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| | | Book Name: The Dhammapada - The Way of the Buddha, Vol 7 | Previous Next | |
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my self-knowledge. "I am a Catholic," that becomes my self-knowledge. "I am an Indian," "I am a German," that becomes my self-knowledge.
You are neither a communist nor a Catholic, neither Indian nor German. Your consciousness cannot be confined to such stupid labels. Your consciousness is so infinite, it cannot be contained in any word. It is as vast as the sky itself.
But you are afraid to go into that vastness. That vastness appears like emptiness, void. And one clings to one's own small, arbitrary identity. Hence the fear of going into oneself.
Buddha says: Know thyself. Socrates says: Know thyself. They all say: Know thyself. All the awakened ones have only one message: Know thyself. We listen and yet we don't listen. We go on moving on the same rotten tracks, we go on living in the same old miserable way. And the reason is, the old, miserable way has one thing to give to you -- the ego.
And if you go in you will have to pay the price. The price is, you will have to lose your ego.
Sweeney met Brecon on the road. "Where are you off to?" he asked.
"I am going to Connemara," replied Brecon.
"You mean you are going to Connemara, God willing?"
"No, I am going to Connemara, God willing or not."
Because of this presumptuous remark Brecon was turned into a frog and kept in a pond for several days. When he had completed his penance Brecon was changed back to his original form. Returning home, he began packing his belongings again.
"Where are you going now?" asked Sweeney.
"I am going to Connemara."
"You mean you are going to Connemara, God willing?"
"No!" shouted Brecon. "I am going to Connemara or back to the frog pond!"
One cannot leave one's ego. It is better to be a frog! One is ready to be anything. We have become rocks. We only appear to be alive -- ninety-nine percent we are dead. Yes, we breathe and we eat and we propagate, but we are not alive.
If you are alive you will not ask the question, "From where does freshness come?" You will know; there will be no need to ask the question. You will experience it moment to moment. It is arising in you.
That's
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