Bodhidharma - The Greatest Zen Master

Bodhidharma: The Greatest Zen Master

Talks given from 05/07/87 am to 14/07/87 pmEnglish Discourse series20 ChaptersYear published: 1987

Bodhidharma: The Greatest Zen MasterChapter #1Chapter title: To seek nothing is bliss5 July 1987 am in Chuang Tzu Auditorium

BELOVED OSHO,BODHIDHARMA'S OUTLINE OF PRACTICEMANY ROADS LEAD TO THE PATH, BUT BASICALLY THERE ARE ONLYTWO: REASON AND PRACTICE. TO ENTER BY REASON MEANS TOREALIZE THE ESSENCE THROUGH INSTRUCTION AND TO BELIEVE THATALL LIVING THINGS SHARE THE SAME TRUE NATURE, WHICH ISN'TAPPARENT BECAUSE IT'S SHROUDED BY SENSATION AND DELUSION.THOSE WHO TURN FROM DELUSION BACK TO REALITY, WHO MEDITATEON WALLS, THE ABSENCE OF SELF AND OTHER, THE ONENESS OFMORTAL AND SAGE, AND WHO REMAIN UNMOVED, EVEN BYSCRIPTURES, ARE IN COMPLETE AND UNSPOKEN AGREEMENT WITHREASON. WITHOUT MOVING, WITHOUT EFFORT, THEY ENTER, WE SAY,BY REASON.TO ENTER BY PRACTICE REFERS TO FOUR ALL-INCLUSIVE PRACTICES:SUFFERING INJUSTICE, ADAPTING TO CONDITIONS, SEEKING NOTHINGAND PRACTICING THE DHARMA.FIRST, SUFFERING INJUSTICE. WHEN THOSE WHO SEARCH FOR THEPATH ENCOUNTER ADVERSITY, THEY SHOULD THINK TO THEMSELVES,"IN COUNTLESS AGES GONE BY, I'VE TURNED FROM THE ESSENTIAL TOTHE TRIVIAL AND WANDERED THROUGH ALL MANNER OF EXISTENCE,OFTEN ANGRY WITHOUT CAUSE AND GUILTY OF NUMBERLESSTRANSGRESSIONS. NOW, THOUGH I DO NO WRONG, I'M PUNISHED BYMY PAST. NEITHER GODS NOR MEN CAN FORESEE WHEN AN EVIL DEEDWILL BEAR ITS FRUIT. I ACCEPT IT WITH AN OPEN HEART ANDWITHOUT COMPLAINT OF INJUSTICE." THE SUTRAS SAY, "WHEN YOUMEET WITH ADVERSITY, DON'T BE UPSET. BECAUSE IT MAKES SENSE."

WITH SUCH UNDERSTANDING, YOU'RE IN HARMONY WITH REASON.AND BY SUFFERING INJUSTICE, YOU ENTER THE PATH.SECOND, ADAPTING TO CONDITIONS. AS MORTALS, WE'RE RULED BYCONDITIONS, NOT BY OURSELVES. ALL THE SUFFERING AND JOY WEEXPERIENCE DEPEND ON CONDITIONS. IF WE SHOULD BE BLESSED BYSOME GREAT REWARD, SUCH AS FAME OR FORTUNE, IT'S THE FRUIT OFA SEED PLANTED BY US IN THE PAST. WHEN CONDITIONS CHANGE, ITENDS. WHY DELIGHT IN ITS EXISTENCE? BUT WHILE SUCCESS ANDFAILURE DEPEND ON CONDITIONS, THE MIND NEITHER WAXES NORWANES. THOSE WHO REMAIN UNMOVED BY THE WIND OF JOYSILENTLY FOLLOW THE PATH.THIRD, SEEKING NOTHING. PEOPLE OF THIS WORLD ARE DELUDED.THEY'RE ALWAYS LONGING FOR SOMETHING, ALWAYS, IN A WORD,SEEKING. BUT THE WISE WAKE UP. THEY CHOOSE REASON OVERCUSTOM. THEY FIX THEIR MINDS ON THE SUBLIME AND LET THEIRBODIES CHANGE WITH THE SEASON. ALL PHENOMENA ARE EMPTY.THEY CONTAIN NOTHING WORTH DESIRING. CALAMITY FOREVERALTERNATES WITH PROSPERITY. TO DWELL IN THE THREE REALMS ISTO DWELL IN A BURNING HOUSE. TO HAVE A BODY IS TO SUFFER. DOESANYBODY WITH A BODY KNOW PEACE?FOURTH, PRACTICING THE DHARMA. THE DHARMA IS THE TRUTHTHAT ALL NATURES ARE PURE. BY THIS TRUTH, ALL APPEARANCES AREEMPTY. DEFILEMENT AND ATTACHMENT, SUBJECT AND OBJECT DON'TEXIST. THE SUTRAS SAY, "THE DHARMA INCLUDES NO BEING BECAUSEIT'S FREE FROM THE IMPURITY OF BEING. AND THE DHARMA INCLUDESNO SELF, BECAUSE IT'S FREE FROM THE IMPURITY OF SELF." THOSE WISEENOUGH TO BELIEVE AND UNDERSTAND THIS TRUTH ARE BOUND TOPRACTICE ACCORDING TO THE DHARMA. SINCE THE EMBODIMENT OFTHE DHARMA CONTAINS NOTHING WORTH BEGRUDGING, THEY GIVETHEIR BODY, LIFE AND PROPERTY IN CHARITY, WITHOUT REGRET,WITHOUT THE VANITY OF GIVER, GIFT OR RECIPIENT, AND WITHOUTBIAS OR ATTACHMENT. AND THEY TAKE UP TRANSFORMING OTHERSTO ELIMINATE IMPURITY BUT WITHOUT BECOMING ATTACHED TOFORM. THUS, THROUGH THEIR OWN PRACTICE, THEY'RE ABLE TO HELPOTHERS AND GLORIFY THE WAY OF ENLIGHTENMENT. AND AS WITHCHARITY, THEY ALSO PRACTICE THE OTHER VIRTUES. BUT WHILEPRACTICING THE SIX VIRTUES TO ELIMINATE DELUSION, THEYPRACTICE NOTHING AT ALL. THIS IS WHAT'S MEANT BY PRACTICINGTHE DHARMA. THOSE WHO UNDERSTAND THIS DETACH THEMSELVESFROM ALL THAT EXISTS AND STOP IMAGINING OR SEEKING ANYTHING.THE SUTRAS SAY, "TO SEEK IS TO SUFFER. TO SEEK NOTHING IS BLISS."WHEN YOU SEEK NOTHING, YOU'RE ON THE PATH.

I have a very soft corner in my heart for Bodhidharma. That makes it a veryspecial occasion to speak about him. Perhaps he is the only man whom I haveloved so deeply that speaking on him I will be almost speaking on myself. Thatalso creates a great complexity, because he never wrote anything in his life. Noenlightened being has ever written. Bodhidharma is not an exception, but bytradition these three books that we are going to discuss are attributed toBodhidharma.The scholars reason that because there is no contrary evidence -- and for almostone thousand years, these books have been attributed to Bodhidharma -- there isno reason why we should not accept them. I am not a scholar, and there arecertainly fragments which must have been spoken by Bodhidharma, but theseare not books written by him. These are notes by his disciples. It was an ancienttradition that when a disciple takes notes from the master he does not put hisown name on those notes, because nothing of it belongs to him; it has come fromthe master.But knowing Bodhidharma as intimately as I know him ... There are so manyfallacies which are possible only if somebody else was taking notes and his ownmind entered into it; he has interpreted Bodhidharma -- and with not muchunderstanding.Before we enter into these sutras, a few things about Bodhidharma will be goodto know. That will give you the flavor of the man and a way to understand whatbelongs to him in these books and what does not belong to him. It is going to be avery strange commentary.Bodhidharma was born fourteen centuries ago as a son of a king in the south ofIndia. There was a big empire, the empire of Pallavas. He was the third son of hisfather, but seeing everything -- he was a man of tremendous intelligence -- herenounced the kingdom. He was not against the world, but he was not ready towaste his time in mundane affairs, in trivia. His whole concern was to know hisself-nature, because without knowing it you have to accept death as the end.All true seekers in fact, have been fighting against death. Bertrand Russell hasmade a statement that if there were no death, there would be no religion. There issome truth in it. I will not agree totally, because religion is a vast continent. It isnot only death, it is also the search for bliss, it is also the search for truth, it is alsothe search for the meaning of life; it is many more things. But certainly BertrandRussell is right: if there were no death, very few, very rare people would beinterested in religion. Death is the great incentive.Bodhidharma renounced the kingdom saying to his father, "If you cannot saveme from death, then please don't prevent me. Let me go in search of somethingthat is beyond death." Those were beautiful days, particularly in the East. Thefather thought for a moment and he said, "I will not prevent you, because Icannot prevent your death. You go on your search with all my blessings. It is sadfor me but that is my problem; it is my attachment. I was hoping for you to be the