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

THE DHAMMAPADA: THE WAY OF THE BUDDHA, VOL. 9-12 251
And there are two types of people one who will think that there is no need to learn the technique: ”I want to
be a creative person, not a technician.” Then their painting, their music, their dance, will remain just a childish
effort, amateurish; cannot be of much value. And then there are the opposite people who will learn the technique
as much as they can and then they are caught in the technique. They paint perfectly but something is missing:
the soul is missing, the spirit is missing; it is a dead corpse. So you have to drop all knowledgeability. You have
to unlearn so again you can become fresh, innocent.
And third: if you are trying to be creative with a certain hidden motive you will never find the right direction
for your energies, because if painters are famous then there will be many painters. For example, in France there
are many painters. In India you will not find so many painters, but many saints just whatsoever is the fashion.
In France painting is fashionable; the people who are thought to be intelligent should be painters. In India they
should be saints the same fools! If they were born in France they would be painting; in India the same fools have
become saints.
In each country the fashion is different, and at different times. For example, in India no saint will ever think of
painting, but in Japan all the saints try to paint. They learn calligraphy and painting just the fashion.
When you are living according to a certain prevalent fashion, that simply means you want to be famous, you
want to be accepted by the tradition and by the people. You are not inquiring about your real potential; you are
far more interested in other people’s opinions. You have to drop that too. Don’t be worried about other people’s
opinions; simply find out what feels good for you. Nobody may ever appreciate it so what? You may not become
famous so what? Don’t be worried about it. The reward is not in being famous; the reward is in being involved,
totally involved in creativity. The reward is in the act itself; it is not beyond the act, it is not after the act. It
is not when you have painted the painting and people have appreciated it and it is being exhibited all over the
world. No, the reward is when you are painting it, when you are utterly absorbed in it. That silence, that joy,
that energy, that moment when you are not and God is: that is the reward.
The fourth question:
Question 4
BELOVED MASTER, WHAT HAPPENS? I AM AN ITALIAN AND YET NOT ENLIGHTENED.
Anand Shravan, it is enough to be an Italian; enlightenment is no longer needed. Enlightenment is for others
who are not Italians. You have the first prize enlightenment is the second prize! You should not be greedy for
that. To be an Italian is such a great phenomenon; that’s why no Italian has ever become enlightened. And I
don’t think it is ever going to happen, for the simple reason that Italians are born enlightened. Drop this greed.
What will you do with enlightenment? Spaghetti is enough! Enjoy it to your heart’s content. Leave enlightenment
to poor Indians; they don’t have anything else. That’s why in India so many enlightened people have happened:
when you don’t have anything else at least you can have enlightenment.
And enlightenment needs a few things which are basically missing in Italians. It needs intelligence. Where are
you going to get it? It is not a commodity; you cannot find it in the marketplace, you cannot purchase it. It
is not available in the outside world. And Italians are utterly extrovert, and enlightenment happens somewhere
inside. It needs great understanding and Italians are very skillful in misunderstanding.
One summer in New York a gorilla escaped from a traveling circus. As Bronzini was walking down Broadway
the ape suddenly appeared and sidled up beside the Italian.
An astonished police officer directing traffic rushed over to the unusual sight of Bronzini and the gorilla.
”Hey,” said the cop, ”what are you doing with that ape?”
”I don’t know,” said Bronzini, ”He just-a come up and-a take-a walk-a with me!”
”You better take that ape to the zoo!”
”Okay, boss,” said the Italian.
The next day the same policeman spotted Bronzini and the gorilla walking hand in hand along Park Avenue.
The cop was livid. ”Just a minute,” he shouted to Bronzini, ”I told you yesterday to take that ape to the zoo!”
”I did,” said the Italian, ”and he like-a it so much, today I’m-a take-a him to the moving picture show!”
Italians are so earthy, they are pure zorbas! Except for me, nobody is going to accept them as sannyasins. But
I love to do absurd things. I want to do this miracle: to make a few Italians enlightened. There is not much hope
I am hoping against hope but there is nothing to lose. They need a good try.
They are very bodily people, utterly body-oriented. The Romans have always been the most physical people
on the earth. That has a beauty of its own, because the people who think they are spiritual become in many
ways eccentric, crazy, insane, very egoistic of course, in a very pious way. They are always thinking they are
”holier-than-thou.” And they are wishy-washy. They talk about great things, but their life becomes ugly.