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Chapter 9 - Lovers of tao
Of course, inside no rain has ever fallen, but still the path is slippery. THE MOSS IS SLIPPERY,
THOUGH NO RAIN HAS FALLEN; PINES SIGH, BUT IT IS NOT THE WIND.
It is not the wind passing through the pines. It is the pines themselves which are sighing.
WHO CAN BREAK FROM THE SNARES OF THE WORLD, AND SIT WITH ME AMONG THE WHITE CLOUDS?
That one is my disciple, my devotee. This is the language of Zen. Question 1
Maneesha has asked:
OUR BELOVED MASTER,
LANGUAGE IS USUALLY ABOUT THE COMMUNICATION OR TRANSFER OF
IDEAS; AND THE UNDERSTANDING OF MOST RELIGIONS SEEMS TO BE THAT
ONE DOES NOT NEED TO BE GIVEN SOMETHING.
HOWEVER, ZEN IS DIFFERENT IN THAT IT APPEARS TO BE SAYING ONE
ONLY NEEDS TO UNDERSTAND WHAT ONE ALREADY HAS. IS THIS WHY YOU
HAVE CALLED ZEN "THE LANGUAGE OF EXISTENCE"?
Maneesha, you are right. Zen has nothing to give to you, but has something to take away --
your personality, your mask, your false identities. Zen has to rip you away, so that only the existence, pure existence remains unpolluted in you. It does not bother about philosophizing.
Its concern is experiencing, its concern is existential. That's why I have called it "the language of existence." All other languages are man's languages -- for purposes of the mediocre and for purposes of the marketplace. Zen is not a marketplace phenomenon. It needs a tremendous courage to enter into one's own existence, leaving everything that one values so much.
It does not want you to renounce the world, it simply wants you to renounce yourself, and just let the existence express and radiate through you. The Zen master, or buddha, does not speak, he only allows existence to sing its song. The buddha is just a flute, a bamboo with holes. Existence can sing any song that it wants; the flute does not interfere. The flute allows existence to commune with those who are capable of listening to the music that is flowing through it.
Rinzai has been a very serious trip. My understanding of Zen is that it is full of laughter and giggles. It is not a serious concern at all.
History records many examples of people in restaurants who have found flies in their soup.
Professor Dingleberry, a world famous authority, has run a survey on the international situation; his findings are revealing.
In America, if a diner finds a fly in his soup, he sends the dish back and complains to the manager.
Osho - The Language of Existence 113
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