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Main Index
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| | | Book Name: The Discipline of Transcendence, Vol 3 | Previous Next | |
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-- and you are left desireless. That is the state of peace, silence, tranquillity. That is the state of fulfilment! Man never comes to fulfilment through desire; man comes to fulfilment only by transcending desire.
Desire is an opportunity to understand. Desire is a great opportunity to understand the functioning of your own mind -- how it functions, what the mechanism of it is. And when you have understood that, in that very understanding is transformation. Desire disappears, leaves no trace behind. And when you are desireless, not desiring anything, you are fulfilled. NOT that desire is fulfilled, but when desire is transcended there is fulfilment.
Now see the difference: other religions say, "Desires can be fulfilled in the other world." The worldly people say, "Desires can be fulfilled here" -- the communists say, "Desires can be fulfilled here. Just a different social structure is needed, just the capitalists have to be thrown, the proletariat has to take over, the bourgeoisie has to be destroyed, that's all -- and desires can be fulfilled here, the heaven can be created on this earth here."
The worldly people say, "You can fulfil your desires -- struggle hard." That's what the whole West goes on doing: "Struggle, compete, cheat, by any means and methods! Acquire more wealth, more power!" That's what the politicians all over the world go on doing: "Become more powerful and your desires can be fulfilled." That's what scientists say, that only a few more technologies have to be invented and the paradise is just by the corner.
And what do your religions say? They don't say anything different. They say, "Desires can be fulfilled, but not in this life -- after death." That is the only difference between the so-called materialists and so-called spiritualists.
To Buddha, both are materialists; and to me also, both are materialists. Your so-called religious people and your so-called ir-religious people are both in the same boat. Not a bit of difference! Their attitudes are the same, their approaches are the same.
Buddha is really religious in this way, that he says: Desire CANNOT be fulfilled. You have to look into desire.
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