THE DHAMMAPADA: THE WAY OF THE BUDDHA, VOL. 9-12 The ...

116 THE DHAMMAPADA: THE WAY OF THE BUDDHA, VOL. 9-12
Your whole being body, mind, soul, are all involved in meditation. That’s why my effort here is to start every
meditation with the body. That is something new.
In the ancient days people tried to start meditation directly in your innermost core. That is a difficult process.
You don’t know anything about your inner center; how can you start your journey from somewhere where you have
never been? You can start your journey only from where you already are. You are in the body, hence my emphasis
is on dancing, singing, breathing so you can start from the body. When the body starts becoming meditative....
And don’t be puzzled by my use of the word ’meditative’ for the body. Yes, the body becomes meditative. When
it is in a deep dance, when it is functioning perfectly, undividedly, as a whole, it has a meditative quality about
it, a certain grace, a beauty.
Then move inwards, then start watching the mind. Then the mind starts settling down. And when the mind
has also settled, has become one with the body, then turn towards the center a one-hundred-and-eighty degree
turn and a great peace will descend on you. It will pulsate from your soul to the body, from the body to the soul.
In that pulsation you will be one.
So don’t ask what part of oneself is involved in the understanding. Your totality is involved. And only when
your totality is involved, there is understanding. Your body knows about it, your mind knows about it, your soul
knows about it. Then you start functioning in unison, in unity. Otherwise the body says one thing, the mind says
another, and the soul goes on in its own way. And you are always moving into different directions simultaneously.
Your body is hungry, your mind is full of lust, and you are trying to be meditative. That’s why I am not in favor
of fasting unless it is done purely for health purposes, as a dieting for reducing weight, or maybe once in a while
just for purifying, so the whole stomach is left for one day to rest, so the whole digestive system can sometimes
get a holiday. Otherwise, it is continuously working and working and working it too gets tired.
Now scientists say even machines get tired. They call it metal-fatigue, just like mental fatigue. Even metal
needs rest, and your stomach is not made of metal, remember. It is not even made of plastic. It is made of fragile
material, very fragile material. But it works your whole life. It is good sometimes to give it a holiday. Even God
had to rest one day after six days work he rested for one day. Even God gets tired.
So sometimes, just out of kindness for the poor stomach, who works for you continuously, fasting is okay. But
I don’t suggest it that it is going to be helpful in meditation. When you are hungry your body wants you to go
to the fridge.
I am against repressing your sex, because if you repress sex, whenever you will sit silently your mind will start
fantasizing about sex. When you are occupied with other things the mind goes on fantasizing like an undercurrent,
but when you are not doing anything it comes into the light. It starts demanding, it creates beautiful fantasies:
alluring beauties surround you. How can you meditate?
In fact, the old traditions have created all kinds of barriers to meditation, and then they say, ”Meditation is
very difficult.” Meditation is not difficult; meditation is a simple process, a natural process. But if you create
unnecessary hindrances, then you make it something like a hurdle race. You create barriers: you put rocks on the
way... you hang rocks around your neck, you keep yourself chained, imprisoned, locked from within and the key
thrown out.... Then of course it becomes more and more difficult, more and more impossible.
My effort here is to make meditation a natural phenomenon. Give to the body what is the body’s need, and
give to the mind what is the mind’s need. And then you will be surprised, they become very friendly. And when
you tell the body, ”Now for one hour allow me to sit silently,” the body says, ”Okay. You have been doing so
much for me, you have been so respectful towards me, I can do at least this much for you.”
And when you say to the mind, ”Please, keep yourself silent for a few minutes. Let me have a little rest,” the
mind will understand you. If you have not been repressing, if you have honored the mind, respected the mind, if
you have not condemned it, then the mind will also become silent.
I am saying this from my own experience. Respect the body, respect the mind, so that they respect you. Create
a friendliness. They are yours; don’t be antagonistic. All the old traditions teach you to be antagonistic to the
body and the mind; they create enmity, and through enmity you cannot move into meditation. Then the mind
will disturb you more when you are meditating than at any other time. Then the body will become restless more
in meditation than at any other time. It will take revenge, it won’t allow you to sit silently. It will create so many
problems for you.
If you have tried to sit silently for a few minutes you will know. Imaginary things will start happening. You
will think that some ant is creeping on your leg, and when you look there is no ant. Strange.... When you were
sitting with closed eyes you felt absolutely that it was there, creeping, coming, coming, coming... and when you
open your eyes there is no ant, nothing. It was just the body playing tricks with you. You have been playing tricks
with the body. You have been deceiving the body in many ways, so now the body is deceiving you. When the