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

28 THE DHAMMAPADA: THE WAY OF THE BUDDHA, VOL. 9-12
simple reason that there is something which the fool can know and the knowledgeable can never know. The fool
is innocent. The fool is not so foolish as the knowledgeable person is. Sometimes he seems to be wiser than your
so-called wise people.
It was an ancient custom in almost all the countries of the world that every great king used to have a fool in
his court. Why? for the simple reason that sometimes the fool says things which the wise so-called wise cannot
say. The fool is so innocent that he simply utters the truth. The so-called wise are cunning; they will not say the
truth, they will say that which appeals. It may be a lie and lies have great appeal because people live in lies.
And particularly in the courts, all kinds of lies remain prevalent. The king is surrounded by all kinds of cheats, all
kinds of cunning people; hence a fool was needed, so that he can depend on the fool. The fool will not be cunning
and he will say whatsoever is the case. He is so foolish that he will not be bothered about the consequences of it.
This is strange, but something significant to be understood. The fool was a necessary part in every great king’s
court, and the fools have saved many kings many times. They have saved their kingdoms because their advice
came from a state of not-knowing, utterly innocent. They have a clarity that the knowledgeable person cannot
afford; he is clouded.
Gopa, your knowledge is disappearing. This is really satsang; this is what it means to be with a master. He
takes away your knowledge and gives you wonder in return. He makes you a child again. And unless you are a
child you will not enter into my kingdom of God.
But because you are calling it stupidity, condemning it, giving it a negative name, you are feeling sad, hopeless.
We live through words; we have become so much attached to words that we are deceived by words. Just change the
word and you will see the change in your inner climate. Call it innocence and just feel the texture, the taste. Call
it stupid and feel the texture and the taste. When you call it stupid you suddenly feel surrounded by darkness;
when you call it innocence, as if a flower starts opening within your heart, a fragrance surrounds you.
Beware about words, what words you use, because we have lived so long with words, through words....
I have heard:
A hunter lost his way in the forest. By the evening he reached a private land, but he was afraid to enter because
just on the gate there was a big signboard saying: Beware Of Dangerous Dogs. But the night was descending and
the forest was full of wild animals. It was better to encounter the dogs than to be eaten by the wild animals. And
he was so tired, so utterly tired; he wanted to rest. And there was some hope: if dogs are there, there may be
somebody the owner of the dogs, the owner of the land, the man who has put these big signs.
He entered in, a little afraid, shaky, but there was no other way, there was no alternative. Just a few yards he
entered in and again there was a board, an even bigger one: Beware Of The Dangerous Dogs. His heart started
sinking, but there was no way to go back, nowhere to go back, so he had to go in. Again, even a still bigger board.
And then... just a small dog, a very small dog, standing before the cottage of the owner. So small a dog that
you could simply take him by the feet and throw him at least a hundred yards!
The hunter was very much puzzled. He asked the owner, ”Where are the big, dangerous dogs?”
He said, ”There are none. This is my only dog.”
The hunter asked, ”Can this dog prevent people coming in?”
The man said, ”No, but the signboards do. You are the first man in years who has entered. Even if there is no
dog, those signboards will do.”
People live through words. In a crowded theater, if somebody suddenly shouts, ”Fire! Fire!” people will start
running. Nobody will bother whether there is any fire. The very word ’fire’ and your imagination starts working.
Gopa, don’t call it stupid, otherwise you create your own sadness and you are a victim of your mind. Your
mind will feel happy because it has made you sad. If you are sad you will start collecting the knowledge that has
fallen from you; you will put it back into its old place. You will again start collecting information so that you
don’t feel stupid. Call it innocence.
Be very careful what words you use. Words have associations, deep associations. They have become almost
concrete realities in our life; they are no more words, they are things.
You say, ”I feel very hopeless. And it makes me sad.”
Hopelessness always comes if you have been hoping too much; it comes in the same proportion. Expect and you
will be frustrated. Hope and sooner or later you will feel hopelessness. Hence my whole effort here is to make you
free from hoping. If you become free from hoping you will never be trapped into any hopeless state. Hopelessness
is a by-product of hoping. Frustration is a by-product of expectation. But it is natural, in a way.
When you come to me, you come with great hopes; you want to become enlightened, you want to become a
buddha. But the problem is, I cannot help you to become a buddha because you are already a buddha! There is