When I call you my friends, I mean it

Friends,

The supreme commanding body of Indian Buddhists, Mahabodhi Sabha, has come with a very angry statement in the press against me. I used to think that Mahabodhi Sabha consists of wise people. I was absolutely wrong - it consists of otherwise guys!

The first thing these people should understand: it was not my fault. If you have to be angry, be angry with Gautam Buddha - he knocked on my doors. It is just because I have loved him and respected him that I allowed him to have shelter in my being.

Instead of being joyous, the Mahabodhi Sabha members are angry with me. Perhaps they wanted me to kick Gautam Buddha outright. I did, finally. Now it is a past story.

I have loved Gautam Buddha and I will continue to love him, but these people are better seen from far away. To have them inside you... it was a torture for me, for four days. But just to be polite and nice towards the ancient soul of Gautam Buddha, I waited for the right moment to say goodbye to him. Now there is no need for any Buddhist to be irritated or angry.

And anyway, I have to remind you that it was Gautam Buddha's choice to knock on my doors; I had not asked for it. Your being angry with me is sheer nonsense. It shows that every organized religion becomes a prison even to its own founder - they won't allow him to land again in another body!

Secondly, I had hoped that the people who have been following Buddha would have some compassion, some understanding, some intelligence. It seems they are just as bigoted, prejudiced, as any other organized religion; there is no difference.

It happened with Jesus: the Jews were angry because he was saying that he was the last prophet of the Jews - "for whom you have been waiting for centuries." The high priest of the great temple of the Jews, and the supreme body of the rabbis who decided matters about their religion, decided that this young man Jesus should be crucified. His sin? His crime? - that he was proclaiming himself to be the last prophet.

If you do not agree with him, that is perfectly okay, but there seems to be no reason that he should be crucified.

My case is absolutely different. I am not saying that I am anybody's reincarnation. I hate the very idea! I have my own original face; I don't want to become anybody's carbon copy.

The Mahabodhi Society is saying that I am making statements as if I am the reincarnation of Gautam the Buddha. I have never said a single word about reincarnation. I have simply said that he wanted to use my body - unfortunately I allowed him, but fortunately I was able to persuade him and to say goodbye to him.

Now as far as I am concerned the story is closed. If the Mahabodhi Society wants, it can file a court case against Gautam Buddha! Why did he knock on my doors?

It is not my fault. To be angry at me simply shows your stupidity. If you were really lovers of Gautam Buddha, you would have come here and investigated the case. No one entered these gates to inquire! You could have phoned and inquired, "What is the situation?" But no inquiry has been made at all.

And you are not even up-to-date about the event. That guy you think so much of is no longer here!

Next time, if he comes here he will be kicked out, I promise you - to your heart's content!

It is an old, very old story.

The people of Athens could not tolerate the genius of Socrates. In fact, he was the very cream of the Greek mind, but they poisoned him. The little man is always against the giant.

Jesus certainly proved a far bigger prophet than he was claiming to the Jews. After his crucifixion Christianity was born, which is now the biggest religion in the world - almost half of the world is Christian. Certainly, Jesus was not a false prophet. His genuineness is proved by the conversion of half of humanity to Christianity.

But Jews could not tolerate the man - particularly the rabbis, the learned, the scholarly, the people like the Mahabodhi Society of India. They could not tolerate him because if the last prophet is going to be born, he should be born in a high priest's body, or it may take place in some learned scholar, a great rabbi respected by the religion of the Jews. But the last prophet chooses to be a carpenter's son, uneducated, with no claims to scholarship. It was against the arrogance of the scholarly. This simple young man proved to be a great prophet in spite of his crucifixion - perhaps because of his crucifixion.

Just today, in a German scholarly magazine, a well-known psychoanalyst has compared me with Jesus. Far away in Germany, that psychoanalyst is more up-to-date about the story that has happened than the Mahabodhi Society. He says, "Just as the Jews could not tolerate Jesus, you will not be tolerated - particularly by the Buddhists." A simple insight....

But I am not claiming to be a reincarnation. I am not claiming anything except that the wandering soul of Gautam Buddha has visited me for four days.

Tathagat, who is the in-charge of this commune - please write underneath "Gautam the Buddha Auditorium," in brackets: "In the memory of his visitation for four days to this commune." Before it and after it, it is none of my concern.

And Maneesha, you should not use only the word 'Buddha'. You should use my full name, "Zorba The Buddha." That way, I am disconnected from every organized religion. I am just myself, and to be myself is not a sin.

I have my own approach to reality. I have said many times that Zorba is half, and Buddha is half.

I am a whole human being. I accept the reality of the outer existence, and I love it. And I accept the reality of the inner world. To me, both are one. Neither the inner can exist without the outer - what will be the meaning of the inner without the outer? - nor can the outer exist without the inner; they are two wings of a bird. Only with two wings the bird can fly across the sun in the vast sky of existence.

The sutra:

Daizui's answer is not literally relevant to the question, but Zen has no concern for literal or logical or rational approaches. It takes quantum leaps.

It was a simple thing that has been asked. A non-Buddhist scholar has given him a bowl - Buddhist monks use a bowl for begging. A monk, observing that Daizui has accepted the bowl, asked, "WHAT DID YOU USE BEFORE HE PRESENTED YOU WITH THE BOWL?"

The reason for his question is that Buddha has given the discipline of non-possession. If you already have a bowl you should not accept another, because it is absolutely useless. Or you should dispose of the first bowl, give it to some other monk who has none - but don't collect things.

That is why the monk asks, "What have you been using up to now?"

Daizui changed the whole dimension of the question. He said, "I USED THE ONE I SHALL USE ON MY LAST DAY ON EARTH."

He has dropped the idea of the bowl. In fact, he has not been using a bowl. There have been many Buddhist monks who have tried even to improve on Gautam Buddha. They have been using just the hands, like the Jaina monks who don't use a bowl but just their hands. Whatsoever can be contained in two hands cupped together, that is enough for twenty-four hours. Daizui had been following the same discipline, although it is not Buddhist. And he said, "I USED THE ONE I SHALL USE ON MY LAST DAY ON EARTH."

By 'That' is meant the inexpressible within you. Nothing can be said except an indication: THAT.

It is one of Gautam Buddha's most important contributions: the concept of no-self. On this point he rises high above any other religious prophet, tirthankara, shankaracharya. They all stop at the concept of self. Everything will be annihilated, but the self, the atman will remain.

In the language that Gautama used, Pali, the self is called atta, and no-self is called anatta. He preached anatta; you will disappear just as dewdrops disappear in the ocean.

Why cling to the idea of self? What will you do with the self when everything is annihilated?

And I agree with him, that at a certain point we were not; then we arose like a wave in the ocean. At some point the wave will be shattered on the rocks on the beach and disappear into the ocean. That seems to be absolutely sensible. You enjoyed your day, you blossomed in the morning with all your glory and splendor, and by the evening it is time to go, it is time to disappear back into the earth, into the cosmos.

No religion has been able to go beyond the self, because to go beyond the self you cannot find many followers. It looks so absurd: all kinds of ascetic disciplines, meditations, yoga, for what? - to be annihilated! Then what is wrong in being just what you are? Why bother, if everything is going to be annihilated? The buddha will be annihilated, and whether you are a buddha or not you will be annihilated too.

According to Indian mythology, which now coincides with the scientific investigations, the whole cosmos, everything, comes out of nothing. Maybe it remains in existence for millions or trillions of years, but a point comes when even the planets, the suns, the moons, even the great stars, get tired and old. It is not only that you die, everything that is born, dies. And in the end, this whole existence one day will die completely; there will be nothing except pure space.

That's how it was, some time back: out of nothing, this soap bubble arises, goes on becoming bigger and bigger and bigger. Then at a certain point it bursts forth, and disappears.

Daizui is right when he says, "It will be annihilated."

He has changed his question a little bit, but it makes much difference. First he has asked about that; now he is asking about this.

Daizui seems to be very strong, consistent in his observations. He takes his logical conclusion to the very end.

You may think that Shu is giving a different answer. No, he is saying the same thing in positive terms.

Because this fellow could not understand Daizui's negative approach, that everything is annihilated...

Shu seems to be compassionate and tries the other way round. He says,

What is the difference? If the dewdrop disappears, you can call it, in negative terms, the annihilation of the dewdrop. In positive terms you can say the dewdrop has become one with the ocean.

Both are the same answer, but from different angles. Don't think for a single moment that Shu is saying something different. It is the same, whether the dewdrop disappears or becomes one with the ocean. It is all a matter of what kind of language you love to use.

A haiku:

These beautiful haikus say so much without saying anything at all.

FULLY RESTED - utterly relaxed, I OPEN MY EYES - and My God! the spring has come all over.

The spring comes with your relaxation - he is talking about the inner spring. Thousands of flowers suddenly start blossoming. You are filled with fragrances of the beyond.

But be relaxed. And when you are utterly relaxed, in that restfulness become a witness and the spring is always there, ready to surround you from all directions.

Question 1:

Maneesha has asked a question:

Maneesha, "generosity of heart" will be a humiliation to you, it will be insulting. When I call you my friends, I mean it.

I would have loved to call you something even better, but English does not have something better.

Urdu has it: Mehre mehbub - My Love, My Beloved One.

Remember the words - Mehre mehbub.

I say to you, My Friends, My Loves, My Beloved Ones. I mean it. It is not generosity of the heart.

Do you understand me? Generosity of the heart will be insulting to you, and I cannot insult you in any way. I love you. Mehre mehbub.

It is time for Sardar Gurudayal Singh.

Mrs. Feigenbaum is having a nap one afternoon when she is awoken by the sounds of loud banging and groaning from downstairs. She creeps fearfully to the staircase and looks over. In the hallway below, she spies her seven-year-old son, Rubin, with a sex manual in his hand. He is standing on the head of six-year-old Ruthie from next door. Both of the kids are naked.

"I don't understand what has gone wrong," says Rubin. "This book says, 'Take off your clothes.' We did that. Then it says, 'The man gets on top of the woman.' I did that" - he's standing on her head!

- "'The man gets on top of the woman.' I did that. Where's all the fun in it?"

"I don't know," replies Ruthie, "all I know is, I have got a headache!"

Newton Hooton goes into the "Hog on Ice" restaurant and orders a glass of water. As Walter the waiter puts the glass on the table, Newton picks it up and throws it in his face.

"Ah! I am terribly sorry," says Newton. "I suffer from a rare tropical disease called the 'Heebie Jeebies' and it makes me do all sorts of weird things. Of course I am always really embarrassed later."

"Well, that's okay," says Walter, drying his face. "But I think you ought to go and see my psychiatrist friend, Doctor Feelgood."

A few weeks later, Newton Hooton comes back into the "Hog On Ice" and orders a glass of water from Walter. Walter brings the water and places it in front of Newton, and gets the water thrown right back into his face.

"I told you to go and see a shrink!" shouts the waiter.

"I did," replies Newton.

"Well, it didn't do any good, did it?" rages Walter.

"Yes it did," replies Newton, "because now I don't feel at all embarrassed!"

Rabbi Nussbaum and Rabbi Feldman go to the tailor shop owned by Marcus Pinkus and request two black suits. Pinkus hands each rabbi a suit.

"Are you sure these are black and not midnight blue?" asks Rabbi Nussbaum, peering closely at the material.

"Absolutely black, fit for a rabbi!" replies Marcus Pinkus. "Not a trace of blue."

So the two rabbis buy the suits and start to walk up the street.

"You know," says Rabbi Feldman, "I'm a bit worried that these suits from Marcus Pinkus aren't really black."

Just then, two nuns approach.

"Quick!" says Nussbaum. "Open the package and compare the suit to the nuns' habit. Nuns always wear pure black, so we'll know for sure!"

Feldman takes out the coat and, as the nuns walk by, he says, "Sister, could you tell me what time it is?"

As she looks at her watch, Feldman quickly places the coat next to her shoulder to make the comparison.

When the nuns reach the convent, the Mother Superior asks if they have anything to report.

"Yes," says one. "We met two men who looked like Jews but who spoke Latin."

"Latin?" asks the Mother Superior. "Since when do Jews speak Latin?"

"Well," says the nun, "I clearly heard one of them exclaim, 'Marcus Pinkus Fucktus!'"

Nivedano...

(Drumbeat)

(Gibberish)

Nivedano...

(Drumbeat)

Be silent. Close your eyes. Feel your body to be completely frozen.

This is the right moment to look inwards - with your total life force, total consciousness. With an urgency as if this moment is going to be the last moment of your life. With such urgency, it takes just a split second to reach to the center, and at the center you are the buddha.

This beautiful moment...

Ten thousand buddhas utterly silent

and centered in themselves...

Just witnessing that the body is not your being, the mind is not you. Your only quality, your eternal quality is that of a witness. And when I say you are a buddha, I simply mean you are a witness. This witnessing brings the spring into your being.

To make it more clear,

Nivedano...

(Drumbeat)

Relax.

Rest.

Just keep watching, witnessing.

Slowly slowly, your consciousnesses merge and the Buddha Auditorium becomes a lake without any ripples - of pure awareness, consciousness, witnessing.

And in the depth of your being arises the spring.

Such a cool, fragrant breeze.

Flowers and flowers all around -

flowers of eternity,

flowers of love,

flowers of immortality.

Collect as many as you can, and persuade the buddha to come along with you.

The buddha is nobody's monopoly. It is nobody's copyright. It is everybody's innermost being. You don't have to be a Buddhist to be a buddha. To be a buddha transcends all concepts of religions; it is everybody's birthright. Persuade it to come along with you, to your daily activities, so everything in your life becomes a meditation, a grace, a beauty, a benediction.

Nivedano...

(Drumbeat)

Come back, remembering you are a buddha. Remembering the grace, the beauty, the silence. Sit for a few moments just to recollect the golden path that you have traveled just now.

And in your day-to-day life remember as much as possible - without creating any tension and anxiety, in a relaxed and restful way - that your every act becomes the act of one who is awakened, of one who has tasted his innermost being.

I want thousands of buddhas around the world, and not a single Buddhist.

I teach you the buddha, but not Buddhism. I hate all 'isms', all religions. My love is for your eternity, your immortal being.

I have called that immortal being within you, "Mehre mehbub" - My Love, My Friend, My Beloved One.

Okay, Maneesha?

Yes, Zorba The Buddha.