
23 Aug Sirs, We know nothing (OSHO)
Wu was the medium to transform the whole of China into Buddhism, to convert it from Confucius to Gautam Buddha. He had put all his forces and all his treasures into the hands of Buddhist monks – and he was a great emperor. When he met Bodhidharma he asked, “I have been waiting to see you. I am old, and I am fortunate that you have come after all; all these years we have been waiting. I want to ask a few questions.”
The first question he asked was: “I have devoted all my treasures, my armies, my bureaucracy – everything that I have – to convert this vast land to Buddhism, and I have made thousands of temples for Buddha.” He had made one temple to Buddha in which there were ten thousand statues of Buddha; the whole mountain was carved. Because ten thousand Buddhas had to be carved, the whole mountain was finished – carved into Buddhist statues, so the whole mountain became a temple. He asked, “What will be my benefit in the other world?”
That’s what the other monks were telling him: “You have done so much to serve Gautam Buddha that perhaps when you reach the other world, he himself will be standing there to welcome you. And you have earned so much virtue that an eternity of pleasures is yours!’
Bodhidharma said, “All that you have done is absolutely meaningless. You have not even started on the journey; you have not even taken the first step. You will fall into the seventh hell – take my word for it.
The Emperor Wu could not believe it: “I have done so much, and this man says ‘You will fall into the seventh hell’!”
Bodhidharma laughed and he said, “Whatsoever you have done is out of greed, and anything done out of greed cannot make you religious. You have renounced so many riches, but you have not renounced unconditionally. You are bargaining; it is a business. You are purchasing in the other world. You are moving your bank balance from this world into the other world, transferring it. You are cunning because this world is momentary – tomorrow you may die – and these other monks have been telling you the other world is eternal. So what are you doing? Giving momentary treasures to gain eternal treasures? Really a good deal! Whom are you trying to deceive?”
When Bodhidharma spoke to Wu in this way, before all the monks and the generals and the lesser kings who had come with Wu and his whole court, Wu was angry. Nobody had spoken this way to him before. He said to Bodhidharma, “Is this the way for a religious person to talk?”
Bodhidharma said, “Yes, this is the only way a religious person talks; all other ways are of people who want to cheat you. These monks here have been cheating you; they have been making promises to you. You don’t know anything about what happens after death; nor do they, but they have been pretending that they know.
Wu asked, “Who are you to speak with such authority?”
And do you know what Bodhidharma said? He said, “I don’t know. That is one point that I don’t know. I have been into myself, I have gone to the very center of my being and come out as ignorant as before. I do not know.”
OSHO
Source: Osho’s online library
Image: https://gr.pinterest.com/pin/90916486207884821/