Hyakujo: The Everest of Zen, with Basho's Haikus - Oshorajneesh.com

CHAPTER 7. THE LAST MILESTONEIt is an existential fact that you have been before and you will be after your death. The one that wasbefore birth, and the one that will be after death is the same one. Its name is the buddha. Its nameis the witness. It never dies and it never is born.The problem to understand is, Hyakujo says: THAT WHICH KNOWS BIRTH IS THE UNBORN – theknower of the birth is the unborn witness. WE CANNOT STRAY FROM BIRTH TO SPEAK OF THEUNBORN – if you have not died with absolute consciousness, you cannot talk about the unbornand the undying. THE PATRIARCH ONCE SAID, ”THAT WHICH UNDERGOES BIRTH IS REALLYUNBORN.”Confucius, one of the greatest thinkers of the world, was not a religious man. His concern was morecivilization, culture, morality, etiquette, ethics. He has influenced the whole of China for these pasttwenty-five centuries. He is still influencing the Chinese behavior.One day a young follower asked him, ”You talk about life, you talk about how to style it, how to refineit, how to make it honest, how to make it truthful, but you never say anything about what will happenafter death.”Confucius said, ”There is no need to talk about it. It is certain that you will die. Then, lying in yourgrave for eternity, you can think whatever you want to think. Why bother me? I will be thinking in mygrave; you will be thinking in your grave.”He simply laughed about the question, because to get entangled in a question like death or birth,immediately brings you to the point that these things are beyond thinking. You cannot think anythingabout birth or death. If you really want to know, you will have to drop all thinking, and enter into theempty heart. Only the empty heart knows the eternity of your being.YUN KUANG ASKED, ”DOES THIS APPLY EVEN TO THOSE WHO HAVE YET TO PERCEIVETHEIR OWN NATURE?”HYAKUJO SAID, ”YOUR NOT HAVING PERCEIVED YOUR OWN NATURE DOES NOT IMPLYTHAT YOU lack THAT NATURE. WHY SO? BECAUSE PERCEPTION ITSELF is THAT NATURE....Told in a more contemporary way: I have been telling you continuously, you are a buddha. And Iknow that you are suspicious – you, and a buddha? Your suspicion or your doubt does not makeany difference. Your buddhahood remains the same. You can know it – you can ignore it.The English word ‘ignorance’ to me simply means ignoring your buddha, ignoring your own nature.This nature is absolutely clear, transparent. You can see the whole world reflected in it, just like in amirror, but you have to be utterly silent, centered. That’s what we are trying to do here.”THAT WHICH CAN PRODUCE THE MYRIAD PHENOMENA OF THE UNIVERSE IS CALLED THEDHARMA NATURE; OTHERWISE KNOWN AS THE DHARMAKAYA.”THE PATRIARCH, ASVAGOSHA, DECLARED:‘IN SPEAKING OF PHENOMENA, WE REALLYREFER TO THE MINDS OF SENTIENT BEINGS, FOR WHEN MENTAL PROCESSES OCCUR,ALL SORTS OF PHENOMENA TAKE BIRTH IN ACCORDANCE WITH THEM; WHEN MENTALHyakujo: The Everest of Zen, with Basho’s Haikus 103 Osho