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

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262 THE DHAMMAPADA: THE WAY OF THE BUDDHA, VOL. 9-12 somebody else, it is always easy to find somebody who is weaker than you, it is easy to impose yourself upon somebody. But the mystic, the meditator is moving in a totally different direction he is moving in his interiority. He is trying to be a master of himself, not of others but of himself and that is true mastery. The first effort is stupid. And the world has been dominated by the soldiers for centuries, that’s why the world is in such a mess. The world needs more and more sannyasins because each sannyasin becomes a moon: he transforms the violent energy of the world into a cool pool of energy. The world needs to be full of sannyasins, only then can we have a world which forgets the ways of war and learns the language of peace and love. The world needs many sannyasins as transformers of energy. That’s exactly what is meant by a buddhafield: where many sannyasins are together and create such a great transforming force that all kinds of energies passing through the buddhafield become cool, become feminine, become more like flowers and less like rocks. They lose their hardness, they become delicate delicate like rose petals. BY NIGHT THE MOON SHINES.... The night is the time of the mystic, the day is the time of the warrior. The night represents a change in the whole atmosphere. It is easier to meditate in the night than in the day. Meditation is far closer to sleep than to any other activity, with only one difference: in sleep you fall unconscious, in meditation you remain conscious, but with the same relaxation. In the day it is difficult to sleep; if you want to sleep in the day you have to close the doors and the windows and pull all the curtains so it becomes dark. If sunrays are coming they won’t allow you to sleep; sunrays activate your energies. Night helps you to rest and relax. It is the time of the mystic. Sannyasins should use the time of night more and more for meditation. You can go deeper, and easily, because the winds are blowing that way; you can move with the winds with less effort. In the day you are moving against the winds. In the day active meditations are good; dynamic meditation is good in the day, dancing meditation is good in the day. But in the night Vipassana, silent meditations, just sitting and doing nothing, just relaxing because the whole atmosphere is relaxing.... The sun has gone down, the trees have fallen asleep; it is a totally different quality of energy that surrounds you in the night. It is easy to meditate. Buddha says: THE MASTER SHINES IN MEDITATION in the night. By ”the master” he means one who is trying to be a master of himself; by ”warrior” he means one who is trying to be a master of others. But once you have attained, once you have become enlightened, then there is no question of day and night, no question of sun and moon. BUT DAY AND NIGHT THE MAN WHO IS AWAKE SHINES IN THE RADIANCE OF THE SPIRIT. The buddha, the awakened, the enlightened one shines both in the night and in the day; there is no difference for him. Once you have become awakened, then nothing makes any difference. But till that happens use the night atmosphere more and more for meditation. And when the moon is there in the night it is far easier to meditate. The full-moon night is the best for meditation. Many people who have become buddhas have attained their enlightenment on the full-moon night, even Buddha himself. It may have been a coincidence, but it is significant to remember: he was born on the full-moon night, he became enlightened on the full-moon night and he died on the full-moon night. Something in the full moon seemed to be synchronizing with his energy. Use it. Be alert and use every possibility to help you go in. Once you are awakened, then there is no problem. Then you can be at ease, at rest, at peace, anywhere. Somebody asked Buddha, ”When you die will you go to heaven?” Buddha said, ”Don’t ask nonsense questions. Wherever a buddha is there is heaven. Buddhas don’t go to heaven; wherever a buddha goes, heaven goes there.” This is much closer to the truth, far more beautiful; the very statement is significant. There is no question of enlightened ones going to paradise enlightened ones live in paradise wherever they are. You can send them to hell if there is a hell and the hell will be transformed. By their very presence the hell will become a buddhafield. By their very presence the energies of hell will go through a transformation. Once it happened: A Christian priest was delivering a sermon one Sunday and he said, ”Those who don’t believe in God and live immoral lives will go to hell; those who believe in God and live moral lives will go to heaven.” A man stood up and asked, ”A question has arisen in me. The question is: Those who don’t believe in God and live a moral life, where will they go? Those who believe in God and live immoral lives, where will they go?” The priest was at a loss; he had not thought about it. The question was tricky. He said, ”Please give me time to ponder over it. After seven days I will answer, next Sunday.”
THE DHAMMAPADA: THE WAY OF THE BUDDHA, VOL. 9-12 263 Those seven days were real hell for him. He tried to figure it out, but it was impossible to figure it out. If he says, ”Those who don’t believe in God and are moral still go to heaven,” then the man will say, ”Why believe in God? Why bother about God at all? Just being moral is enough.” He thought, ”And if I say the people who don’t believe in God and are moral have to go to hell, then morality loses all relevance. Then why be moral? Just believing in God is enough. Believe in God and live as immorally as possible. Why miss that opportunity?” He was driving himself crazy, he could not sleep. Continuously he was thinking and consulting books, but there was no answer coming. Sunday came; he came a little early to the church to pray to Jesus. ”Help me!” he prayed to Jesus. The whole night he had not slept so while he was praying he fell asleep, and he dreamed a beautiful dream, a very significant dream. He saw that he was in a train. He asked where the train was going and the other passengers said, ”The train is going to heaven.” He said, ”This is very good! That’s what I wanted to see see with my own eyes. Socrates never believed in God, but he lived a moral life. Buddha never believed in God, but he lived one of the purest lives. Mahavira never believed in God, but who can surpass Mahavira in his moral life? If I can find these three people there, then the question is solved; if I don’t find them there, then too the question is solved.” The train reached heaven; he was very much surprised. Seeing heaven, he could not believe it it looked more like hell! Of course the board said it was heaven, but it had not been painted, it seems, for centuries. So much dust had collected, everything was dirty. It looked like a desert: no greenery, no trees, no roses, no lotuses. He came across a few saints who looked almost dead, somehow dragging themselves. Dust had also gathered on them as if they had forgotten how to take a bath, as if nobody took baths in heaven. He asked, ”Is Socrates here? Is Buddha here? Is Mahavira here?” Those saints said, ”Never heard of these people.” He rushed to the inquiry office. He inquired, ”Is there a train that goes to hell?” They said, ”Yes, it is leaving immediately. You can catch it right now.” And he rushed in the train towards hell, and as hell came closer he was again in for a great surprise: so much fragrance, so much greenery, so many flowers, so many beautiful birds, and singing and dancing. He said, ”What is the matter?” And everybody looked so joyous, so radiant. He asked people on the station, ”Is this really hell? Is this hell?” They said, ”Yes, this is hell, and nobody can believe this is hell. Since these three people Socrates, Buddha and Mahavira arrived, everything changed. They have transformed the whole scene. Just the name is hell now it is really heaven. And the other place is only heaven in name; it has become hell.” I agree absolutely with the dream. I can visualize that your so-called saints, wherever they are, will create hell. But if a man like Buddha or Socrates or Mahavira or Jesus or Lao Tzu or Zarathustra is in hell, then hell has to change. It is not a question of the place; the question is of who is there. BUT DAY AND NIGHT THE MAN WHO IS AWAKE SHINES IN THE RADIANCE OF THE SPIRIT. You can say hell or heaven... THE MAN WHO IS AWAKE SHINES IN THE RADIANCE OF THE SPIRIT. Wherever he is he creates a new world, he creates a totally new energy. He is an alchemical transformer. First, don’t be soldiers, be sannyasins, because that is how one day you can become buddhas. Move towards self-mastery. Use all devices, methods, to become a master of your own self. And then one day, when the mind has disappeared with all its illusions and you have attained to clarity, when you can see that which is as it is, you are a buddha. Then wherever you are there is paradise. Enough for today. The Dhammapada: The Way of the Buddha, Vol. 11 Chapter 8 Laughter: love, joy, gratitude The first question: Question 1 BELOVED MASTER, IS IT ALL A JOKE? BUT I DON’T GET IT. Vimalkirti, it certainly is a joke, but you cannot get it. You are German, and not only an ordinary German you are the great-grandchild of the German emperor! Just think of the old man in his grave: he must be tossing and turning, seeing you in orange, cleaning floors in Pune! What do you think? is it not a joke? Could your great-grandfather ever have imagined or dreamed that this was going to happen to his own children one day? Impossible that he would have ever dreamed about it but it has happened. You have been told for centuries that life is a serious affair; it has become a deep conditioning. Otherwise life is really a joke. It is playfulness, it is leela. It all depends on how you take it. If you take it seriously it becomes serious, but then you suffer you suffer from your own idea. Life becomes heavy, it becomes a weight, a mountain
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