Zen

NIRVANA: THE LAST NIGHTMARE

Chapter 10: Living in nirvana

Question 4

 

 

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Question 4

WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN GOING WITHIN AND GOING NOWHERE?

There is no difference. Going nowhere is going within. Going within is going nowhere. The difference is only that of terminology. If you ask upanishads, they say go within. If you ask Buddha, he says go nowhere. And if you ask me, both mean the same; but still, 'nowhere' is better than 'within'.

Why? Because the moment you say 'within' you have created a dichotomy of without and within -- as if god is only within and not without. God is without also. God is within also. It is the same life that is within me and without, within you and without. It is the same phenomenon, so why create a dichotomy?

When Buddha says go nowhere, that is what nirvana is -- going nowhere.

If you understand, going nowhere simply means going not. Going nowhere does not mean going nowhere. It simply means going not... just being, not going at all -- because all going is motivated, all going is because of desire.

When there is no desire, everything stops. When there is no desire, there is no movement. Time stops. Future drops, past disappears -- only this moment, only this moment....

Just the other day I quoted Basho's haiku:

THE ANCIENT POND

A FROG JUMPED IN

PLOP.

Time has stopped.

In Japanese it is even more beautiful; that cannot be translated.

If I try an exact translation then it will be like this:

ANCIENT POND

FROG JUMPED IN

PLOP.

A process. When we say 'a frog jumped in', it is as if something is ended, finished, completed. In Japanese it is not 'a frog jumped in'; it is 'a frog jump-in'. Just the process -- plop! -- the sound -- and everything has stopped.

Basho has also made a picture of that frog and the pond. If you look deep into the frog's eyes you will find Bodhidharma sitting there. The eyes of the frog are almost like Bodhidharma, plopping out.

A moment when time stops.... And why is the frog jumping in? There is no why. A jump-in -- for no motivation, for no desire. It just happened. It just happened that the frog found himself jumping in. A stirring... the pond stirred; the sound... the air stirred, and then nothing. Nothing was before, nothing is after -- just in between, a happening.

It is neither coming in, nor is it going out. It is going nowhere. It is not going at all. A moment when everything stops, an unmotivated moment. It does not mean that you will not be walking. You may jump in the ancient pond -- that is not the point -- but there is no motivation... for nothing.

You move for the sheer joy of movement. You breathe for the sheer joy of breathing. You don't desire anything out of it. You don't desire even the next moment. Plop. This moment is enough.

Buddha's saying, 'going nowhere', is a better expression. But don't be caught in words. All buddhas mean the same -- jesus, Mahavir, Zarathustra, Lao Tzu or Gautam Buddha. Whatsoever their expressions, they all mean the same. Don't by to be scholarly, and don't be a word-chopper. It is all the same.

You can call it coming in, or you can even call it going out. Christianity, islam, judaism, they all say god is there, thou, somewhere outside you. You have to fall in love with that and disappear in that love. Hinduism, buddhism, jainism, they say god is in, somewhere within you. You have to disappear there. But these are all ways of saying, because god is out and god is in, because all outs and ins are within him.

Don't be a word-chopper, otherwise you can go on and on playing with words.

Let me tell you one anecdote:

"'The last time I gave you money,' said the old lady, 'you promised you would not walk straight into the pub and spend it.'

'That's right,' said the tramp.

'Well, you did!'

'Lady, don't you know the difference between a walk and a sprint?"'

Don't be a word-chopper. Whether you run into the pub or you walk in, it is all the same. The tramp must have been a very clever man. He is saying, 'Lady, don't you know the difference between a walk and a sprint? I had promised not to walk. I never promised not to run.'

Remember, words can be a dangerous game. The whole point is, be unmotivated. Then whether you go out or you go in, or go somewhere or go nowhere, is irrelevant. Be unmotivated.

People come to me and they say, 'We would like to be happy.' Their whole life is motivated -- they would like to be happy -- and I feel very sad for them. Because happiness is not a motivation. You can either be happy this moment or you will never be happy. You cannot say, 'I would like to be happy tomorrow.' That is foolish.

And happiness needs no prerequirements, no prerequisites. Just see the point of it. You can be happy right now as you are. If you really want to be happy, then don't try to be happy -- just be happy. Who is blocking the way? Who is hindering you? Who is forcing you to be unhappy?

But you say, 'Right now I have to be unhappy, but tomorrow I would like to be happy.' The tomorrow is going to be the same. It will come as a today. This today was also tomorrow yesterday. And yesterday you told me, 'I'm going to be happy tomorrow.'

If this is the way, if this is your logic, happiness is never going to happen. It is already happening. Just be happy. You give it a try. Just for twenty-four hours remain happy. Whenever you catch yourself getting unhappy again, give a good jerk and be happy. Shake the whole body and be happy again. It is just a knack. It has nothing to do with the tomorrow or the future. It is just a knack, an art.

I have never seen any situation in which a man cannot be happy. And I have also not seen any situation in which a man cannot be unhappy. It depends on you. It is your decision.

Happiness comes when you remain in an unmotivated moment... a sheer delight in being.

 

Next: Chapter 10: Living in nirvana, Question 5

 

Energy Enhancement                Enlightened Texts                Zen                 Nirvana: The Last Nightmare

 

 

Chapter 10

 

  • Talks on Zen, Nirvana: The Last Nightmare Chapter 10: Living in nirvana, Question 1
    Talks on Zen, Nirvana: The Last Nightmare Chapter 10: Living in nirvana, Question 1, DURING ONE OF YOUR LECTURES WE LEARNED THAT IF WE TRY TO LEAVE OUR EGO JUST BY TRYING TO BE HUMBLE FOR EXAMPLE, THEN THE EGO COMES THROUGH HUMILITY. WE ALSO LEARNED THAT THE ONLY WAY TO GET RID OF THE EGO IS MEDITATION. BUT DOESN'T THE EGO COME THROUGH THAT ALSO? I ASK THIS BECAUSE I'VE SEEN LIVE EXAMPLES IN THE ASHRAM at energyenhancement.org

  • Talks on Zen, Nirvana: The Last Nightmare Chapter 10: Living in nirvana, Question 2
    Talks on Zen, Nirvana: The Last Nightmare Chapter 10: Living in nirvana, Question 2, EVERY TIME I THINK I WANT TO DO SOMETHING, THE COMPLETE OPPOSITE HAPPENS AND I FEEL AS IF I AM GOING CRAZY. IT FEELS AS IF I HAVE NO MORE POWER OVER WHAT IS HAPPENING TO ME at energyenhancement.org

  • Talks on Zen, Nirvana: The Last Nightmare Chapter 10: Living in nirvana, Question 3
    Talks on Zen, Nirvana: The Last Nightmare Chapter 10: Living in nirvana, Question 3, SEVERAL SANNYASINS HAVE TOLD ME THAT YOU DO NOT APPROVE OF MACROBIOTICS. IS THIS SO? I WONDER WHETHER YOUR CRITICISMS WERE DIRECTED AT OBSESSIVE ATTITUDES TOWARDS DIET RATHER THAN AT THE PRINCIPLES OF MACROBIOTICS. MACROBIOTICS IS PURE TAOISM. THERE ARE NO RULES AND NO PROHIBITIONS. ITS EMPHASIS IS ON AWARENESS, FREEDOM, SENSIBILITY AND FLEXIBILITY. IT HAS NOTHING AT ALL TO DO WITH FOOD FADS, RIGID DIETS OR OBSESSIVE ATTITUDES. BROWN RICE IS MISTAKENLY REGARDED BY SOME AS THE BASIS OF MACROBIOTICS, BUT IT IS ONLY ONE ELEMENT AND CAN BE USED OR DISCARDED, RECOGNIZED OR IGNORED at energyenhancement.org

  • Talks on Zen, Nirvana: The Last Nightmare Chapter 10: Living in nirvana, Question 4
    Talks on Zen, Nirvana: The Last Nightmare Chapter 10: Living in nirvana, Question 4, WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN GOING WITHIN AND GOING NOWHERE? at energyenhancement.org

  • Talks on Zen, Nirvana: The Last Nightmare Chapter 10: Living in nirvana, Question 5
    Talks on Zen, Nirvana: The Last Nightmare Chapter 10: Living in nirvana, Question 5, HOW TO BE CREATIVE WHILE DOING JOBS WHICH SEEM NOT TO LEAVE ANY SPACE FOR CREATIVITY, LIKE CLEANING, ETC.? at energyenhancement.org

 

 

 
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