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man is tension. A bridge is always tense; it is a bridge because it is tense. It is that which lies between two extremes. Man is an inevitable tension; therefore he is never at peace, never tranquil. Only when he becomes like an animal does he experience a little peace, or else he attains perfect peace when he becomes the divine. The tension loosens when he becomes an animal; then he has climbed down the steps of the ladder to stand on the ground, the place with which he has been familiar for thousands of lives. He has relieved himself of all bother about tension. So man seeks freedom from tension in sex, or in other experiences related to sex such as alcohol, drugs, etcetera, that can take him into temporary unconsciousness. But you can be there for a short while only; even if you wish, you cannot stay in the animal state permanently. Even a man of the worst quality can stay in the animal state only for a short while.
The man who commits murder does so in the moment when he becomes an animal. Had he waited a moment longer, perhaps he might have been unable to do it. Our becoming like animals is somewhat like a man jumping: for a moment he is in the air; then he comes back on the ground. So the worst of men is not bad forever; he cannot be. He is so only during moments; otherwise, he is normal like any other person. For one moment he derives comfort, because he falls back onto the known ground where there are no tensions. This is why we find no tensions in animals.
Look into their eyes: there is no tension. The animal never goes mad or commits suicide; he suffers no heart disease. But all this becomes possible for animals who are in the bondage of man -- when he pulls man's wagon or becomes his domestic pet. This is a different thing altogether. When man tries to pull the animal across the bridge the complications start.
Now if a stray dog enters this room he will move about as he pleases, but if a pet dog enters he will go and sit where he is ordered. Now this pet dog has entered the world of man and left his animal world behind. He is bound to land himself in trouble. He is an animal that has been made to undergo the tensions of a human being.
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