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

268 THE DHAMMAPADA: THE WAY OF THE BUDDHA, VOL. 9-12
That’s what Buddha says: You don’t have any form and you don’t have any name. Don’t hanker for that which
you are not, because hankering for that which you are not is creating misery for yourself, is creating unnecessary
pain for yourself. Just be that which you are and have always been and will always be. Don’t try to become be!
And that you already are. It is not a question of becoming, it is not a question of desiring, it is not a question
of reaching somewhere. You are already there, you have always been there. Just wake up! Wake up from the
dreams, all the dreams night dreams, daydreams. Wake up from all the forms and abide in the formless.
And all the awakened ones say the same thing: Knowing that formlessness, knowing that eternity, your life is
fulfilled. You will attain to tremendous contentment and bliss and benediction.
The third question:
Question 3
BELOVED MASTER, I AM GREEK AND I LOVE GARLIC. MY GIRLFRIEND CAN’T STAND IT, SHE
IS BRITISH. SHE CALLS ME PRIMITIVE. WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME?
Devo, nothing is wrong with you, nothing is wrong with garlic either, but garlic is going to create a few problems
for you. And the problem that you have come across is not really a great problem; soon you will have to face
greater problems. The British lady at the most may leave you; that is not a problem that will be getting out of
the problem!
Find some woman be free of ladies! A woman is beautiful, a lady is a problem. And it is very difficult to find
a British woman I have not come across one yet. They are all ladies. The men may not all be lords, but the
women are all ladies.
An Englishman and his wife were strolling around their West Indian estate when they came across a black girl
and boy making love in the bushes.
”My gracious!” exclaimed the British lady to her husband. ”They do it just like human beings!”
If she thinks you are primitive that is nothing at least she thinks you are a human being! Or maybe she does
not think that you are a human being, but she cannot say it. It is so unmannerly to say to you that you are not a
human being so she says you are primitive. That is not a great danger at the most the lady will leave you. You
continue eating garlic. If there is going to be a choice between a British lady and garlic, prefer garlic; it is far
healthier. But the real problem will come later on once the British lady has left you, then you will be in trouble.
Did you hear about the Gypsy girl who had to give up wearing garlic around her neck?
It kept the vampires away alright, but it attracted too many Italians.
So if you want to drop garlic, drop it when the British lady has left you; meanwhile she will protect you from
the Italians. Every man needs a woman as a protection; otherwise he is so helpless. Once the other women see
that one woman is protecting you they don’t bother you. The moment they see you are unprotected they all jump
upon you!
So first use garlic to get rid of the British lady, then immediately stop garlic; otherwise Italians will start
coming. And it is easy to get rid of a British lady; it is next to impossible to get rid of Italian women because
they are not ladies. They are true women and they will create so much trouble for you. They help only in one
thing: they make you so much aware of the trouble that love brings, or that comes in the wake of love, that you
start thinking of religion, God, meditation. All these great things would not have been possible without women.
The people who started thinking about all these great things were people who were tortured by women. These
were their escapes, escape routes, so they could tolerate whatsoever was happening around. They could hope for
a paradise somewhere after death. They lost all hope in life because they knew wherever they went some woman
was going to create trouble for them.
It seems God sent man alone first. He made Adam, but if man had been alone here he would never have thought
of God. He made woman the woman is a constant reminder. She never leaves you at ease, she forces you to
believe in hell. And once you believe in hell you have to believe in heaven too.
Devo, nothing is wrong with you, but if you want to live with garlic you have to renounce life. The British
lady may be right in a sense: you have to be primitive, you have to go to the caves, as far away from humanity
as possible. Garlic is simply dangerous for any communion, for any communication. It is very medicinal; it will
keep you healthy and it will keep you alive longer than you would have lived without it. Or maybe because you
will have to live alone your life will look longer!
If you want more advice about garlic you can ask Maitreya he is the expert about garlic and all its great
qualities. I have never tasted it, so whatsoever I am saying is not very reliable. And I have never allowed any
primitive to be close to me. You know my sniffers! No people who eat garlic will ever be able to come close to
me! Garlic is good but a little inhuman: it is good for you, but bad for everybody else.
The fourth question: