OSHO
ZEN
THE BUDDHA: THE EMPTINESS OF THE HEART
Chapter 8: The man of enlightened freedom
Question 1
Energy Enhancement Enlightened Texts Zen The emptiness of the heart
Question 1
Maneesha has asked a question:
OUR BELOVED MASTER,
I FIND IT MORE DIFFICULT TO DISIDENTIFY FROM MY FEELINGS THAN FROM MY THOUGHTS. IT SEEMS THAT THIS IS BECAUSE MY FEELINGS ARE MORE ROOTED IN MY BODY.
ARE FEELINGS CLOSER TO THE HEAD, IN FACT, THAN TO THE EMPTY HEART?
This is a fallacy created by the poets. Your thoughts, your feelings, your emotions, your sentiments, all are centered in your head. It is just a fallacy to think that your feelings are in the heart. Your heart is just a blood pumping station.
When we are talking about the empty heart, we are really talking about the empty mind. Buddha has used the word `heart' instead of mind because mind has become associated with the idea that it is only the process of thinking, and the process of feeling is in the heart, and the heart is deeper.
These ideas have been created by the poets. But the truth is, you can call it empty mind or you can call it empty heart; it is the same. Emptiness -- you are just a watcher and all around there is nothing with which you are identified, there is nothing to which you are clinging. This non-clinging watchfulness is the empty mind, no-mind, or empty heart. These are simply words. The real thing is emptiness -- of all thoughts, feelings, sentiments, emotions. Only a single point of witnessing remains.
And you will find it difficult. Disidentifying from thoughts is easier because thoughts are more superficial. Disidentifying from the feelings is a little difficult because they are deeper, and they are rooted more in your biology, in your chemistry, in your hormones. Thoughts are just floating clouds. They are not rooted in your chemistry, in your biology, in your physiology, in your hormones, they are just floating clouds without any roots. But feelings have roots, so it is difficult to uproot them.
It is easy to become watchful about the theory of relativity. It is difficult to be a witness of your anger, your love, your greed, your ambition. The reason is they are rooted more deeply in the body. But if you can disidentify yourself from the body, there is no difficulty.
And, Maneesha, being a woman it is a little more difficult. There are differences between men and women....
Mulla Nasruddin was reading his newspaper and suddenly called his wife and said, "I have caught four flies: two are males and two are females."
The wife said, "My god, how did you manage to know their sex?"
He said, "Easy! Two were reading the newspaper with me for hours. And two were sitting on the mirror, completely glued."
So it is a little difficult. But witnessing is such a sharp sword -- it cuts thoughts, feelings, emotions, in a single blow. And you know it by experience now: as you go deeper in your meditation, the body is left far behind, the emotions, the thoughts... only the witnessing remains. That is your authentic nature. The emptiness of the buddha's heart... when you are so empty, you are one with the Buddha. You are one with all the buddhas of all times, past, present, future.
Next: Chapter 8: The man of enlightened freedom, Question 2
Energy Enhancement Enlightened Texts Zen The emptiness of the heart
Chapters:
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Osho - Talks on Zen: The Buddha: The Emptiness of the Heart, Chapter 1: The emptiness of the heart, TAKING THINGS EASILY AND WITHOUT FORCING, AFTER SOME TIME THE RUSH OF THOUGHT, OUTWARD AND INWARD, SUBSIDES NATURALLY, AND THE TRUE FACE SHOWS ITSELF at energyenhancement.org
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Osho - Talks on Zen: The Buddha: The Emptiness of the Heart, Chapter 1: The emptiness of the heart, Question 1, IN THE WEST, THEY SAY THAT LOVE -- TWO FULL HEARTS -- MAKES THE WORLD GO ROUND. JUDGING BY THE CASUALTY RATE, FULL HEARTS DON'T SEEM TO BE THE ANSWER. WHAT IS THE WORLD OF THE EMPTY HEART OF ZEN? at energyenhancement.org
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Osho - Talks on Zen: The Buddha: The Emptiness of the Heart, Chapter 2: Twenty-four hours a day, ZEN PRACTICE IS NOT CLARIFYING CONCEPTUAL DISTINCTIONS, BUT THROWING AWAY ONE'S PRECONCEIVED VIEWS AND NOTIONS AND THE SACRED TEXTS AND ALL THE REST, AND PIERCING THROUGH THE LAYERS OF COVERINGS OVER THE SPRING OF SELF BEHIND THEM at energyenhancement.org
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Osho - Talks on Zen: The Buddha: The Emptiness of the Heart, Chapter 2: Twenty-four hours a day, Question 1, WHAT IS THE WISDOM OF THE HEART? at energyenhancement.org
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Osho - Talks on Zen: The Buddha: The Emptiness of the Heart, Chapter 3: This knowing is a transformation, Question 1, YESTERDAY, I REMEMBERED TO REMEMBER MY EMPTINESS MORE OFTEN THAN ANY OTHER DAY. I REMEMBERED AT THE TAILOR'S -- A CRUCIAL CRITERION at energyenhancement.org
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Osho - Talks on Zen: The Buddha: The Emptiness of the Heart, Chapter 3: This knowing is a transformation, Question 1, A LAYMAN ASKED BANKEI, THOUGH I AM GRATEFUL FOR YOUR TEACHING OF BIRTHLESSNESS, THOUGHTS FROM CONSTANTLY APPLIED MENTAL HABITS READILY COME UP, AND I GET LOST IN THEM AND HAVE DIFFICULTY REMAINING CONTINUALLY UNBORN at energyenhancement.org
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Osho - Talks on Zen: The Buddha: The Emptiness of the Heart, Chapter 4: Enter the door of anatta, A MONK ASKED RINZAI, WHAT IS THE ATTITUDE OF THE HEART WHICH DOES NOT CHANGE FROM MOMENT TO MOMENT? at energyenhancement.org
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Osho - Talks on Zen: The Buddha: The Emptiness of the Heart, Chapter 4: Enter the door of anatta, Question 1, I THINK I HEARD YOU SAY RECENTLY THAT WHEN WE ARE AWARE OF OUR EMPTINESS, WHEN WE ARE CONSCIOUS... at energyenhancement.org
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Osho - Talks on Zen: The Buddha: The Emptiness of the Heart, Chapter 5: In the blink of an eye, DAIO SAID TO GENCHU: SINCE ANCIENT TIMES, THE ENLIGHTENED ANCESTORS APPEARING IN THE WORLD RELIED JUST ON THEIR OWN FUNDAMENTAL EXPERIENCE TO REVEAL SOMETHING OF WHAT IS BEFORE US... at energyenhancement.org
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Osho - Talks on Zen: The Buddha: The Emptiness of the Heart, Chapter 5: In the blink of an eye, Question 1, IS IT BECAUSE YOU SPEAK FROM YOUR OWN FUNDAMENTAL EXPERIENCE THAT YOUR WORDS SPONTANEOUSLY IMPRESS ONE AS TRUE, AS UNEQUIVOCAL COMMON SENSE, EVEN THOUGH THE LISTENER MAY NOT HAVE HAD SUCH EXPERIENCE? at energyenhancement.org
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Osho - Talks on Zen: The Buddha: The Emptiness of the Heart, Chapter 6: To take up a koan, AT THE BEGINNING YOU HAVE TO TAKE UP A KOAN. THE KOAN IS SOME DEEP SAYING OF A PATRIARCH. ITS EFFECT IN THIS WORLD OF DISTINCTIONS IS TO MAKE A MAN'S GAZE STRAIGHT, AND TO GIVE HIM STRENGTH AS HE STANDS ON THE BRINK OF THE RIVER BANK at energyenhancement.org
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Osho - Talks on Zen: The Buddha: The Emptiness of the Heart, Chapter 6: To take up a koan, Question 1, THIS UNSPEAKABLE THAT YOU ARE TRYING TO COMMUNICATE TO US, THIS UNGRASPABLE THAT WE ARE TRYING TO GET -- SOMETIMES IT SEEMS PROFOUNDLY MYSTERIOUS, SOMETIMES IT SEEMS EMBARRASSINGLY OBVIOUS. IS IT EITHER OF THESE -- OR BOTH TOGETHER? at energyenhancement.org
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Osho - Talks on Zen: The Buddha: The Emptiness of the Heart, Chapter 7: From the surface to the center, IN THE SCHOOL OF THE ANCESTRAL TEACHERS, WE POINT DIRECTLY TO THE HUMAN MIND. VERBAL EXPLANATIONS AND ILLUSTRATIVE DEVICES ACTUALLY MISS THE POINT at energyenhancement.org
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Osho - Talks on Zen: The Buddha: The Emptiness of the Heart, Chapter 7: From the surface to the center, Question 1, WHEN WE FUNCTION FROM THE PERIPHERY, WHEN WE FUNCTION OUT OF UNAWARENESS, IT SEEMS THAT OUR ENERGY GETS CAUGHT UP SOMEHOW AND SO OUR MAXIMUM ENERGY IS NOT AVAILABLE. IS IT TRUE THAT WHEN WE FUNCTION FROM OUR EMPTINESS, WE COULD HAVE ACCESS TO UNLIMITED ENERGY? at energyenhancement.org
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Osho - Talks on Zen: The Buddha: The Emptiness of the Heart, Chapter 8: The man of enlightened freedom, THE ENLIGHTENED MAN ENJOYS PERFECT FREEDOM IN ACTIVE LIFE. HE IS LIKE A DRAGON SUPPORTED BY DEEP WATERS, OR LIKE A TIGER THAT COMMANDS ITS MOUNTAIN RETREAT at energyenhancement.org
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Osho - Talks on Zen: The Buddha: The Emptiness of the Heart, Chapter 8: The man of enlightened freedom, Question 1, I FIND IT MORE DIFFICULT TO DISIDENTIFY FROM MY FEELINGS THAN FROM MY THOUGHTS. IT SEEMS THAT THIS IS BECAUSE MY FEELINGS ARE MORE ROOTED IN MY BODY. ARE FEELINGS CLOSER TO THE HEAD, IN FACT, THAN TO THE EMPTY HEART? at energyenhancement.org
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Osho - Talks on Zen: The Buddha: The Emptiness of the Heart, Chapter 8: The man of enlightened freedom, Question 2, I SAID I FELT AWARE OF AN EMPTINESS INSIDE, AND HOW STRANGE IT WAS TO RELATE TO LIFE FEELING LIKE THAT. YOU SUGGESTED I ACT ALL THOSE THINGS ONE HAS TO DO IN EVERYDAY LIFE at energyenhancement.org
