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

More documents

Recommendations

Info

172 THE DHAMMAPADA: THE WAY OF THE BUDDHA, VOL. 9-12 A lovely signora stepped forward, shaking her finger. ”Look,” she chided the pontiff, ”you no play da game-a, you no make-a da rules!” The last question: Question 8 BELOVED MASTER, MY HUSBAND IS MAD, BUT SOMETIMES WHAT HE SAYS IS TRUE. IS IT POSSIBLE FOR A MADMAN TO DO THAT? 8 Neelam, madmen can do anything, obviously they are mad! They can even say the truth. It is the so-called sane people who are unbelievable, who are expert in lying. Mad people are simple; they can say the truth. They don’t worry, they don’t care. Listen to your husband. He is far saner than the other so-called sane people. If sometimes you find that he is telling you the truth, maybe at other times also he is telling you the truth, you are just not aware of it. Mad people are beautiful people. They are mad only because they are so sensitive that they cannot live in this mad world. This mad world drives them mad! They are so sensitive and vulnerable that they become victims. They are not cunning; they are innocent, sincere and honest people. I know many mad people in fact, I know only mad people and I respect them. You ask me, Neelam, ”Can a madman do that? Is it possible for a madman to say the truth?” Only madmen can say the truth. Jesus must have been mad; otherwise he would not have said the truth. He would have played the game of the crowd and he would have become a famous rabbi, not crucified but crowned. But he was mad and he said the truth. Socrates must have been mad, utterly mad; otherwise why bother about truth? Live as other people live, imitate them; lie as they lie, deceive as they deceive, be hypocrites as they are. Why try to be true? Why insist on truth? But he must have been mad. The judges had asked him in the last moment... because they also felt sorry for the man, they knew his sincerity. They told him that if he was ready to leave Athens he could be forgiven but he could not enter Athens again. Socrates said, ”That I cannot do. I have lived in Athens, I have taught in Athens, my disciples are here, my people are here. Now in this old age, where am I going to start my business again?” Yes, he actually used the word ’business’. The judges asked, ”What do you mean by your business?” He said, ”The business of telling the truth that is my business.” The judges were really sympathetic. They said, ”Then you do one thing. You can live in Athens, but stop talking, be silent.” He said, ”That is not possible. It is better to die because then my death will speak. And let me remind you,” he said to the judges, ”even after centuries, when I am dead, my death will go on speaking to people about the truth. And you will be remembered only because of me; otherwise nobody will remember you. I cannot stop my business of speaking the truth. I am ready to die.” He must have been mad! Even his disciples thought that he was mad. Life is so valuable! But to a man of truth, truth is more valuable. And mad people can do anything. Help your husband, don’t hinder him. Help him to be authentic and true and don’t call him mad. Who knows who is mad? In fact, no definition exists. Psychoanalysts call Jesus neurotic. Friedrich Nietzsche says Buddha is mad. Freud says Nietzsche is mad. Jung thinks Freud is mad. Who is to be believed? The noted doctor opened the patient’s stomach and a bunch of butterflies flew out. ”Say,” the doctor said, ”this guy was really telling the truth!” And maybe he is just playing a role, just acting, because sometimes it is really beautiful. I know one madman. When he was alone with me he was absolutely sane, and when he would go home he would become mad. I asked him, ”What is the matter?” He said, ”This is very comfortable. I don’t have to go to work, I don’t have to bother about the family business, I don’t have to worry about anything. I enjoy! I swim in the river, I lie down in the sun, and everybody thinks, ’He is mad!’ My wife, my children, they have all taken all the responsibility. My wife runs the shop, my children about whom I was always worried now they are worried about me! And I am enjoying, I am having the time of my life!” He said, ”I have done enough. Now this is the only way.” There are many mad people who are simply pretending to be mad. Just help your husband. Maybe it is just because of you that he is pretending to be mad! Neelam, women are dangerous! You should see Aseema....
THE DHAMMAPADA: THE WAY OF THE BUDDHA, VOL. 9-12 173 Aseema is a beautiful sannyasin. I have seen her two ex-husbands both have gone crazy! Then I started thinking, what is the matter? And both are beautiful people you know both. One is Sarvesh, the ventriloquist. He was perfectly okay before he met Aseema. Now this beautiful sannyasin has driven him mad! Another is Nikunj; Nikunj is mad. The whole credit goes to Aseema! Now, if anybody else is thinking to fall in love with Aseema, think twice! And then stop yourself! A woman goes to a palm reader. ”Your husband will die a violent death,” she is told. ”One more question,” she asks. ”Will I be acquitted?” A group of hikers passing a hillbilly’s cabin smiled as they saw the owner reclining in a rocking chair on the porch. They noticed his wife going into the house via the front, and only door. A few seconds later they saw a wildcat leap through the open window. They rushed up to the mountaineer. ”Do something quick!” someone shouted. ”A wildcat just leaped into your house and your wife is in there.” ”That’s his tough luck,” said the hillbilly. ”I never did like wildcats, anyway.” So, Neelam, meditate a little about yourself. Why is this poor man behaving as if he is mad? At the height of the unfortunate American involvement in East Asia, an owlish-looking young fellow approached the recruiting officer’s desk. ”What must I do to get to Vietnam as soon as possible?” asked the prospective soldier. ”Well, first you have to sign up,” exclaimed the officer with a grin. ”Do volunteers have to take a physical?” ”Certainly.” ”Darn, that’ll slow me up. I wanna get to the front lines right away.” ”In any case, you’d have to go to boot camp for training,” explained the officer. ”Nobody goes where the fighting is until he’s properly trained.” ”Then at least will the army fly me to Vietnam? I’d hate to go there by slow boat.” ”What are you so all-fired anxious about?” growled the army man. ”Don’t you realize you could get killed or wounded over there?” ”So I get killed or wounded. What’s the difference, as long as I’m getting all the glory?” ”Listen, buddy,” snapped the recruiter, ”why don’t you go home and forget the whole thing? You’re crazy!” The young fellow abruptly reached into his coat pocket, pulled out a paper and thrust it into the army officer’s hands. ”Here,” he said quickly. ”Just sign!” Enough for today. The Dhammapada: The Way of the Buddha, Vole 10 Chapter 11 All is not lost, but time is running short The first question: Question 1 BELOVED MASTER, WHY ARE YOU BEING CONTINUOUSLY MISUNDERSTOOD AND MISINTER- PRETED BY PEOPLE? Rajesh, it is absolutely inevitable, it is unavoidable. It has to be so. It is part of the destiny of those who speak the truth. They are bound to be misunderstood, misinterpreted. If they were not misunderstood, not misinterpreted, that would be a miracle. It has not happened up to now and there is no hope that it is ever going to happen. Buddhas have always been misunderstood for the simple reason that they speak from a totally different vision which is not available to the masses. They speak from a totally different experience. Their experience is such that it cannot be expressed through words, yet they try to express it through words they try to do the impossible. Saying it through words creates trouble. They use words in their own way, they give the words their own color, but when those words reach you they have lost all the meaning that was given by the awakened ones. Immediately you interpret them, you translate them into your experience. Buddhas speak from sunlit peaks and you live in dark valleys. They talk about light and you have never seen light. They talk about eyes and you have not even dreamed about eyes. They talk about eternity and all that you know is time; all that you know is temporary and they talk of that which never changes, which is always the same, which abides. It is unbridgeable, the gap. Unless you become also conscious it remains unbridgeable. Hence only a few disciples, slowly, slowly attain to the meaning of the masters. Very slowly a few people become awakened, they come out of their sleep. It is arduous, too, because all that you know about your life is your sleep
Page 1 and 2:
THE DHAMMAPADA: THE WAY OF THE BUDD
Page 3 and 4:
Page 5 and 6:
Page 7 and 8:
Page 9 and 10:
Page 11 and 12:
Page 13 and 14:
Page 15 and 16:
Page 17 and 18:
Page 19 and 20:
Page 21 and 22:
Page 23 and 24:
Page 25 and 26:
Page 27 and 28:
Page 29 and 30:
Page 31 and 32:
Page 33 and 34:
Page 35 and 36:
Page 37 and 38:
Page 39 and 40:
Page 41 and 42:
Page 43 and 44:
Page 45 and 46:
Page 47 and 48:
Page 49 and 50:
Page 51 and 52:
Page 53 and 54:
Page 55 and 56:
Page 57 and 58:
Page 59 and 60:
Page 61 and 62:
Page 63 and 64:
Page 65 and 66:
Page 67 and 68:
Page 69 and 70:
Page 71 and 72:
Page 73 and 74:
Page 75 and 76:
Page 77 and 78:
Page 79 and 80:
Page 81 and 82:
Page 83 and 84:
Page 85 and 86:
Page 87 and 88:
Page 89 and 90:
Page 91 and 92:
Page 93 and 94:
Page 95 and 96:
Page 97 and 98:
Page 99 and 100:
Page 101 and 102:
Page 103 and 104:
Page 105 and 106:
Page 107 and 108:
Page 109 and 110:
Page 111 and 112:
Page 113 and 114:
Page 115 and 116:
Page 117 and 118:
Page 119 and 120:
Page 121 and 122: THE DHAMMAPADA: THE WAY OF THE BUDD
Page 171: THE DHAMMAPADA: THE WAY OF THE BUDD
Page 223 and 224:
Page 225 and 226:
Page 227 and 228:
Page 229 and 230:
Page 231 and 232:
Page 233 and 234:
Page 235 and 236:
Page 237 and 238:
Page 239 and 240:
Page 241 and 242:
Page 243 and 244:
Page 245 and 246:
Page 247 and 248:
Page 249 and 250:
Page 251 and 252:
Page 253 and 254:
Page 255 and 256:
Page 257 and 258:
Page 259 and 260:
Page 261 and 262:
Page 263 and 264:
Page 265 and 266:
Page 267 and 268:
Page 269 and 270:
Page 271 and 272:
Page 273 and 274:
Page 275 and 276:
Page 277 and 278:
Page 279 and 280:
Page 281 and 282:
Page 283 and 284:
Page 285 and 286:
Page 287 and 288:
Page 289 and 290:
Page 291 and 292:
Page 293 and 294:
Page 295 and 296:
Page 297 and 298:
Page 299 and 300:
Page 301 and 302:
Page 303 and 304:
Page 305 and 306:
Page 307 and 308:
Page 309 and 310:
Page 311 and 312:
Page 313 and 314:
Page 315 and 316:
Page 317 and 318:
Page 319 and 320:
Page 321 and 322:
Page 323 and 324:
Page 325 and 326:
Page 327 and 328:
Page 329 and 330:
Page 331 and 332:
Page 333 and 334:
Page 335 and 336:
Page 337 and 338:
Page 339 and 340:
Page 341 and 342:
Page 343 and 344:
Page 345 and 346:
Page 347 and 348:
Page 349 and 350:
Page 351 and 352:
Page 353 and 354:
Page 355 and 356:
Page 357 and 358:
Page 359 and 360:
Page 361 and 362:
Page 363 and 364:
Page 365 and 366:
Page 367 and 368:
Page 369 and 370:
Page 371 and 372:
Page 373 and 374:
Page 375 and 376:
Page 377 and 378:
show all

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

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?