The Empty Boat - Osho.pdf - Oshorajneesh.com

CHAPTER 6. THE NEED TO WIN
You are not in any way aware that you are already victorious, that life has happened to you. You are
already a winner and nothing more is possible, all that could happen has happened to you. You are
already an emperor, and there is no other kingdom to be won. But you have not recognized it, you
have not known the beauty of the life that has already happened to you. You have not known the
silence, the peace, the bliss that is already there.
And because you are not aware of the inner kingdom, you always feel that something more is
needed, some victory, to prove that you are not a beggar.
Once, Alexander the Great came to India – to win, of course. If you don’t need to win you will not go
anywhere. Why bother? Athens was so beautiful, there was no need to bother to go on such a long
journey.
On the way he heard that on a river bank lived a mystic, Diogenes. He had heard many stories about
him. In those days, in Athens particularly, only two names were spoken about – one was Alexander,
the other was Diogenes. They were two opposites, two polarities. Alexander was an emperor, trying
to create a kingdom which stretched from one end of the earth to the other. He wanted to possess
the whole world; he was the conqueror, the man in search of victory.
And Diogenes was exactly the opposite. He lived naked, not a single thing did he possess. In the
beginning he had a begging bowl for drinking water, or sometimes to beg food. Then one day he
saw a dog drinking water from the river and immediately he threw away his bowl. He said, ”If dogs
do without, why not I? Dogs are so intelligent that they can do without a bowl. I must be very stupid
to carry this bowl with me, it is a burden.”
He took that dog for his master, and invited the dog to be with him because he was so intelligent.
The dog had shown him that his bowl was an unnecessary burden – he was not aware. And from
then on that dog remained with him. They used to sleep together, to take their food together. The
dog was his only companion.
Someone asked Diogenes, ”Why do you keep company with a dog?”
He said, ”He is more intelligent than so-called human beings. I was not so intelligent before I met
him. Looking at him, watching him, has made me more alert. He lives in the here and now, not
bothered by anything, not possessing anything. And he is so happy that having nothing he has
everything. I am not yet so content, some uneasiness remains inside me. When I have become just
like him, then I will have reached the goal.”
Alexander had heard about Diogenes, his ecstatic bliss, his silent, mirrorlike eyes, just like the blue
sky without any clouds. And this man lived naked, he did not even need clothes. Then somebody
said, ”He lives nearby on the river bank, and we are passing, we are not very far away....” Alexander
wanted to see him, so he went.
It was morning, a winter morning, and Diogenes was taking his sunbath, lying on the sand naked,
enjoying the morning, the sun showering on him, everything so beautiful, silent, the river flowing
by....
The Empty Boat 106 Osho