CHAPTER 9. THE BUDDHA IS YOUR EMPTY HEARTManeesha has asked:BELOVED OSHO,ARE THERE ANY OCCASIONS WHEN IT IS NECESSARY FOR DISCIPLES TO PROTECT THEIRMASTER FROM HIMSELF?Maneesha, in fact every day is the occasion to protect the master from himself for the simple reasonhe has attained whatever was possible to attain in life. Now he is lingering on this shore just for you.As for himself, he has <strong>com</strong>e to the dead end <strong>of</strong> the street. His life is just for those who love him.<strong>The</strong>re is nothing in the world that he longs for.He may suffer old age, he may suffer sicknesses, just for the sake <strong>of</strong> the few who love him – thatthey should be<strong>com</strong>e ripe, that they should <strong>com</strong>e to their ultimate flowering.Every day the disciples have to protect the master against himself, because every moment themaster feels: What is the point? – it is good to leave the body now. Just your love prevents him.<strong>The</strong>re is nothing else to prevent him. All the threads that were connected <strong>with</strong> life, all the stringsthat were keeping him attached to the body-mind structure are finished. His empty heart can onlylisten to your love. And as long as he can manage... because his body goes on be<strong>com</strong>ing old fasterthan the ordinary body. <strong>The</strong> ordinary body follows a natural pattern. <strong>The</strong> enlightened man has gotoutside the natural pattern. He starts dying quickly.Most <strong>of</strong> the enlightened people have died immediately after their enlightenment. Very rare peoplehave survived enlightenment. It is such a shock – thousands <strong>of</strong> volts. That creates a greatgap between consciousness and the body, and it be<strong>com</strong>es absolutely difficult to live. For theunenlightened it was very simple. <strong>The</strong>re was not a problem at all. <strong>The</strong> body was too much attached<strong>with</strong> the soul. <strong>The</strong> enlightened person lives in a shell <strong>of</strong> a body – unattached. Any moment he canopen his wings and say goodbye to you.Your question is significant, Maneesha. <strong>The</strong> master’s whole existence is for those who love. Ifthe people he loves let him down, then there is no need for him to go on unnecessarily suffering.Because now the body is a suffering, now every moment it is a dragging. And it be<strong>com</strong>es morepainful because he is capable <strong>of</strong> leaving all this suffering immediately – just close his eyes and goaway. <strong>The</strong> disciple is responsible, immensely responsible to protect the master against himself.Maneesha’s question may have made you sad, I have to change the subject.It is Anando time....Freddy Feinstein, a Jew from New York, is tired <strong>of</strong> all the high, fixed prices <strong>of</strong> clothes in America. Afriend tells him that in India, bargaining is a way <strong>of</strong> life, so Freddy jumps on the next plane.Two days later, he finds himself walking down M.G. Road in the pouring rain. His New York sneakersare soaking wet, so Freddy runs into a shoe shop to buy a new pair <strong>of</strong> shoes.He is eager to try out his bargaining skills, so when Rajiv, the salesman, asks a hundred rupees forsome shoes, Freddy immediately says, ”Fifty!”<strong>Hyakujo</strong>: <strong>The</strong> <strong>Everest</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>Zen</strong>, <strong>with</strong> Basho’s <strong>Haikus</strong> 128 Osho
CHAPTER 9. THE BUDDHA IS YOUR EMPTY HEART”That’s impossible,” replies Rajiv.”Fifty or nothing!” says Freddy, firmly.So Rajiv consults the manager, who consults the owner, and then <strong>com</strong>es back and says, ”Okay,fifty.””No!” shouts Freddy. ”Twenty rupees!”Again, Rajiv consults the manager who asks the owner.”Okay, twenty,” says Rajiv, when he returns a few minutes later.”No! Five!” shouts Freddy.”Listen,” snaps Rajiv, getting irritated, ”just take the shoes and get out!””No!” shouts Freddy.”No?” asks Rajiv, in surprise, ”you don’t want the shoes?””No!” says Freddy. ”I want two pairs!”When a live sex show opens up in a small theater just outside the Vatican, Pope the Polack is furious.He gets together Cardinal Catsass, and a flock <strong>of</strong> bishops, and they go to watch the show to see ifit would be harmful for good Catholics to view it.Coming out <strong>of</strong> the theater an hour later, Pope the Polack and his crew all agree that it is a terrible,filthy show, and <strong>com</strong>pletely unsuitable as entertainment for Catholics.<strong>The</strong>y are marching back to the Vatican, when suddenly Pope the Polack stops in his tracks.”I have to go back!” he cries. ”I have forgotten my hat.””No you haven’t,” points out Cardinal Cats-ass, ”it is hanging in your lap!”Sean O’Reilly is driving his horse and cart into town one morning <strong>with</strong> a load <strong>of</strong> potatoes, when hehas a head-on collision <strong>with</strong> a truck.Sean makes a claim for damages against the trucking <strong>com</strong>pany, for injuries to himself, his horse andcart, his dog and his load <strong>of</strong> potatoes. <strong>The</strong> whole claim amounts to a considerable sum <strong>of</strong> money.But a few weeks later in the high court, when Sean is called to the witness stand, his case does notseem to be going too well.”Isn’t it true,” says Simon Sharkfin, the opposing lawyer, ”that while you were lying on the ground atthe scene <strong>of</strong> the accident, someone walked up to you and asked you how you were feeling, and youreplied, ‘I’ve never felt better in my life.’”<strong>Hyakujo</strong>: <strong>The</strong> <strong>Everest</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>Zen</strong>, <strong>with</strong> Basho’s <strong>Haikus</strong> 129 Osho