My Way: The Way of the White Clouds

The Way of the White Clouds

The Way of the White Clouds. Buddha said a buddha dies like a white cloud disappearing. A white cloud has no roots, no way of its own—it drifts, nowhere to reach, no destination. Wherever it reaches is the goal. A goal-oriented mind is bound to frustration. A white cloud doesn't resist, doesn't fight—you can't defeat it because it has no mind to conquer. The whole existence is purposeless; once you have a purpose, you're against the whole. Drift like a cloud: nowhere to go, everywhere is home.

The Mystery Beyond Mind

The Mystery Beyond Mind. 'Why are we with you?' Whys are unanswerable—existence simply is. Mind asks why like leaves grow from trees—cut one, many grow. Mind wants to know causes to become master, to kill mystery. Mind is a murderer of mysteries, at ease only with dead things. Don't insist on whys. A white cloud floats—no why about it. The mystery beyond mind: when mind stops questioning, existence reveals itself as pure mystery.

To be Miserable or Ecstatic...?

To be Miserable or Ecstatic? The old man: 'Every morning I choose to be happy.' Why do we choose misery? Because misery brings sympathy, attention, love—the ego feeds on attention. A happy child is ignored; an unhappy child becomes dictatorial. Clubs like Rotary and Lions exist to give attention to those who can't get it otherwise. The ego exists in relationship—without attention it dissolves. From childhood we learn: look miserable, gain something. Happiness is always a loss in this power game.

All Hopes are False

All Hopes are False. All hopes are false—hope comes from your falsity of being. If you are real, no hope is needed. Ego exists only in past and future, never in the present. The ego is all false hopes combined. Dropping the ego is not giving a new hope—it's taking all hopes away. That's why it's so difficult: hope has become synonymous with life. Without hope you feel dead. But only without hope can you truly live—here, now, real.

Dropping the Ego Now

Dropping the Ego Now. 'Can the ego be dropped progressively?' No—the dropping is always instantaneous. Any gradual process strengthens the ego because it's an effort. Only a jump, a discontinuity with the past, drops the ego. Ego is the past—all that has happened to you. You are that to whom all has happened. A child is beautiful because egoless; an old man can be beautiful again if he drops the ego—a second childhood, a rebirth. The ego must come to a peak, be ripe—only then can it fall.

Are You Still Carrying her?

Are You Still Carrying her? Two monks crossed a river—the younger carried a girl on his shoulders. At the monastery gate, the older scolded him. The younger: 'I left her at the river bank—are you still carrying her?' Man can suppress or transform energies—no other being can. Suppression hides energies; transformation redirects them. Sex has something inherently embarrassing. Don't suppress, don't express blindly—transform. The older monk still carried the girl in his mind.

The Mystery of Relationship

The Mystery of Relationship. When two persons meet, a new world is created. Relationship is created by you, then it creates you. When peripheries meet, it's acquaintance. When centers meet, it's love. Love is rare—meeting at the center means becoming absolutely vulnerable, open. You must allow the other to reach your center. Most relationships remain on the periphery. A mother is born when a child is born—something absolutely new. Relationship is the most complex phenomenon.

Only a Ripe Fruit Falls

Only a Ripe Fruit Falls. Before you can lose your ego, you must attain it—only a ripe fruit falls. An unripe ego, if fought, becomes stronger in subtle ways. In the East, egolessness is preached from birth—so ego never becomes ripe, almost impossible to dissolve. In the West, strong ego is taught—so when a seeker understands ego is the problem, it's easy to dissolve. The paradox: the East preaches egolessness but can't dissolve ego; the West builds ego but can dissolve it. Don't suppress the ego—let it ripen.

Surrender and I will do the Rest

Surrender and I will do the Rest. 'You say surrender and I'll do the rest—but also that you do nothing.' Truth is infinite—no partial statement can contain it; the opposite must be included. 'Surrender and I will do the rest' is said to make your surrender total. But if you've truly surrendered, nothing more is needed—surrender itself is the thing. Surrender means the ego is dropped; when you are no more, everything is done. The master appears to do something, but surrender alone is enough.

You are the Way

You are the Way. Nan-in asked the monk: 'On which side of your umbrella did you leave your shoes?' The monk hesitated—he wasn't in every-minute Zen. Awareness should be moment-to-moment, but only when effortless. With effort you'll lose contact again and again—effort needs rest. There is a transcendental awareness: no pulsation, no effort, spontaneous. The monk's awareness was still strained—he succeeded sometimes, failed sometimes. When awareness becomes natural, it's always there—you are the way.

You are the Meeting Point

You are the Meeting Point. 'Everything feels possible with you, but in daily life we feel cut off.' Don't think in terms of compromise—compromise never fulfills. You are the meeting point of silence and activity, aloneness and relationship. If your happiness depends on being alone, you'll suffer with others. Let happiness be your quality, not dependent on any condition. Carry the quality of aloneness into involvement. Be integrated within—then silence and activity are not contradictions.

Whatsoever you do, be Total

Whatsoever you do, be Total. Follow the master absolutely or not at all—no compromise. Half-heartedness divides you, and a divided self cannot grow. Follow blindly, as if you have no eyes—someone who has eyes is leading you. Or follow your own consciousness completely. Both lead to the same result: an undivided unity. The mind says do both—follow the master but also judge. That's deception: you're really following yourself while pretending to surrender. The master's guidance has organic unity—you can't discard parts.

God is in Search of You

God is in Search of You. 'We can't consult you on every detail.' The real problem is how to be more meditative. The master is not confined to a body—wherever you are, if meditative, you're in his presence. Even a dead master can be consulted—Buddha is still consulted. When mind is silent, the answer arises from your depth. Mohammed heard the Koran—nobody was speaking. The answer comes from your own buddha-nature. God is in search of you—you are hiding from your own depth.

Both are Needed

Both are Needed. 'One child is serene, the other disturbed—why?' Existence is divine—where does evil come from? Mind creates a duality: God and devil. But if God created everything, he created the devil—or God isn't supreme. The East says: no duality, only God exists. Evil is your interpretation—what you can't understand, you call bad. Both are needed: the difficult one forces you to grow, the serene one gives you rest. Accept both—they are two aspects of the same divine existence.

Share Through Your Being

Share Through Your Being. 'What should we tell others about sannyas?' You cannot share it verbally—language is impotent, it can say only dead things. Share through your being: the way you walk, sit, look, your silence, your bliss. Sannyas is freedom from the mind—mind is accumulated past, always dead. Live in the moment: die to the past every moment, be born anew. Don't gather dust—the mirror of your being gets covered. Be a sannyasin; that is the only way to tell what sannyas is.