As per my experience, when we enter the world, study, job, raising family and achieving success in material life is like taking boat from one end to another.
Then dumping all success, knowledge and experience, that had helped only in consolidating our ego, on that shore itself and again with empty boat begin journey towards HOME gathering spiritual knowledge, practically applying them and gaining real wealth of wisdom.
My suggestion is: while taking boat from this end to the other end just keep an eye on the source of the river too by regular meditation – i preferred awareness and Zen from Osho’s 112 meditations. This is enough and you will come back on your own. There is no need of anything or anyone else as it is your very personal journey. If you seek help then there is big market out there for it.
The empty boat is also used as a metaphor for indicating consciousness by Buddha. Upon getting enlightened Buddha was not sure about his enlightenment, so he floated his empty bowl in the river and said that if I am really got awakened then the bowl will flow upstream and the bowl started moving upwards in the river.
Update on 28/11/2023
This experiment by Buddha shows that when a person becomes egoless then his journey begins towards the source. Chuang Tzu is also referring that the boat must be empty to be able to move towards the source.
This is just a metaphor to inform the essence of consciousness and its effect on the person. Till the consciousness of person (empty bowl within) was flowing out wards which is natural flow to survive in material world and hence the person was living like an animal. Upon enlightenment the consciousness starts flowing inwards which is natural flow for growing inwards. It seems that Chuang Tzu is referring to this movement.
Osho in his hand written letter to Mr Thakur too said something similar.
Sagar University
Noon, 25 July 1956
Dear Thakur,
Love.
Was happy to receive your letter. I was worried about you and wanted to know your whereabouts. I had asked Madhu but even Madhu had no idea.
What makes you think that a distance lurks between us? On man’s mental frame, distance does not depend on space lying between two different points on the earth. In other words geographical distance bears no meaning. It actually depends upon the mind and its concern. We can be far distant, yet close; and we can be together, yet not close.
You have written about achieving success and attaining your goal. If hope and an incessant effort lights one’s path, one need not go anywhere in the search of success. It is like a moth that comes to the flame of effort on its own… Therefore, success should not be the goal, but an untiring effort alone.
Personally, I feel that effort itself is the attainment and unflinching step the goal.
I was sincerely hoping you to come back here after the summer vacation. Now wherever you are, I wish and pray that you can put all your heart and soul in whatever is your goal. In life always, keep an eye towards ‘God’. That will give you light constantly I have informed Madhu and Burman about you.
Your very own,
Rajneesh
Hindi manuscript can be found at sannyas (dot) wiki
Kabir also said
‘कबीर बड़ी बादूरी करी, पुस्तक देई बहाई।
बावन आखर सोधी करी, रगे मां ‘मैं’ चित्त लाई।।’
Means: Kabir gathered great courage and bravely dumped all scriptures and books ‘about’ God or self etc in the Ganges. All these books did kept on increasing my ego day by day. When I came to know that ego is the biggest barrier in discovering my self or Soul or God then I have to just gather enough courage to do it.
For more on Chuang Tzu and his Empty Boat metaphor.
Awareness meditation (Osho guiding about meditation on YouTube) is the way worked for me, may be you too find it suitable otherwise Dynamic meditation is for most of the people. You may wish to know that the state of meditation is our natural state and “How meditation affects us?”.
There are 110 other meditation techniques discovered by Indian Mystic Gorakhnath about 500years before and further modified by Osho that one can experiment and the suitable one could be practiced in routine life.
My experiences may be of your help in taking only one step in deciding to add value to life. Because everyone has to move forward alone, this is the nature of this journey.
In my life mindfulness or awareness meditation (My experiences shared through a post) helped miraculously. Along with meditation living a simple, authentic and totality in life is very helpful. It is helful even when we are serving people around us with great love and care without discrimination.
Hi ….. I write my comments from my personal experiences of my inner journey and how I add value to life by living consciously. This post may include teachings of Mystics around the world which from my personal experience I found worth following even today. For more have a look at my linktree website for getting regular updates through social media lor subscribe to YouTube channel or listen to the podcasts etc.
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