以一种莫名的节奏在你的心中跳动？谁是你生命中的音乐？神是遥远的，这怎么可能呢？如果神是遥远的，你怎么会在这里？你怎么会存在？这是不可能的，因为神就是生命，你是生命本身的结晶。 你是神——也许是缩影，但你是神。我不是说将来有一天你将像神；我说此地，就在这一刻，你就是。无论你知道或者你不知道，这没有什么不同——你是神。别的情况是不可能的。它可能需要几百万世去觉知，但那不是因为距离的遥远，而是因为你做得愚蠢；不是因为你不纯洁，而是因为你无知。除了觉知不需要别的戒律——只是渐渐地觉知近旁，只是渐渐地觉知什么已经接触你的皮肤，什么在内心搏动，什么在你的血液中流淌——只是渐渐地觉知近旁的东西。要触及近旁你必须活在此时，因为如果你活在将来你就进入了距离。于是你在一段遥远的旅程中，而神在此地，你已经把它留在身后。庄子说： 鱼生于水，人生于道。如果鱼，生于水，寻求池和潭中深深的遮蔽，它们所有的需求都满足了。需要——是；欲望——不。如果一条鱼成了一名政治家，不。但它们不会愚蠢得去当政治家。鱼不像人那么愚蠢。它们只是活着，它们享受，它们吃、喝，而且快乐。它们跳舞。它们对于所给予它们的最小的池塘都是那么感激。它们在里面很高兴。看着鱼在池塘里跳跃、快活、这里那里地游。看来它们没有目标，没有野心，它们的需要满足了。当它们累的时候，它们进入池和潭的遮蔽处。它们休息。当能量到来时它们移动、跳舞、漂浮、游泳；当它们又累了，它们游进遮蔽处休息。它们的生活是一种休息与行动的节奏。 你失去了节奏。你行动但是没有休息。你去商店但你从不回家——即使你回来，商店进入了你的头脑。你从不在池塘、在水潭中寻找遮蔽处。那就是静心的全部意义——寻找池塘，寻找遮蔽处。那就是祈祷的全部意义——从有为进入无为。那就是宗教的全部意义。 行动……你动得太多，你失去了平衡，现在静下来，于是平衡又复得了。有为，但不要忘记无为与有为有着同等的需要。因为有为是进入世界，无为是进入内在。它就像任何其他东西的节奏。白天你醒着，晚上你睡眠。这是一种节奏。白天你是有意识的，晚上你变得无意识。你吃，然后你必须有几小时禁食。又一次，饥饿来了，你吃，然后你必须再次有几小时禁食。如果你只是一味地吃，你会发疯，如果你一味地禁食你将死去。一种节奏是需要的。一种对立面的节奏是生活的最高秘诀。 始终记住对立面。但是意念说：为什么对立面？What is the need?为什么要矛盾？如果你可以醒着那就醒着。为什么去睡觉？有些科学家一直认为如果他们能把人从睡眠中救出，那么会节省更多的生命。他们说："如果你要活90年，30年将在睡眠中失去，这是一种太大的浪费。"科学家们比道更聪明——一种太大的浪费，你的意念也会说："对了，如果可以省下30年，生活将会更加丰富。"但我告诉你，你将只是变得疯狂。如果你的30年睡眠失去了，你也许会醒90年，但你将会狂乱。世界将是一个恶梦。只要想想一个人90年不睡觉。与这么一个人生活在一起是不可能的，因为他将永不放松，他将是紧张、紧张再紧张。整个世界将会变成一个疯人院——它已经是了！ 节奏是必须的——你必须醒来，你必须进入睡眠。睡眠在生活中不是一个对立面吗？它只是在逻辑上是对立的。因为当你睡得很沉，你在早晨就变得能胜任更多的活动，更加觉醒。如果昨晚你美美地、深深地安睡，你享受它，你完全放松在其中，你完全忘了你自己，那么今天早晨你会完全地再生般地、鲜活地起来，充满了再次进入行动的能量。如果你整天在以一种强大的能量活动，不是温热地，而是真正地活动，那么你将会再有一个更好的睡眠。行动的彻底完成带来放松；放松的彻底完成带来更多的行动。生命通过对立面而丰富。但逻辑相信对立面永不会晤。因为逻辑的思考，整个西方变得不平衡。 一直在减少睡眠，因为据说你只有在你醒着的时候才享受；在睡眠中没有享受，于是不停地把你的清醒深深地推入夜晚。所以在西方，当他们去睡觉时，已经在跳舞、吃喝、会友、讨论、争辩、闲聊中，在俱乐部、旅馆、剧院里度过了半个夜晚。只要你能够醒着，你就醒着，将清醒深深地推入夜晚。他们推进得那么多，当他们上床时，他们总是半心半意地。因为如果可以整晚都醒着的话，他们似乎会更多地享受——他们会多去一个剧院，多跳几个舞，多会几个朋友；或者他们可能积聚更多的钱财，多赌一点。他们总是半心半意地上床，然后他们抱怨失眠——他们无法入睡。内心深处你不想入睡。 我从未见过一个真正想睡觉的失眠者。如果他要它，将有睡眠。他不想要它。内心深处他想要一种有为的生活，完全地有为，没有休息。因为通过休息你不能挣钱，那就是问题。通过休息你不能赢得选举，通过休息商店不会变得更大，通过休息你能成就什么？休息无法实现抱负——抱负需要行动。欲望需要行动；政治、金钱，一切都需要行动。睡眠是纯粹的浪费。如果你的意念被欲望所缠绕，你半心半意地上床，好像它是一种强制——然后你觉得你无法入睡。半心半意地，你制造对抗。因为你已经过多地进入了欲望、行动，它们继续在意念之中。身体想睡觉，但意念继续是活跃的。 就在另一天，一个人来说："当我静心的时候，思维在继续。如何阻止它们？"于是我告诉他怎么做。然后他说："但是我爱思考。"那为什么试图阻止它？他说："因为这些想法我不能入睡，我不能放松。但我仍然爱思考。" That's the problem.你爱思考因为思考能够有助于完成某事：你能够成为一位伟大的思想家，或者，通过思考，你能够成为一名伟大的领袖。你曾经听说过有任何人通过睡眠成为一名伟大领袖了吗？他们都指责睡眠，他们都指责懒散。他们都指责那些只是享受生命而不太有为的人——他们把他们称作流浪汉或者叫花子、懒汉，指责他们。但你有没有注意到这个事实，那就是世界从未因为懒汉而受难？因为没有懒汉会成为希特勒，没有懒汉会成为尼克松，没有懒汉会成为成吉思汗，拿破仑。没有懒汉会变得有为。行动带来了所有的战争。行动是世界上最可悲的事情。但我们仍然在说行动是必须的——因为每个人都野心勃勃。如果你放下野心你将在懒散与有为之间形成一定的比例。那时你的生命将是一种节奏。你会进入这个，然后你会移向另一个，你将在内里平衡自己——白天行动，夜晚入睡。行动与静心应该并存。那就是为什么我从不建议任何人去喜马拉雅山，放弃世界。因为那时他们将只是懒散与睡眠——又不平衡了。置身于世界中，但当你来到家，就真正地来到你的家；离开办公室，把它留在后面，不要在你的头脑中带着文件。当你无为时，就享受无为，当你有为时，享受有为——让身体感觉并随着道运动，而不是随着你的意念。 如果鱼，生于水，寻求池和潭中深深的遮蔽，它们所有的需求都满足了。 如果人，生于道，沉入无为的深深的遮蔽，忘记侵犯和顾虑，他什么也不缺，他的生命是安全的。 内在深处你是根。你就像一颗树：树的一半露在土地之上，树的一半深深地藏在土地的下面，在泥土的黑暗之中。有根。花儿开了。你可以看见它们，但它们开花是因为你看不见的根。看不见的是根，看得见的是花儿。 让你的有为成为你的花儿，看得见，但让你的无为成为你的根，看不见的。保持一种平衡：树木在天空中长得越高，根必须扎得越深。小树有小根；大树有大根。它总是成比例的：如果树长到50英尺高，根就有50英尺深。你应该是同样的——每天都进入有为，但随后进入无为。让它成为一种节奏，一种和谐。 如果人，生于道，沉入无为的深深的遮蔽，忘记侵犯和顾虑，他什么也不缺，他的生命是安全的。 在无为中你融入了海洋，鱼成为海洋。在睡眠中你是谁？自我没有了，鱼儿融化了。在睡眠中，你在哪里？你没有占据任何空间，你与存在成为一体。在深深的静心中同样的情况发生了。 印度教徒说深深的静心就像深深的睡眠，只有一个不同：你在静心中是清醒的，在睡眠中不是清醒的。在深深的静心中，当你寻求清凉的避荫处，你是清醒的，无为的，但是有意识的。你知道你向哪里运动。你知道整个的存在在平息。你知道那就像一片枯死的树叶从树上落下，移向土地，在风中飘一会儿，然后渐渐地落在了土地上，沉入了深深的睡眠。 当你从有为的世界移向静心，你就像一片枯叶或一片鸟的羽毛一样落下。会有些颤动，在微风中晃动，你移向这里和那里，渐渐地你越走越深，直到落入泥土。你抵达了根部，一切都平息了。那时没有担忧，没有思索，没有世界没有人——只有存在留下了。那就是道。那时丰富了，恢复了活力，你回到世界，渐渐地它变得像从你的房子出来再进去一样容易。它变得那么容易。当你想要时，变得有为，但记住这种有为应该跟从你身体的需要，不是你的精神欲望。变得有为，当你的能量在流动你觉得能量必须使用——因为能量需要行动，能量在行动中感到愉快。如果你不能做任何事情，至少跳舞吧。记住，能量需要行动。如果你压制能量那么你会变得爱挑衅——不要压制能量。这是对现代人来说最深刻的问题之一。原始人需要为他的日常生活用去许多能量。狩猎需要许多能量——8小时在森林中与动物搏斗，然后夜晚结束时你也许能得到你的食物，但那也是不肯定的——平凡的日常生活需要许多的能量。 现在一切都由机器干，技术减轻了你的许多劳动。What are you doing?你变得爱挑衅，你对抗，你变得易怒。莫名其妙地，你发怒——忽然间你发起火来。每个人都知道这是愚蠢的，甚至在你冷静的时候也知道那是愚蠢的。但你为什么毫无必要地发火？借口不充分。真正的原因不是某种情形，真正的原因是你有那么多能量，那么多汽油满溢出来，不能燃烧，它随时都会行动。那就是为什么发火之后你感到松弛，怒气之后你感到一些快乐来到了你那里。 对现代人来说将是这样——那就是我为什么坚持活动的静心，不是静止的静心。因为你的能量需要用出去，它需要发泄。没有能量的活动你会有太多的能量。有丰富的食物，食物创造更多的能量，它是一种燃料。这个时代是整个历史上吃得最好的时代。没有劳动。即使你到办公室或商店或别的什么地方，劳动是脑力的，不是体力的。脑力劳动是不够的。人在身体上是一个猎人。他需要许多活动来放松。所以要选择，但根据你身体的需要。不要强迫身体，不要驱使它；只是感觉身体和它的需要。如果它需要行动那就去跑步，去游泳，去走长路，如果你不能干任何事情，那么跳舞。静心和行动——让能量流动。你通过行动融入存在。当能量离去，你放松，然后安静。在池塘里找个清凉的地方，在那儿放松。 有为把你引向道；无为也能把你引向道。 ……因为除了道没有别的什么。如果你通过有为变得觉知，你也将会晤它。有为是把你的能量注入道，无为是道把能量回归于你。看……就像这样。这条河流入大海，把自己注入海洋。这是有为。然后海洋变成云朵，移向喜马拉雅山，又在雨中落下，注满了河流。这是无为。现在河流没有做任何事情，现在海洋在做事情。 在有为中你给予；在无为中你得到——一种平衡是需要的。你给予越多，你将得到越多，因为你越空，你就能够得到越多。一条小河将得到少一点，一条大河将得到许多。当恒河把她自己注入海洋，海洋必须归还同样的恒河——它一次又一次地发生。在有为中你分享，你给予，你流溢。你高兴、快乐，在你给予时跳起舞来。然后是无为，道注入你。 如果你跳着舞去，道也跳着舞来。神总是以你走向他的方式走向你。如果当你静静地坐着你感到忧伤，这意味着你在行动中不快乐。你给予，但你勉强地给予。如果你真正快乐地给予，那么当你安静时，静静地坐着时，你会感到非常快乐。但这将取决于你。记住这一点……人们来找我说："如果我们静坐，一切都变得忧伤，我们觉得非常压抑。"那表明当你在给予的时候，你勉强地给予，你不是全心全意地给予。神以你走向他的同样的方式走向你。它不会是别的样子。因为神只是返回——如果你跳着舞抵达他，他也跳着舞抵达你。如果你的行动就好像你是个殉难者，如果你去办公室说："这是因为职责，有妻子和孩子，我不得不去，我只是在等待退休……"那么神将以同样的方式走向你。敲你的门将是他的一种职责。 他将说，"我必须"——然后，他将背着十字架走来。但是如果你在生命中跳着舞去，他将吹着笛子来。 记住这个——神是一种回音。是你存在的回声。如果你到山上去，你说些什么，山里将充满它的回声。整个的存在都在你之中回响。无论你做什么将会返回你；这是因果报应的规律。这不是一个细节问题：你侮辱了某人，那么同一个人就会在他的某一世侮辱你。不要愚蠢，不要傻了！ 但这个规律是对的。它说：无论你给予什么，你将得到。无论你播种什么，你将收获。神以你走向他的方式向你走来。