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‌Chapter title: None‌

18 November 1977 pm in Chuang Tzu Auditorium

Archive code: 7711185 ShortTitle: OPENSE18 Audio:

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[A new sannyasin says that he felt he needed to take a new step which he could not do in his home environment, so he came to Osho in the hope he can do it here.]

Yes, it is going to happen. You cannot do it; it can only happen. Just as you have left your family behind, leave yourself behind too... because you are your family. You have been put together by your family: the mother, the father, the brother, the sister, the teacher -- the whole milieu. It is very easy to leave the milieu but you are put together by the milieu itself, so in a subtle way you go on carrying it. You cannot do that step; that step happens. When you are not then it happens. This is the greatest secret to understand. I call it the open secret. It is there, very obvious, yet people don't see it, so I call it open and secret.

Whatsoever you do will be done by the past. You are your past and whatsoever is done by the past will be a continuity of the past. It can never be new, it will be always old. It will never be original. It will always remain dusty, dull, dead, it will come out of the dead; it cannot be alive. And the new happens only when 1/08/07

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you have understood this that you cannot do anything because you are your past.

So all that you can do is only negative. By negative I mean don't hinder it when it happens. That much you can do, that's all that a man can do: not hinder when it happens. When it is coming don't close your doors. When it is coming let it come, when it is happening let it happen.

And you have done right in coming here. It will be easier to accept here, it will be easier to allow. And after sannyas things start changing because then you are not alone; am also involved with you. That is the meaning of sannyas: I become involved with your life energy; your hand is in my hand. Sometimes when you want to escape you cannot, sometimes when you would like to go to the past you cannot; I am holding your hand. Sometimes when the fear of the future arises, because the new always creates fear, I can give you a little push. Or maybe because you are with me you can bear a little more.

That's why a master is needed -- to go on protecting you... against yourself! You have to be protected against yourself. Your future has to be protected against your past, your life has to be protected against all that has gone dead in you. That step is somewhere close by; just get involved in things here.

And forget about that step. Don't ponder over it, don't brood, don't think about it. Now that is my business! Start flowing with things here. Be like a child. That's why I have said 'Be like an Adam -- with no morality, with no creed, no religion, no dogma... just as if you have never heard anything of these. You are the first person on the earth: you don't know what morality is, what virtue is, what is good and what is bad; you don't know anything.' Act out of that not-knowing and things start happening.

There is a very famous Zen story about a samurai. Find the story and read it.… 'There was once a swordsman called Shoken who was very much annoyed by a furious rat in his house. The rat was bold enough to come out of its hiding place even in the daytime, doing all kinds of mischief. Shoken made his pet cat go after it but she was not its equal and being bitten by it, she ran away screaming. The swordsman now hired some of the neighbouring cats noted for their skill and courage in catching rats. They were let loose against the rat. Crouching in a corner, it watched the cats approach it and furiously attacked them one after

another. The cats were terrified and all beat a retreat.

'The master became desperate and tried to kill the rat himself. Taking up his wooden sword he approached it, but every effort of the experienced swordsman proved ineffectual for the rat dodged his sword so skilfully that it seemed to be flying through the air like a bird or even lightning. Before Shoken could follow its movement it had already made a successful leap at his head. He was perspiring heavily and finally decided to give up the chase. As a last resort he sent for the neighbouring cat widely known for her mysterious virtue as the most able rat-catcher. The cat did not look in any way especially different from other cats that had been invited to fight the rat. In fact, she was one of the most ordinary. The swordsman did not think very much of her but let her go into the room where the rat was located. The cat went in quietly and slowly as if she were not cognizant of any unusual scene in the room. The rat, however, was extremely terrified at the sight of the approaching object and stayed motionless, almost stupefied, in the corner. The cat almost nonchalantly went for the rat and came out carrying it by the neck.

'In the evening, all the cats who had participated in the rat-catching had a grand session at Shoken's house and respectfully asked the great cat to take the seat of honour. They made profound bows before her and said: "We are all noted for valour and cunning but never realized that there was such an extraordinary rat in the world. None of us was able to do anything with it until you came; and how easily you carried the day ! We all wish you to divulge your secrets for our benefit but before that let us see how much we all know about the art of fighting rats."

'The black cat came forward and said: "I was born in a family reputed for its skill in the art. Since my kitten days I have trained myself with a view to becoming a great rat-catcher. I am able to leap over a screen as high as seven feet; I know how to squeeze myself through a tiny hole which allows a rat only. I am proficient in performing all kinds of acrobatics. I am also clever at making the rats think that I am sound asleep, but I know how to strike at them as soon as they come within my reach. Even those running over the beam cannot escape me. It is really a shame that I had to retreat before that old rat today.

'The great veteran cat said: "What you have learned is the technique of the art. Your mind is ever conscious of planning how to combat the opponent. The reason why the ancient masters devised the technique is to acquaint us with the

proper method of accomplishing the work, and the method is naturally simple and effective, simplifying all the essential points of the art. Those who follow the master fail to grasp his principle and are too busily occupied with improving their technical cleverness and manipulatory skill.

The end is achieved and cleverness attains its highest efficiency, but what does it all amount to? Cleverness is an activity of the mind, no doubt, but it must be in accordance with the way. When the latter is neglected 1/08/07

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and mere cleverness is aimed at, it diverges and is apt to be abused. This is to be remembered well in the art of fighting."

'The tiger cat stepped forward and expressed his view thus: "To my mind, what is important in the art of fighting is the spirit (ki; ch'i in Chinese); I have long trained myself in its cultivation and development. I am now in possession of the strongest spirit which fills up heaven and earth. -When I face an opponent my overawing spirit is already on him and victory is on my side even prior to actual combat. I have no conscious scheme as to the use of technical skill but it comes out spontaneously according to change of situation. If a rat should be running over a beam, I would just gaze at him intensely with all my spiritual strength and he is sure to fall by himself from the height and be my prisoner. But that old mysterious rat moved along without leaving any shadow. The reason is beyond me."

'The grand old cat's reply was this: "You know how to make the most of your psychic powers but the very fact of your being conscious of it works against you; your strong psyche stands opposed to the opponents, and you can never be sure of yours being stronger than his, for there is always a possibility of its being surpassed. You may feel as if your active vigorous psyche were filling the universe, but it is not the spirit itself, it is no more than its shadowy image. It may resemble Mencius' Kozen no ki (haojan chi ch'i), but in reality it is not. Mencius' ch'i (spirit), as we know, is bright and illuminating, and for this reason full of vigour, whereas yours gains vigour owing to conditions. Because of this difference in origin, there is a difference in its operation. The one great river

incessantly flowing, and the other is a temporary flood after a heavy rainfall, soon exhausted when it encounters a mightier onrush. A desperate rat often proves stronger than an attacking cat. It has been cornered, the fight is for life and death, and the desperate victim harbours no desire to escape unhurt. Its mental attitude defies every possible danger which may come upon it. Its whole being incarnates the fighting ch'i (spirit or psyche) and no cats can withstand its steellike resistance."

'The grey cat now advanced quietly and said: "As you tell us, a psyche however strong is always accompanied by its shadow, and the enemy is sure to take advantage of this shadow, though it may be the faintest one. I have for a long time disciplined myself in this way: not to overawe the enemy, not to force a fight, but to assume a yielding and conciliatory attitude. When the enemy proves strong, I just look yielding and simply follow up his movements. I act like a curtain surrendering itself to the pressure of a stone thrown at it. Even a strong rat finds no means to fight me. But the one we had to deal with today had no parallel, it refused to submit to my psychical overpowering, and was not tempted by my manifestation of a yielding psyche. It was a most mysterious creature -- the like of which I have never seen in my life."

'The grand old cat answered: "What you call a yielding psyche is not in harmony with nature: it is man made, it is a contrivance worked out in your conscious mind. When you try by means of this to crush the opponents positive impassioned attacking psyche, he is quick enough to detect any sign of psychic wavering which may go on in your mind, which is sure to interfere with acuteness of perception and agility of action, for then nature feels impeded in pursuing its original and spontaneous course of movement. To make nature display its mysterious way of-achieving things is to do away with all your own thinking, contriving, and acting. Let nature have her own way, let her act as it feels in you, and there will be no shadows, no signs, no traces whereby you can be caught; you have then no foes who can successfully resist you. I am not, however, going to say that all the discipline you have each so far gone through has been to no purpose.

After all, the way expresses itself through its vessels. Technical contrivances hold the reason (ri, li) in them, the spiritual power is operative in the body, and when it is in harmony with nature it acts in perfect accord with environmental changes. When the yielding psyche is thus upheld it gives a stop to fighting on the physical plane of force and is able to stand even against rocks. But there is

one most essential consideration which when neglected is sure to upset everything. This is: not to cherish even a speck of self-conscious thought. When this is present in your mind all your acts become self-willed, human-designed tricks, and are not in conformity with the way. It is then that people refuse to yield to your approach and come to set up a psyche of antagonism on their part. When you are in the state of mind known as 'mindlessness' (mushin), you act in unison with nature without resorting at all to artificial contrivances. The way, however, is above all limitations, and all this talk of mine is far from being exhaustive as far as the way is concerned.

'Some time ago there was in my neighbourhood a cat who passed all her time in sleeping, showing no sign of spiritual-animal power, and looking like a wooden image. People never saw her catch a single rat, but wherever she roamed about no rats ever dared to appear in her presence. I once visited her and asked for the reason. She gave no answer. I repeated my query four times but she remained silent. It was not that she was unwilling to answer but in truth she did not know how to answer. So we note that one who knows, speaks not a word, while one who speaks, knows not. That old cat was forgetful not only of herself but all 1/08/07

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things about her; she was in the highest spiritual state of purposelessness. She was the one who realised divine warriorship and killed not. I am not to be compared to her. But even though she did not say a single word to me I understood her open secret. I could feel in her presence the simple phenomenon that she was extraordinarily ordinary. Nothing else was needed. If one lives one's ordinary reality one lives tao and everything is possible. Since then I have lived very ordinarily. I have forgotten all that I had learnt. In fact, I am disappearing as an entity and nature has started to function without any interference. This is what is called wei-wu-wei -- action through inaction and this is my secret."'

This Zen people call the open secret. It is your nature to become God, it is everybody's nature to become God. If we are missing we are missing because we are preparing for it. It is a natural, spontaneous phenomenon. And my whole

approach is to help you understand that it is not something to be done: it is something to be just open to. And you will be able to catch the rat!

[A sannyasin, who is leaving, says he has much internal conflict about what to do, etc.]

The problem arises because we think things are very very significant or important; they are not. Whether you do or you don't do, it simply matters not. But we think that it is very important, and the more important you think it is, the more you will be in conflict and in trouble. It is all the same ! One day we will not be here and the world will continue perfectly well... it will not miss us!

So why bother? How does it matter? Whether [you have] done a few groups or not doesn't matter really.

Whether [you have] been or not does not matter. Once you see the insignificance of things then all conflict disappears. Then it is good if you feel like doing something. If you don't feel like doing then it is perfectly good not to do it.

You have to loosen a little bit, you have to drop your seriousness about things. But that seriousness is very very deep-rooted in everybody. It seems as if without us, without us doing great things, the world will simply stop. Just see the insignificance of all that we can do and then suddenly there is freedom; playfulness arises. You have to enter into a kind of playfulness, otherwise you will remain burdened. Take things non-seriously.

And both are good. You have a deep-rooted habit of thinking in either/or. Start thinking in terms of both-and. Either/or is always anxiety creating. And there is no way to decide. Logically, argumentatively there is no way to decide. Both are equally valid or equally invalid. So the problem cannot be solved on those grounds.

If one chooses whether to believe in God or not to believe in God, both the sides have equivalent proofs, equal arguments and there is no way to decide. That is how it is about everything. If you want to decide, you will be in trouble. Start living in indecisiveness. And if this happens, perfectly good; if that happens perfectly good. Then you don't have much choice, and when there is no choice all is good.

You have to imbibe that spirit of non-seriousness, playfulness. Have this attitude

in every situation.

Because you have the attitude you have in everything you do: your mind immediately gives either/or. This is the habit, the Aristotelian habit. Everything has to be either black or white. In fact life is grey. And with grey everything goes well!...

Life is so beautiful -- don't destroy it on mind games!

[A sannyasin says that he may have difficulty in wearing orange all the time in the West because of his work (he is a mechanical engineer).

Do they have some rule against orange? asks Osho. They won't be able to take you to court for not wearing orange. If white is allowed and blue is allowed and green is allowed, how is it they are against orange? Orange is such an innocent colour! We laugh, and I see the wisdom of Osho's words as he tells him not to be bothered about others' opinions, not to be swayed by small things, otherwise he will never become integrated. Take the risk! Osho says, even if it means losing your job. Become a beggar! One should try to be oneself without compromise. And you can invite sannyasins to your office!]

[Osho invites a sannyasin's mother to take sannyas, but she says she still doesn't understand it.]

Nobody does and people still become sannyasins! This si not a thing to be understood. This is a kind of love affair: one simply falls into it and disappears.

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The Open Secret

Chapter #19

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