The Dhammapada: The Way of the Buddha, Vol 7

Man: only a possibility

Man: only a possibility. 'You are as the yellow leaf. The messengers of death are at hand. You are the lamp to light the way—hurry, hurry.' Man: only a possibility—not a reality yet. You can become a Buddha or remain a machine. The lamp is within you—light it before death comes. Hurry—not out of fear but because the moment is precious.

The greatest rebellion ever tried

The greatest rebellion ever tried. 'From where does freshness come?' From awareness—each moment fresh, new, unborn. The greatest rebellion ever tried: meditation is the greatest rebellion—against the past, against the mind, against the whole conditioning. It's not a revolution of the society but of the individual consciousness. Freshness comes from living in the present.

Life: the greatest gift

Life: the greatest gift. 'Life is easy for the man without shame, but life is hard for the man who quietly undertakes the way.' Life: the greatest gift—not to be wasted in misery. The shameless man finds life easy because he has no conscience. The seeker finds it hard because he walks against the current. But the hard path leads to the ultimate gift.

A real man is unpredictable

A real man is unpredictable. 'The leaf lets go and greets its dying with inner grace.' A real man is unpredictable: the awakened one doesn't follow patterns. His responses are fresh, spontaneous. The leaf lets go gracefully—death is natural, not to be feared. The real man dies as beautifully as he lives.

Truth is that which is

Truth is that which is. 'If you determine your course with force or speed, you miss the way. Quietly consider what is right and what is wrong.' Truth is that which is: not what should be, not what could be—what IS. The mind wants to change reality; awareness accepts it. Don't force—flow. The way is found in stillness, not in speed.

Don't take enlightenment seriously

Don't take enlightenment seriously. 'How did you become enlightened?' Osho: by not seeking it. Don't take enlightenment seriously: seriousness is the disease of the ego. Enlightenment is the most playful phenomenon—take it playfully. The serious seeker never finds; the playful one stumbles upon it. I became enlightened by forgetting about enlightenment.

The silence of a song

The silence of a song. 'Silence cannot make a master out of a fool. He harms no living thing. And yet it is not good conduct that helps you upon the way.' The silence of a song: true silence is not dead—it sings. It's not the silence of a dead man but of a fulfilled lover. Good conduct is a byproduct, not the cause. Awareness produces virtue, not vice versa.

Be in it; don't be of it

Be in it; don't be of it. 'Sitting silently amidst the chaos—you are the way.' Be in it; don't be of it: the lotus is in the mud but not of it. The master is in the world but not of it. Don't renounce the world—renounce identification with it. You are the way: the master doesn't point to a way—he IS the way.

Man's absence is his freedom

Man's absence is his freedom. 'The way is eightfold. There are four truths. All virtue lies in detachment.' Man's absence is his freedom: when the ego is absent, freedom is present. The eightfold path is not eight steps but eight aspects of one phenomenon: awareness. Detachment is not withdrawal—it's non-identification.

Perfection is death

Perfection is death. 'Talk about the desire to help people.' The desire to help is ego disguised as compassion. Perfection is death: the perfect person is dead—only the growing is alive. Don't seek perfection—seek aliveness. The desire to help others is often a desire to escape helping yourself. First be, then help.