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

258 THE DHAMMAPADA: THE WAY OF THE BUDDHA, VOL. 9-12
At the scene of a bank raid the police sergeant came running up to his inspector and said, ”He got away, sir!”
The inspector was furious. ”But I told you to put a man on all the exits!” he roared. ”How could he have got
away?”
”He left by one of the entrances, sir!”
The mind always finds a way to convince you again of the same stupid game. Buddha says watch it. It is only
through watchfulness that wanting nothing happens.
And your watchfulness has to be with all your heart; it should not be partial, otherwise it is not going to work
because if you only watch partially then the part that has not been involved will go on doing the old tricks, the
old strategies. Your whole heart has to be watchful so no dark spot is left in you, so your whole being becomes
aware of the absurdity of desiring.
Jimmy Carter was visiting one of the largest institutions for the mentally unbalanced. He finished inspecting
the main building and wanted to see the Farm Section. His chauffeur was not around so the president boarded
the regular bus.
In a few minutes the keeper brought on some inmates. When they were seated he began counting, ”1, 2, 3, 4,
5....” He got to the president and said, ”Who are you?”
Mr. Carter said, ”Why, I’m the president of the United States!”
The keeper said, ”6, 7, 8....”
It does not matter who you are, where you are. If you are still desiring you are mad: ”6, 7, 8....” You are insane.
In fact, unless you are insane enough, how can you try so hard to be the president of a country? For years people
try to become the president of a country; almost their whole life is devoted to a single goal, to be the president of
a country. And what is attained? With the same energy they could have become buddhas, with the same effort
they could have become awakened. But we put our energies to such wrong goals money, power, prestige and
they all lead to insanity.
Desiring is insane. Enjoy life! but don’t be too much bothered about tomorrows. Don’t sacrifice your today
for tomorrows; otherwise you will always go on missing all the opportunities which open up for your inner growth.
WANTING NOTHING WITH ALL YOUR HEART STOP THE STREAM.
Watch. Try to understand the very nature of desiring, and in that very understanding there comes a stop of its
own accord. The stream simply disappears, evaporates, as if it has never been there. And the moment you are
free of the mind you are free of all misery, of all discontent.
WHEN THE WORLD DISSOLVES EVERYTHING BECOMES CLEAR.
With the dissolution of the mind, the whole world that the mind has created around itself also dissolves,
obviously it depended on the mind, it was mind’s projection. Not that the trees will disappear and the roses will
disappear... roses will be far rosier and trees will be far greener. People will be far more beautiful; even pebbles
on the seashore will be like diamonds. Everything will become precious.
This world, the real world, is not going to disappear with your mind, but you are living in a totally different
private world: the world of your desires. You don’t see the real world, you only see your own private world
projected on the real world. The real world is simply being used as a screen on which you go on projecting your
desires. You never see that which is; you only go on seeing that which you desire.
It is said that the shoemaker never looks at people’s faces, he always looks at their shoes. Of course he is not
concerned with their faces, he has nothing to do with their faces; he is concerned with their shoes. And by seeing
the shoes he knows about the person; the shoe contains all the messages for him: whether the person is rich or
poor, successful or unsuccessful. The shoe will say everything: the shape of the shoe, the newness, the oldness,
the tiredness of the shoe; everything will say what kind of man this is. The shoe, analyzed by a shoemaker, will
give you a perfect analysis of the man. There is no need to go to a psychoanalyst, you can go to the shoemaker,
leave the shoe with him. And he can make a chart about you: what kind of man you are, what is happening in
your life.
The tailors never see you, they only see your clothes. They decide from your clothes. People see only that which
they desire and they project their desire. If somebody is full of lust even an ugly woman may look beautiful.
Mulla Nasruddin goes to a hill station once in a while; he has a bungalow there. Sometimes he says, ”I am
going for three weeks,” and comes back after only ten days. It happened many times so I asked him, ”You never
follow your decision. You say, ’I am going for three weeks,’ then you are back within a week. Sometimes you say,
’I am going for five weeks,’ and you are back in ten days. What is the matter?”
He laughed; he said, ”I have a criterion and I cannot decide from here. You know that I have got a bungalow
in the hill station well, I have kept one woman there to look after the bungalow. She is the ugliest woman you
can conceive of and how long I am going to stay is determined by that woman.”