| |
concept of saving anybody, because they say -- and I agree with their concept -- that it is condemnatory, it is humiliating. The very idea that "I will save you" makes me higher than you, and holier than you. I become special. I am the only begotten son of God, or I am the only prophet of God, or the only messenger of God, and you are just ordinary human beings.
Bodhidharma's statement is, BUDDHAS DON'T SAVE BUDDHAS. He is saying you are all buddhas whether you know it or not, and how can anybody save you? How can one buddha save another buddha? All that a buddha can do is to wake you up. That is not much of a saving. When you wake somebody up, do you think you are holier, and special, and you have done a great service to humanity, by waking a poor fellow who was sleeping?
BUDDHAS DON'T SAVE BUDDHAS. This is a very pregnant statement. It gives equality to every being. The only difference, which is not much of a difference, is ...everybody is a buddha; a few are asleep and are unaware of who they are, and a few have become awakened and know who they are. But essentially, there is no difference at all, and there is no question of saving anybody. It is his right if somebody wants to continue to sleep; it is his birthright. You cannot forcibly wake up somebody because that is interfering with his freedom.
It happened: I was sitting on the banks of the Ganges in Allahabad. I had gone to speak in a Christian college in Allahabad, and the Christian college is just on the bank of the Ganges on a very beautiful spot just near the railway bridge. I was sitting on the bank, and there was nobody for miles and suddenly a man came and jumped. I thought perhaps he was taking a bath, and as he jumped, he started shouting, "Help me, help me." He was just close to me.
For a moment I thought, "What is the matter? If he wanted to be helped, why has he jumped?" But I thought it is better to first bring him out. If I start thinking about it, by that time he will be finished. So I jumped. He was a heavy man but I pulled him out somehow, and I felt a certain resistance. It became even more puzzling, he was shouting, "Save me, I am drowning." But when I was trying
|
|
|