| |
are basically different from those for teaching. Teaching means to tell you something in words which you do not know. Awakening means to make you go through processes so you become that which you are not yet. If, sitting on a river bank, I tell you something about swimming, your information will be increased. If I push you into the river, then swimming itself will be born. Those who wish to make you a swimmer, have no other choice but to push you into the river. You begin to flail your arms and legs, and it is this flailing that is the beginning of swimming.
The experiments in meditation that I am constantly asking you to do are the efforts leading towards swimming. My emphasis is more on technique, less on information. The emphasis on information is only enough that you can be persuaded to do the technique.
If anybody asked Buddha, "Does God exist?", he used to remain silent. But if someone asked him, "Is there any device to find God?", he would immediately speak. If he was asked, "Please, tell us something about liberation", he would not speak. But if someone asked him, "How can I attain liberation?", he would at once begin to answer, as though he was just awaiting the question. At the very end of his life someone asked him, "What was the principle you wanted to teach us?" and Buddha replied, "Principles as such I did not want to teach. I just wanted to give you techniques with which you could come to know the ultimate principle."
Method and information are two different things. We can discuss food for hours at a time, but that is not going to satisfy anyone's hunger; actually it may increase. But if we prepare food, this will satisfy hunger. It does not matter that the food may not be of the highest quality. We may not be able to prepare delicious food at our very first attempt, yet this attempt will satisfy the hunger.
God is a hunger, a thirst within us. It cannot be satisfied by theories. No scriptures can quench this thirst; but if they can just intensify the thirst, they are doing enough. Just through preaching sermons, no master can ever quench this thirst, but if he can intensify it for you, that is a great blessing. And this
|
|
|