Chapter 7 Why don't you rest?

Deshan Xuanjian studied Zen with Longtan Chongxin.One night, Deshan came to Longtan and asked many questions. The teacher said: "It's very late at night, why don't you rest?" So Deshan bowed, and when he opened the curtain and went out, he saw: it was very dark outside. Longtan gave Deshan a lighted candle to light his way, but just as Deshan took the candle, Longtan blew it out. At that moment, Tokuyama's mind opened. Deshan studied Zen in Longtan.One night, De came out to look for Longtan and asked many questions. The first thing to understand is this: you cannot learn Zen, it is impossible.You can be in it, but you cannot learn it - because Zen or jhana is not an object of study, it is a way of living, it depends on how you live, you cannot get it through the scriptures, you cannot get it from any No one can teach you, it cannot be taught, it is not knowledge that can be passed from one person to another, it is a way of life, you can bring yourself into it, you can Flow in, you can let it in, be open to it -- that's why one has to be with the master.

You cannot learn, you can only make yourself susceptible. It is like an infectious disease: if you are susceptible then you will catch it.Just living with the master is enough: open, don't struggle, just be with the master, have some moments, when you are still...you will realize. The story says: Tokuyama is studying Zen...then he is wrong, no university can offer you a course in religion.They offer, but whatever they teach is not religion at all, it may be the history of religion - not religion; It may be philosophy of religion -- it is not religion; they may help you learn the Koran, the Bible, the Gita, but it is not religion; they may speak about Jesus, Buddha, Krishna, and You'll also learn a lot, but you'll miss the very basics, the core.

So the first thing to understand is: nobody can explain to you what Zen is, what jhana is, you can realize it, but nobody can teach you.I go on and on saying that there is only a disciple, there is no master, because the master cannot do anything actively, directly, he cannot give it to you, he cannot teach it to you.What can he do?If he could teach, he would have taught, then one Buddha is enough to enlighten the whole world, but there have been many Buddhas and the world remains like this.It cannot be done directly, it is so subtle, so subtle, that if you pass it on, then in passing it dies.

I once heard: A Christian priest is sending a Bible as a gift to a friend.He had already made a beautiful package, and when he came to the post office, the salesman at the window asked, "Is there anything fragile in it?" The priest smiled and said, "Yes, there are ten holy commandments." Religion is so delicate, so fragile, that no parcel can protect it.The moment you pass it on, it's dead.It lives with the inner life, in the Buddha, in a master who cannot give it to you, but you can open to it. It is like the sun rising in the morning: the sun cannot give life to the flower - no!But flowers can open themselves to the sun and enrich themselves by opening themselves.If the flower is closed, the sun cannot do anything, the sun will not knock, will not transmit light, will not transmit energy and life -- no!The sun will pass by inadvertently.Buddha has come -- I am here with you, and you can open yourself.But if you're still closed, there's nothing you can do.So it's up to you, it's all up to you to realize -- and that's not learning.

Learning is a dead, intellectual thing. Comprehension is alive, not from the head, but from the heart. You use your heart to understand and you use your head to learn.When you study, you become a great scholar.Go and see the great scholars, who fill all the universities, and you will find none more dead than them, they are almost in their graves - they have gone in!They have never lived, they are so obsessed with words, they have bypassed life. They may be talking about love, but they have never loved, they cannot give -- it is such a risk, and they are so learned, they cannot take such a risky step!They go on talking about meditation, reading about meditation, but they never do meditation, it is dangerous, there is nothing more dangerous than that.A scholar is always studying security, security in words, security in theory, security everywhere, he is not a gambler, he cannot bet his life.And you cannot understand unless you stake your life.

This enlightenment is spiritual, it is like love.That's why Jesus kept repeating that God is love.It doesn't mean the way Christians understand it, or Those who misunderstood the meaning, God is love, no!It doesn't mean that God is loving, it just means: if you want to reach God, it's the same way you get into love. "God is love".Meaning: The same way leads to the temple of love, and the same way leads to the temple of God.It just shows the way, which is through the heart, not through the head. Tokuyama studied Zen at Longtan -- that's what he missed, it was this first step that was wrong, and when the first step was wrong, then everything else followed.Always remember to take the first step.Take the first step, and you're already halfway through the journey, almost there.Because if the first step is right, then everything will follow automatically and you will reach your destination.So don't go to learn from the master, go to comprehend.If you learn, the master will teach you, but the most important thing cannot be taught -- to understand.

What is the difference between these two attitudes?There are many differences: when you learn, you want to know more; when you understand, you want more being -- which is not knowledge.As you understand, your nature grows, as you learn, your memory grows; as you learn, you know more and more, and as you understand, you grow more and more —and these are quite different things.A man may have a great memory and know a lot, and at the bottom of his mind be a poor beggar with nothing, and he may deceive himself that he knows so much, but that knowledge is of no help— Knowledge is useless unless you exist!Only presence is beneficial.

If you are dying, what will go with you?Your knowledge or your nature?Which one would be a help?What will be the bridge?What will you take with you beyond death?Knowledge?The head will stay because the head is part of the body, only that nature will go on.And you have never looked at it, it has been poor, hungry -- you have never nourished it. Understanding belongs to nature, knowledge belongs to memory, to the mind.The university can give you knowledge, the teacher can give you knowledge, but only an enlightened person can enable you, can help you -- that help is indirect -- to more existence.You can get that help, but ultimately it's up to you.

If you learn, you miss the first step, and that first step is very meaningful, because the first step will eventually become the last step.The seed is very important: the seed is the first step, it will become a tree, it may take many years to flower, but if you plant the wrong seed, millions of lifetimes will be of no use.Tokuyama was wrong from the beginning - to learn. Learning, he pays more attention to the classics than being with the master, how stupid!When the master is alive, you are still attached to the classics.When diamonds are everywhere, you are obsessed with red stones, colored stones!When the master is still alive, you pay attention to the dead words.

One night, Deshan came to Longtan and asked many questions. A person studying with a master is always full of questions -- because that's how one learns, you have to ask questions, so you also get answers, then you keep collecting answers, you become very knowledgeable. After one is not pursuing learning but after understanding, there is only one problem, not many.Remember: Many questions cannot be answered, but one question can be answered.Many questions are unanswerable, because if you are the kind of person who asks many questions, any answer will only create more questions for you - nothing else, each answer will give you more The problem.You come to me, you ask, "Who created this world?" I say, "God".Then you start asking questions about God: "Who is this God? Why did He create

world? "If I say: 'Because of this. "And then you ask... each answer creates more and more questions. But if you only have one question... that's very hard, only very wise people ask only one question.By the time there is only one problem, then you have matured - because many problems show your curiosity; one problem shows that your existence has come to an end, it is life and death: if this problem is solved, everything will be solved.It's a matter of life and death. Asking a question means you have become a point, asking a question means you are already aligned!When you agree, it will give you the answer, otherwise, you are not ready.If you are asking a lot of questions, no guru will waste time and energy on you.ask a question! First of all, we must find out what the meaningful question is, don't surround yourself with it, but enter the center!There are many points to ask on the periphery, but only one point in the center.When you circle around, you're going round and round, and one problem leads to another, and that leads to another, and you go on— Tend to infinity.But there is only one problem at the center. And that question can be answered even without answering: if you have only one question, then the master will look at you, and the question has been answered; the master will touch you, then the question has been answered.Because when you come to a point where you are so intensely alive, your fire is burning, so bright, your mind is so clear - no clouds, just one sun, not many clouds - you are So clear, everything is intense, clear, burning, just a glance is all it takes, just a touch is all it takes.But if you are full of questions, even if the master goes on knocking you with answers, nothing will happen. One night, Deshan came to Longtan and asked many questions. These Zen stories are beautiful, and every word of them means so much.One night - not in the morning, but in the dark.In the morning you ask one question, in the evening you ask many questions; in the morning you are clear, fresh, young; in the evening you are old, decayed.Being at night means you are groping in the dark, even if you come to the door you cannot see, even if you give the answer, you cannot be understood. The mind is the darkness of the soul, the night of the soul, but you have so believed in the mind that it has given you nothing but promises, promises, promises beautifully -- it keeps promises. I once heard: Once, Mulla Nasruddin came home very late at night, he knocked on the door, and his wife asked, "Nasruddin, what time is it?" Nasruddin said matter-of-factly, "It's still early, only 11:15." The wife said: "Don't lie to me, I looked at the alarm clock, it wasn't 11:15, it was 3:15, and the night was almost gone." Nasruddin said, "Wait a minute, do you believe in a broken alarm clock of 20 rupees or in the husband you love? What kind of marriage is this? What kind of woman are you?" You always believe in the 20 rupees broken brain that you bought in the old used brain shop - and it's not yours either!It has been resold many times, thousands of times.What is new in your mind?Everything is old, used; what is new in your mind?What is original in it?Everything is borrowed.When a person buys a very old, used car, he thinks about whether to buy it many times.And it never occurs to you that the mind has been used many times too, that every thought of yours is borrowed, old, obsolete, thrown away many times. But you go on believing it because the mind has learned a trick, and that trick is how to promise.It's a constant promise: "I'll give you everything, do you need God? I'll give it to you, just wait, do this and that, try, hope, pray, and you'll get it." It's always postponed, it's Say: "Tomorrow will happen - and tomorrow never comes, tomorrow cannot come, everything that comes is always today, all the mind does is transfer everything to tomorrow, it promises you - in the future, is it heaven , whether it is God, or Liberation, Nirvana - it always promises you "in the future". Meditation, Zen, never promises you anything, it just makes you here and now.The mind always postpones, it says, "It will happen, it will happen slowly, gradually, don't rush, there is nothing to do now." The mind says, "It will take time, the road is long, many things have to be done, unless You do it, otherwise how can you get there?" The mind always divides ends and means. In fact, there is no division, every step is the end, and every moment is nirvana, the present is all existence, the future is the most illusory thing: it is a product of the mind.But you trust the mind, it's amazing: you won't even be disappointed with it! I once heard about...a guy who bought a used car, went to the store two weeks later, and asked the salesman, "Are you the one who sold me that car?" The man said, "Yes." He was a little scared and worried because he knew what type of car he was selling, and the man said, "Tell me again what you said when you sold me this car." If - I am so discouraged, please give me a little courage, I will come and go, just to be encouraged." You will not even be disappointed with the mind, you will continue to listen to it.And the mind is dark, the dark part of your being that has no light, it is night. That's right: Deshan came to Longtan one night and asked a lot of questions.The teacher said…… He didn't answer, he didn't answer a single question, he just listened to the questions, and the teacher said, "It's very late at night, why don't you rest?" Look!So many questions to ask and the teacher just said, "The night is very deep, the darkness is growing, you are entering into the darker and darker parts of the mind, the night is very deep -- Why don't you rest yet? " This is the only answer to so many questions: "Why don't you rest?" You are the problem and the problem maker.You -- the ego, the mind -- you are the disease, why don't you rest?Ask many questions - give only one answer, and that answer is too incomprehensible.Because a man who asks many questions cannot understand that there is only one answer, his mind cannot comprehend anything that is one, he can understand only many. The "many" is always on the outside, the "one" is always on the inside -- because the center is what is inside you and the periphery is what is outside. The master said one of the most beautiful words: "The night is deep, why don't you rest? It's time for you to rest." It doesn't seem to matter, he should answer the question...he has answered, because he Said: "Please rest." If you are, then there will be constant problems. Problems from the mind are like leaves growing on a tree. You keep watering the tree and the leaves will keep growing. Of course, the old leaves will fall. And new leaves will grow, so the master can answer the question, and the old question goes, the new question will come, it will be replaced again and again, the new question will be worse, because the old question - you have Tired of it, you might throw it away, you've had enough with it. A new problem is like a new wife - you're in love again, romance started again, poem again, boredom again.A new idea is more dangerous than an old one.Because you are tired of the old thought, you always hate it and you want to throw it away.That's why Buddha, or Longtan, or people like that never answer your questions, they don't want to give your mind new shelters, they don't want to give you new substitutes for old questions. Buddha often said: "If you want an answer, don't ask; when you don't ask, I will answer; if you ask, the door is closed." Buddha often insisted on newcomers: "One year, don't ask any questions, stay with me, if you ask, then you are not allowed to live with me, you have to leave. One year, just stay Silence." It's not about asking questions with your mouth - Buddha knew that - if you keep asking inside, he will know. One day, Mahakassapa, the great disciple of the Buddha, was sitting, and he never asked any questions.He came only a few months ago and Buddha told him to keep silent for a year and not ask anything.Several other disciples were also sitting there.Suddenly the Buddha asked: "Maha Kassapa, did you ask a question?" Mahakassapa said, "I didn't say a word." Several other disciples also said, "He didn't say anything." Buddha said, "Look within, you have asked, you have broken your promise." And Mahakassapa looked, and then he bowed and said, "I'm sorry!"— He has asked. He didn't ask questions that you could hear, but deep down, the questions were there.Even if you don't ask and the mind is asking, you have asked, because thought is a subtle act, sooner or later it becomes visible, the bubble is there, it rises on the surface, you can suppress, but you cannot fooled the Buddha. When are you allowed to ask questions?When there is no problem.This seems like a counter-proof: if there are no questions, why would you ask?Then you ask only one question and there is no need to verbalize it, your whole being becomes a question, a search, an inquiry, your whole being is an inquiry.When you stand before the Buddha, your whole being has degenerated into a questioning, a longing, a hunger so deep that you are no longer there, only the hunger is there - then Buddha will nourish you, then If there is an answer, otherwise the Buddha, whatever he says, seems irrelevant -- these Zen stories are very irrelevant. Millions of Zen stories are completely irrelevant, you ask A, the master says Z - it doesn't matter!We don't know what questions this Deshan asked, we only know one thing: the teacher, the master, never answered them, he just said: "Deshan, the night is very deep—why don't you rest?" This is Zen This is what Zen is all about—rest! Are you not tired enough to use your mind?Then rest!Isn't the mind doing enough?Isn't the chaos the mind is creating in you enough?Why are you still clinging to it?What expectations, what promises, keep you attached to it?It goes on and on deceiving you, it says, "There - that object, in those properties, in that house, in that woman, in those riches - is everything." You did it, and When you have reached, you have nothing in your hand but frustration, every expectation leads you to frustration, every desire ends up as an unfortunate event, a sad end. This mind has been giving you promises and is still promising you -- the promises have not been kept, but you never say to the mind, "You liar, stop!" You are afraid to say that. Once, when Mulla Nasruddin was coming out of the country hotel, he was seen by a new missionary who happened to be passing by, and the new missionary said, "Nasruddin, you, a religious Man, what do I see? You're coming out of a place like this? My boy, drinking is the devil's business. When the devil invites you again, say no! Why don't you say no?" Nasruddin said, "Priest, I would like to decline, but the devil may not be happy and may not extend the invitation again!" That's the problem, you want to reject the mind, the mind never fulfills anything, but you are afraid -- the mind will be unhappy, will not promise you again, then...?You can't live without commitment, you can't live without hope— This is the mechanical structure. You cannot be religious unless you are prepared to live without hope, and even your so-called religiousness is nothing but hope created by the mind.Are you ready to live without hope?Are you ready to live without a future?Then there is no need for rest -- the mind rests by itself, then there is no attachment of the mind.But you are afraid -- the mind may be unhappy, and the mind is the devil, maybe it will not give anymore, so what will you do? People come to me: they think their quest is religious - their quest is still psychological, they are still acting in the dark valleys of the mind, they are still listening to the mind, they are hoping, they will hope On money and they failed; they hoped on sex - and they failed too; they hoped in many, many ways and they all failed.Now they put their hope in meditation, now they put their hope in a master -- but the hope remains.Remember well: If you pin your hopes on me, then you miss me, and I will not fulfill your hopes. Why not throw away hope?Why should you hope?What is its basis?Dissatisfaction becomes hope, which is false because here and now you are so dissatisfied, so miserable that you need to have hope for the future, that hope will help you move forward, you can bear it no matter what .Now, through the hope that you can bear the present -- the hope is the drug, the present is painful, the trouble, the hope is the alcohol, it is the drug, and it is enough to make you unconsciously able to bear the present. Hope means there is no fulfillment here and now, but have you ever seen this whole phenomenon?Why are you dissatisfied in the first place here and now?Why?Because in the past you were hoping, that's why here and now you are dissatisfied, this today is tomorrow's yesterday, yesterday you put your hope on today because then it was tomorrow, now that hope is not fulfilled, so You are suffering and depressed, and for the hidden pain, for the past today, you once again pin your hope on tomorrow. You are in a habit, and in such a habit, it is very difficult to get out of it.Tomorrow the same will happen: you will be frustrated because the mind can promise but never deliver.Otherwise, there is no need for meditation, and Buddha is a meditating fool. If the mind can deliver, then all meditators are fools, all enlightened people are fools.Because the mind can't deliver, its all pain when they understand the whole structure... the structure: yesterday the mind promised you that something will come to you tomorrow, and now tomorrow has come, this is today, And the thing doesn't come -- you suffer, your expectations are thwarted, and now the mind says, "Tomorrow I will give." The mind promises again, how stupid it is, will you listen to the mind again?The same structure is repeated tomorrow - it's a vicious circle. You listen to the mind and you become miserable -- otherwise, this day is heaven!And there is no other heaven; this today is Nirvana, and if you don't listen to the mind... just don't listen to the mind, then you will not suffer.Because without hope, without expectation, pain cannot exist.When there is pain, you need to hide it with more hope in order to live.Live without hope— You are a being of the moment, then you rest. What beautiful words!The master said: "The night is very deep - why don't you rest? Is it not enough for you to have this night? You don't know that you listen to this mind too much, come out of it! Don't listen to it anymore, rest !" But Tokuyama misunderstood him, because a man with so many questions couldn't understand the answer.Out of compassion, Longtan answered, but the apprentice misunderstood—scholars always misunderstand. What is he thinking?He was thinking of the outer night, not of what the masters were talking about -- masters never talk about the outside, they always talk about the inside.The master is talking about the inner dark night and the disciple thinks, "Yes, the night is deep." He looks outside, he looks at the periphery, the master is talking about the center: the master is speaking the inner language, the disciple is speaking the outer Language to understand, and inner language cannot be translated into outer language, no, there is no way to translate, either you understand or you don't understand - there is no way to translate for you. Hindi can be translated into English, English can be translated into Chinese -- but religion cannot be translated into any language, the inner cannot be translated into the outer.Why can Chinese be translated into English?Because both are external, they exist in the periphery. "Why don't you rest?" said the master.So Tokuyama bowed, and when he opened the curtain and went out, he saw: it was very dark outside. He understood, he thought he had understood, and he bowed: "Yes, it is too late, the night is getting darker, it is too late, it is time to go back to bed." What does the master mean, He's saying, "It's time to wake up!" Rest means... for the inner man, rest means it's time to come out of your sleep, your mind, because the mind is sleep ! Have you ever heard of narcolepsy?The mind is that disease, it's a deep sleep, it doesn't allow you to wake up even when you're about to wake up, you go into a deep hypnosis, that's sleepwalking, you do things like a machine, like an automaton, like An automatic machine: you eat, you talk, you do things, you do things efficiently, but don't think you are awake, you are not awake yet. You sleep in many ways: sometimes you sleep with your eyes closed, sometimes with your eyes open; sometimes you sleep in a bed, sometimes in a temple, or on the street; sometimes you sleep to buy things, sometimes you sleep to do things , sometimes you fall asleep and do nothing; sometimes you sleep dreaming, sometimes you sleep thinking—you just go on with your deep sleep. In the morning, instead of waking up, a new kind of sleep with eyes open begins again - dreams float, thoughts go on, and you do the ritual.There is no need to be awake to do the ritual every day, that's why no one likes something new happening every day, because if something new happens then you have to wake up.For old things and routines, you will continue to sleep, no need to wake up.If you have 7 waking moments in 70 years of life, that's plenty.That's why when Gautama Siddhartha woke up, we called him Buddha, the awakened one, because that's such a rare phenomenon -- awakening. The master means: "Let the mind rest, and you can be awake." The apprentice understands: "Yes, it is very dark outside, I have to go to sleep now, I am going to rest." This is whenever the master gives the truth, in the apprentice There it has been distorted by the mind. So Tokuyama bowed...just to thank the master, he did see that the night was already very deep... When he opened the curtain and went out, he saw: it was very dark outside. Longtan gave Deshan a lighted candle...the master gave the apprentice a lighted candle...to find his way, but just as Deshan took it...he was about to go out...longtan blew it out took it. At that moment, Tokuyama's mind was opened. what happened?Longtan gave Deshan a lighted candle, and he said, "Yes, it's dark outside, you take this lighted candle to see the road clearly." Outside, the candle can be given -- not inside, because inside how can you take a candle?Without being able to give the candle within from the outside, the master cannot give you the inner light of enlightenment. In fact, the inner light is always burning, it is there, but you are always looking outside.Once you look within, the light is there, already there!You never lose it for a moment, you cannot lose it!It is your Tao, your nature, yourself - no candle needs to be given inside, and no candle can go inside. But externally the candle can be given. So remember: all those things that set you on your way, all those candles are only external, they can light your way in this world, but never in the world of God. Seeing that the apprentice still didn't understand, the master tried again, and he created a situation, a very rare one: He gave Tokushan a lighted candle. Deshan asked a lot of questions, but Longtan didn't give a single inner candle, he didn't give an answer.He just said, "Rest!" But if the darkness is outside, there is a way, you can be helped.If your body is sick, then you can go to a doctor; but if your soul is sick, the doctor will not help you - then you have to improve, then the master can only bring you to this point where you must not On the point of not improving, because, except you, no one can penetrate inside of you, if anyone can penetrate inside of you, then it is not inside, because in the innermost temple of your being, how can anyone else to enter?There is no space, only you exist, in your utter solitude! That's why Mahavira says that even love cannot enter there, you are totally alone.Mahavira has used a word for ultimate liberation, ultimate salvation: that word is Kaivalya, and Kaivalya means total solitude.In your innermost being you are utterly alone -- no one can enter there, not even the Master.If someone can get in there, then it is external, it is not the innermost core.There can only be one point at the very center of the circle, not two, if there are two, it is not the center, there is still a small periphery surrounding it. In your deepest being you are alone.The master can help you to be aware of this fact, and once you know it, all the sickness in you disappears.Once you accept your total aloneness, you are liberated, then there is no attachment - love can flow! In fact, only the "now" can make love flow, because the love of the moment is not dependent, you are not dependent on others.If you are dependent, then you will also be against - because whoever makes you dependent is an enemy, it cannot be a friend, so lovers are constantly fighting, because the lover is the enemy, the lover is the enemy, and you become Dependent, without dependency you cannot live.Your freedom is destroyed, and any love that destroys freedom will sooner or later turn into hate. Only love that gives more freedom will never turn into hate, it is eternal, so only Jesus, Buddha can love eternally.There are no changes like the weather, only the same harmony continues.Why?Because Buddha or Jesus has achieved his own total aloneness, has accepted the fact that it is so beautiful to be totally alone, like Mount Everest. It is at the summit that you are alone, it is at the core, the innermost being, that you are alone.When you accept, now love can flow like the Ganges, now there is no trouble, now you can love unconditionally, now you can love without dependence or make others depend on you, now love can be a kind of freedom. The master helps you to realize that you are total, ultimate aloneness. The word "lonely" is not good because it carries a kind of sadness - because of you, not because of the word, because of old associations, when you are alone, you always feel sad. One thing, it happened in Japan: There was a Zen master who was an amazing gardener, a lover of growing flowers, and even the king was jealous of his garden.One day a man came to the king and said to him, "Now you must go and see." The Japanese like morning glory very much. The man who came to the king said: "I have never seen so many flowers. There are millions of flowers. The whole garden of the Zen master is full of flowers. The fragrance is so beautiful. Don't worry." Miss it! You should go." It was too much for a king to see a poor man's garden: he had a big garden—hundreds of acres of greenery, hundreds of gardeners at work—and he was going to see it? But the man said, "It may never happen again." 所以国王说："你去通知，明天早上我会来。" 师傅得到了消息。第二天早上，国王带着他的王室、官员、王后、王子一起来了，整个首都变得安静了。好几千人聚集在寺庙的周围。国王来了，他看看四周，他说："什么！ 我得知这儿有数百万朵花，而我在花园里只看见一朵牵牛花。 " 那个禅师说："是的，是有数百万朵，但是晚上我们把它们都搬出去了，因为我们只信一朵，而这一朵是花丛中最美丽的，你会错过这朵，所以我们将那些花都搬走了，只有最好的，只有最美的为您留下了。" 国王变得有点儿悲伤，他说："它看上去如此孤独。" 而那个禅师笑着说："这不是孤独，这是单独。" 记住这点：当你到达最内在的中心时，你不是孤独，你是单独！而这个单独不是一种空——它是充实的；这个单独不是空的，它是满溢的；这个单独不是空缺，它是全部。 师傅只能使你觉知到这个事实——已经有了。他无法给你新的东西，他只能给你已经有的，你已经是的，你已经在内在拥有的但是却从来不曾警觉的东西。他只是让你对你的存在这个事实有所警觉，他只是使你觉知真理：那里藏隐着宝藏——而你没有看到，你的存在之神已经是事实，师傅只是使你觉知到这个事实，它不是一种达成。 龙潭给德山一根点燃了的蜡烛，他说："好，如果你无法看内在，你正生活在黑暗中，头脑的黑暗中——我说内在而你却看外在——如果你是这样看，那么我给你一根蜡烛。" 他给他一根点燃了的蜡烛来照亮他的路，但是正当德山接过蜡烛时，他正要走，从师傅的寺庙里迈步时，龙潭吹灭了它。 突然，暗了！用点燃的蜡烛，有了光，甚至还没有给就立即被吹灭了，突然，暗了。 当下……发生了什么？……德山的头脑打开了——他开悟了。 在这个当下发生了什么？许多事情同步发生了，它们发生在一个片刻中，没有时间浪费！这里蜡烛被吹灭了；那儿，立刻，徒弟开悟了。 what happened?有一件事：突然他觉知到师傅不是在说外在的黑暗之夜，那就是为什么他吹灭了蜡烛——表示这根蜡烛不要燃烧了，他正在谈内在，内在的黑暗之夜，他不是在谈去休息，去睡觉，他要使你警觉和觉知。当光突然地灭了时，他的头脑也突然地停止了。他不能相信……它是这样无法预言，师傅给了蜡烛又吹灭了它，这是如此荒唐！那么为什么又要给呢？ 这是如此的矛盾，头脑当下无法思考——因为当有矛盾时，头脑就无法思考。很多次，我给了你蜡烛又立刻吹灭了它，我说一句话马上反驳了它，只是让你的头脑无法思考它，无法运转，如果你的头脑还能运转，那么错过了机会。 这是如此矛盾：夜是暗的，师傅给了根蜡烛，当他正要走时，他又吹灭了它，他什么意思？这样的不一致！ 开悟的人总是不一致的，一致总是头脑的；你能找到一个一致的思想家，但是你无法找到一个一致的佛陀，每一个片刻，他都以新的方式行动——因为他不是从过去来行动，他的行动是对当下的反应。而这是如此偶然，以致于头脑无法运转，突然，那里全暗了。 那个门徒领悟了一件事：师傅不是在谈论外在，他不是在说那里的夜晚，他是在说这里的，内在的夜晚。他给了蜡烛又吹灭了它，他是在说，那对内在没有帮助，你必须进入你自己内在的黑暗，这些蜡烛不会有用，那里没有人能成为一个向导，只是象征…… 佛陀曾经说过，佛陀们只是指明道路——必须由你去走，他们无法与你一起走。如果他们与你一起去，你会依赖他们，他们会成为你的世界，他们会成为你的执著。他们无法与你一起走。由别人将你带到你的中心，这生来、本来就是不可能的，他能指明道路，佛陀们只是指明道路，必须由你去走。 突然暗了——头脑停止了。头脑不可能相信，头脑无法来协调这个不一致的行为，在头脑中，有了一个空隙、一个不连续——而那个空隙成了静心，突然他的头脑打开了。当头脑无法起作用时，当头脑发现有些事不可能一致起来、不可能解决时，头脑就放下了。 如果头脑能找到逻辑，那么它会继续，所以因为你的头脑，师傅必须是逻辑的。只有那时空隙才有可能。这一刻他以某一种方式行动，而下一刻，他便反对他自己了；这一刻他说某件事，下一刻他说正好相反的事，你无法使它变成一个系统。 那就是为什么在佛陀圆寂后，很多系统出现了，因为每个人开始创造他自己的系统，而佛陀是一个不一致的人，他不是一个系统的创造者，所以便有了几百万对的矛盾，所以每个人——哲学家们——开始工作着，现在的很多佛教徒有了很多哲学，在那些哲学中，已经排除了矛盾，他们创造了一个一致的整体。 但是当你排除了矛盾时，你也已经排除了佛陀本身——因为他就是在他的矛盾中。他在空隙中，给你的头脑震惊——这是一个震惊。德山，在那个当下，突然变得警觉。他不可能预言它，如果头脑能够预言，那就没有震惊。如果我给你重复这个故事，如果今天晚上我给你一根蜡烛，你很熟悉这个故事，到时我吹灭了它——没什么会发生，因为那是你的期望。 所以，一种设计无法被再一次应用，不可能再一次应用，那就是为什么总是需要新的佛陀们，因为旧的佛陀们——你的头脑已经完全吸收了他们，对此已经非常熟悉了。所以一个新的佛陀或许做的正相反，他或许给你蜡烛而不会吹灭它，你会拿着那根蜡烛走进黑暗之夜，不断地思考着："发生了什么？这故事看上去并不完整。"一个新的佛陀必须创造新的设计、新的方式、新的技巧，因为你的头脑是如此狡猾：一旦它知道了，它会使每一样东西变成它的一部分。 当下，德山的头脑打开了。而当头脑打开时，你就开悟了。头脑就是一种关闭，头脑是一扇关闭着的门。而存在是一扇打开的门——那就是唯一的区别。头脑打开，你就是一种存在；头脑关闭，你只是过去，是一种记忆，不是一种生活、活的力量。关闭的头脑只能看外在，因为你怎样能看内在呢？头脑是关闭的，门是关闭的；头脑打开了，你才能看内在。 看看内在，你会全然地蜕变。一旦有了对内在的一个瞥见，你将再也不一样了。于是你就能向前，你就能看看外在，你就能进入这个世界：你能是一个店主，你能是一个职员，你能是一个学校的老师，你能是一个屠夫——你能和以前做的一样——但是品质已经变了。 在禅中，他们说，在一个人开悟以前，看河是河，看山是山；当一个人成了一个寻道者时，看河不再是河，看山不再是山——一切都混乱了、无序了；而当一个人开悟时，看河又是河，看山又是山了。 禅的人们说，一个开悟的人与任何普通人的生活是同样的——在外在毫无区别。当他感觉饿时，他吃；当他感觉累时，他睡——在外在毫无区别。只是存在的本质、存在的品质已经变了：现在头脑打开了，他能看外在，但是他是在内在；他能进入这个世界，但是这个世界从来不能进入他；他在这个世界中，但是这个世界不再是他存在的一个部分。他能做一切需要做的，但是他从来不执著。他也不超脱，不，他既不执著也不超脱。这个世界已经成了一个梦，这个世界已经成了一出戏，一场游戏，它不再是真实的，它不再是有实体的。如果他碰巧成了一个屠夫，那么他仍然会是一个屠夫，他将会做到底。 禅说，原本的头脑就是开悟的头脑——只有一个区别：头脑打开，门打开，警觉的，觉醒的，睡眠没了，你不再处于催眠状态中，你不再处于麻醉状态中，你是警觉的。 如果你过多地试图改变外在，那表示你还在执著；如果一个人试图超脱的话，这也表示着执著。如果你不执著为什么要受超脱的干扰呢？如果一个男人要逃避女人，这表明那人仍然对性是着迷的，否则，如果你不是着迷的话，为什么要逃避女人呢？如果一个人回避市场，进入喜马拉雅山，那么他在某种程序上仍然在市场里，或者市场在他里面，他仍然是害怕的，害怕总是表示你还没有改变，否则，一个开悟的人会和其他任何人一样平凡，比其他任何人更平凡！了不起的平凡！ why?他不是一个展示者，他或许只是你的隔壁邻居，你或许还不认识他，因为你总是去追随特殊的人们。如果一个人出了好几年的名，你会去……你会走很多很多里路，这会成为一个朝圣之途，因为你要去见一个已经出了十年名的人，这或许是一种英勇事迹，但是并不说明什么，这只是再一次显示了自我主义的立场，只是一种展示。你或许会去向那个一直在禁食的人鞠躬，因为你不能禁食，这个人已经达到了目标，而你却没能达成，你在这个人面前感到低一层，你鞠躬，因为在内心深处，你也想要这样：特殊的。你想要一些权力、奇迹，而这个人已经达成。 一个人是独身的、单身的：你感到敬畏，你感到很受影响，印象深刻，因为你没有女人无法生活，而这个人可以，他已经达成了你内在深处的欲望，没有女人也可以生活的欲望，因为女人是束缚，你感觉到她在你周围制造出了一条边界，她占有你，你无法超越那条边界。你害怕女人。 有人在问那斯鲁汀："为什么，那斯鲁汀，你今天这么早就要走了？"——他正要离开酒店。 他说："这就是每天的问题，老婆！" 于是那个人问："你害怕你的老婆？你是一个男人还是一只老鼠？" 那斯鲁汀说："我是一个男人。" 那个人说："那么如果你是一个男人，为什么这么早就要走了呢？你用什么来肯定你是一个男人呢？" 那斯鲁汀说："我肯定，我完全肯定！因为我的老婆怕老鼠，我肯定是个男人，我怕她，而她怕老鼠，如果我是只老鼠……！" 妻子、丈夫、家庭、工作、责任，这个世界——一切都成了一种负担，你周围的界限，你感觉受到禁锢、受到关押。而一个人丢开了一切，保持着一个人的尊严，既没有妻子、孩子的负担，也没有担心，没有害怕——你向他鞠躬，因为你感到："这就是目标，这就是我也想达成的目标。"但是这个人正是在你的相反的那一极。他或许已经成了老鼠，而你或许仍然是一个男人，妻子或许怕他，但是没有什么变化，他只是相反的那极，他也隐藏着同样的惧怕，他也隐藏着同样的欲望，但是他已经颠倒了整个过程，他正逆流而上，那就是这样——但是溪流是同样的，斗争继续着，他或许是一个比你更伟大的斗争者，或许是一个比你更愚蠢的斗争者——因为愚蠢的人们总是充满勇气，他们比其他人更容易逆流而上。白痴通常能做聪明人不能做的事。 傻瓜能够进入到甚至连天使都害怕去的地方。所以如果你看见在寺庙中你们的和尚们、你们的出家人、你们的所谓的圣人们，愚蠢的人们，那是自然的。看看他们的眼睛：你从来不会看到聪明的目光，你不会看见清澈的目光、你也不会看见火焰，你只会看见愚蠢的、痴呆的人们，愚蠢！Fool! 他们做这样的事更容易，他们能够倒立，希沙三 （Shirshasan），而他们能做好几年——但是他们并没有改变，蜕变没有发生。 禅说，原初的头脑就是开悟的头脑，你不要去任何地方，原初的世界就是天堂，此时此地，一切就在！你不需要去任何地方！ 一个人的头脑打开了，妻子也就消失了，不是他走了，逃避妻子，只是妻子消失了，而美丽的存在就在——当没有妻子时，美丽的存在就在；当你使得存在变成了妻子、丈夫时，丑陋便进入了。于是有了一个朋友、一个美丽可爱的朋友——因为期望带来憎恨，是你的头脑、封闭的头脑，制造了许多问题——不是妻子。 你第一次变得觉知到世界的美丽……一切都是年轻的、新鲜的和活生生的，神就在这里！如果你认为神在别的什么地方，那么你仍然在听从你的头脑，因为那是头脑的语言："在别的地方，在别的地方！从来不在这里！"——而他总是在这里。 静心显示出你的此时此地，而那时那个原初的头脑变得极其特别，而原来的生活也成了至高无上的、极至的。唯一的区别就是封闭的还是打开的头脑，当思想在时，头脑就是封闭的；当思想不在时，云也不在了，头脑打开了。而当头脑打开时，旧桶跌落了，水全跑了出来，映象消失了——没有水，没有月亮。