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

THE DHAMMAPADA: THE WAY OF THE BUDDHA, VOL. 9-12 237
Buddha is saying to his Bodhisattvas, his apostles: Talk only to seekers, address yourself only to seekers. Don’t
waste your time with childish people who are curious about each and everything. Their questions may look very
great, but their hearts are not in their questions. They have asked just to ask; they are not interested in finding
the answer and they are not ready to risk anything. If they can get the answer free, maybe they are ready to
listen; but they are not ready to pay. And life’s real questions are not to be solved in such a cheap way. You have
to pay and you have to pay with your whole being. You have to get involved; it needs commitment.
Anybody can ask about God, but very few people are ready to risk anything, to go into the unknown, to go
into the adventure and the adventure for God is the greatest adventure there is. And it demands; it is very
demanding it demands your total commitment. It won’t allow you any other involvement. It can’t be just one
involvement among many other involvements; it has to be the one and only involvement. Only then is there a
hope that some day you may find the answer which liberates you. Hence he says:
SEEKER! DO NOT BE RECKLESS.
And the first thing to be taught to these people who are seekers is not to be reckless. People are living very
recklessly, people are living very accidentally. Their lives have no sense of direction. They don’t know where they
are going, from where they are coming, why they are doing a certain thing. Maybe others are doing it so they are
imitating, but imitators are not seekers. Maybe others are going to the church or to the temple so they are also
going. They are not really men but sheep.
A seeker has to be a lion. He has to learn to be free from the crowd psychology, from the mob mind. He
has to learn ways of individuality, of independence. He has to think of what he is doing and why. He should
not be just a victim of natural life forces; he should have a certain sense of direction. Only then is there
a possibility of achieving, of coming back home, of reaching somewhere, of attaining contentment, fulfillment,
flowering, fruitfulness. Otherwise life remains meaningless; it is just a jumble of unrelated events.
DO NOT BE RECKLESS. First thing: Do not be just curious. Second thing: Do not be reckless.
New York City was jammed for the convention. Every hotel and rooming house was full. Phillips was tired he
simply had to find a place to sleep that night.
”Anything will do,” he said to the hotel clerk.
”I can let you have a cot in the ballroom,” replied the clerk, ”But there’s a woman in the opposite corner. If
you don’t make any noise she’ll be none the wiser.”
”Fine,” said Phillips. He went to the ballroom but five minutes later came running out to the clerk.
”Say,” he cried, ”that woman there is dead!”
”I know,” was the answer, ”but how did you find out?”
Everybody is curious for no reason at all it was none of his business. Even he cannot answer why some
unconscious instinct, maybe biology, maybe chemistry, but not his consciousness.
Who or what is deciding your life? your biology, your chemistry, your psychology, your hormones? Who is
deciding your life? Are you? you as a conscious being?
A drunk walked into a bar in Glasgow and asked, ”Was I in here last night?”
”Yes, you were,” replied the barmaid.
”Did I spend much money?”
”About thirty pounds.”
”Thank God I thought I’d lost it!”
Angus was staggering home after a night with his fishing pals when he came upon a scarecrow, arms outstretched.
”Hey, Jimmy,” he said, ”I refuse to believe you. There never was a trout that size.”
A number of Scottish soldiers were court-martialed for wrecking a public house, and one of them was asked to
explain to the court how the trouble had started.
”Well, sir,” he said, ”Private McSporran called Private McDougall a liar, and Private Paterson hit him over
the head with a chair. Private Fraser pulled out his dirk and cut a slice out of Private McDougall’s leg. Two or
three of Private McDougall’s mates piled onto Private Fraser, and a couple of others started throwing glasses and
tables around. One thing led to another and then the fighting started.”
Buddha says:
SEEKER! DO NOT BE RECKLESS.
MEDITATE CONSTANTLY. OR YOU WILL SWALLOW FIRE AND CRY OUT: ”NO MORE!”
MEDITATE CONSTANTLY. The person who is a seeker will not really be interested in getting only philosophical
answers from others; he will be interested in knowing on his own. He will not be interested in philosophy,
he will be interested in religion. That is the difference between philosophy and religion. Philosophy is juggling
with words, the art of hairsplitting, arguing endlessly about abstract ideas, arriving nowhere. Religion is more