Krishna: The Man and His Philosophy - Osho - Oshorajneesh.com

CHAPTER 20. BASE YOUR RULE ON THE RULE
It is true that a stagnant pool of water too will reach the ocean, but not in the way the river reaches it.
It will first have to turn into vapor and then into clouds and then descend on the ocean in the form of
rains. It will not have the joys of a river, pushing its way to the ocean singing, dancing, celebrating.
A pool of dead water, a pond, dries up under the scorching sun, becomes vapor, clouds, and then
reaches the ocean through a detour. It is deprived of the delight, beauty and ecstasy a river has.
Such a pool of water is nothing more than a pond of listlessness and boredom.
Jesus is like a wandering cloud – somber and sad – not like a river, rejoicing, exulting, singing.
There is something common to the lifestyles of Jesus and Buddha, but the difference between
them is as great. Buddha is very different from Jesus. While Jesus’ neutrality looks sad, Buddha’s
indifference is silent, peaceful and quiet. Buddha is never sad, he is quiet, serene and silent. If he
lacks the dance of Krishna, and the secret bliss of Mahavira, he is also free of the sadness of Jesus;
he is utterly settled in his peace, his silence.
Buddha is not neutral like Jesus; he has attained to indifference, which is much different from
neutrality. He has come to know that everything in life, as we know it, is meaningless, so nothing
now is going to disturb his peace. Every alternative, every choice in life is the same for him. So his
stillness, his peace, his calm is total.
Jesus is only neutral; every choice, every alternative is not the same for him. Jesus will say this
is right and that is wrong; although he is non-aligned with the opposites, he is not that choiceless.
Buddha has attained to absolute choicelessness. For him nothing is good or bad, right or wrong,
black or white. For him summer and winter, day and night, pleasure and pain, laughter and tears are
the same. For him, choosing is wrong and only choicelessness is right.
Jesus, in spite of his neutrality, his holy indifference,” takes a whip in his hand and drives away
the money-changers from the temple of Jerusalem. He overturns their boards and whips them. In
the great synagogue of the Jews, the priests indulge in usury when people come from all Over the
country for the annual festival. Their rates of interest are exorbitant, and so it is a way of exploiting
the poor and the helpless. It is a way of draining the wealth and labor of the people, while it makes
the temple of Jerusalem the richest establishment in the country. So Jesus upturns their tables and
beats them.
Jesus is indifferent, yet he chooses. He advocates neutrality in worldly matters, but if there is
something wrong he immediately stands up against it. He is not choiceless.
We cannot imagine Buddha with a whip in his hands; he is utterly choiceless. And because of his
choicelessness he has attained to a silence that is profound and immense. So silence has become
central to Buddha’s life and teaching.
Look at a statue of Buddha, silence surrounds it, peace permeates it, serenity emanates from it.
Silence has become embodied in Buddha; peace has come home with him. Nothing can disturb his
peace, his silence. Even the pond is disturbed by the passing breeze, by the rays of the sun which
turn it into vapor and carry it to the sea. Buddha is so still that he has no desire whatsoever to move
to the ocean of eternity; he says the ocean will have to come to him if it wants. Even to think of the
ocean is now a strain for him.
Krishna: The Man and His Philosophy 376 Osho