When Shibli threw the rose

Meditation for the Day, Repentance


If you have done something wrong, go to the person. Be humble, ask his forgiveness. Only he can forgive you, nobody else. And remember, that is the meaning of the word sin: forgetfulness. So now, don't forget again and do the same; otherwise, your asking forgiveness becomes meaningless. Now be careful, be alert, be conscious; and don't do the same thing again. Remember not to commit the mistake again--it should become a decision in you; then you are really repentant.

Repentance can become a very, very deep phenomenon in you if you understand the responsibility. Then even a small thing, if it becomes a repentance--not just verbal, not just on the surface; if it goes deep to your roots, if you repent from the roots; if your whole being shakes and trembles and cries, and tears come out; not only out of your eyes, but out of every cell of your body, then repentance can become a transfiguration.

The first time Shibli's name became known was the time when Mansoor al-Hillaj was being murdered. Many people have been murdered in the past by so called religious people--Jesus was murdered--but there has been never such a murder as happened with al-Hillaj. First his legs were cut off--he was alive--then his hands were cut. Then his tongue was cut, then his eyes were taken out--and he was alive. He was cut in pieces.

And what crime had Mansoor committed? He had said, An'al Hak. It means "I am the Truth, I am God." All the seers of the Upanishads declare this, Aham Brahmasmi--I am Brahma, the Supreme Self." But the Mohammedans could not tolerate it.

Mansoor is one of the greatest Sufis. When they started cutting his hands he looked at the sky, prayed to God and said, "You cannot deceive me! I can see you in everybody present here. You are trying to deceive me? you have come as the murderer? as the enemy? But I tell you, in whatsoever form you come I will recognize you--because I have recognized you within myself. Now there is no possibility of deception."

Shibli was a companion, a friend to al-Hillaj. People are throwing stones and mud in ridicule, and Shibli is standing there. Mansoor is laughing and smiling. Suddenly he starts crying and weeping, because Shibli has thrown a rose at him. Somebody asked, "What is the matter? With stones you laugh--have you gone mad? And Shibli has thrown only a rose flower. Why are you crying and weeping?"

Mansoor said, "People who are throwing stones don't know what they are doing, but this Shibli has to know. For him it will be difficult to get forgiveness from God." He said, "Others will be forgiven because they are acting in ignorance; they cannot help it. In their blindness that's all they can do. But with Shibli--a man who knows! That's why I weep and cry for him. He is the only person who is committing a sin here."

And this statement of Mansoor's changed Shibli completely. He threw the Koran, the scriptures, and he said, "They could not make me understand even this: that all knowledge is useless. Now I will seek the right knowledge." And later on when he was asked, "Why did you throw the flower?" Shibli said, "I was afraid of the crowd--if I don't throw anything, people may think that I belong to Mansoor's group. They may get violent toward me. I threw the flower--just a compromise. Mansoor was right: he wept at my fear, my cowardice. He wept because I was compromising with the crowd." But Shibli understood. The crying of Mansoor became a transformation.


Osho, Zen Transformation Tarot
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The Magical Begging Bowl

Meditation for the Day, Desire


When you desire something, your joy depends on that something. If it is taken away, you are miserable; if it is given to you, you are happy. But only for the moment! That too has to be understood. Whenever your desire is fulfilled it is only for the moment that you feel joy. It is fleeting, because once you have got it, again the mind starts desiring for more, for something else.

Mind exists in desiring; hence mind can never leave you without desire. If you are without desire, mind dies immediately. That's the whole secret of meditation.


The Emperor & the begging Bowl

A beggar knocks on the door of an emperor; it is early morning. The emperor was coming out for a morning walk in his beautiful garden; otherwise it would have been difficult for the beggar to have an appointment with him. But there was no mediator to prevent him.

The emperor said, "What do you want?" The beggar said, "Before you ask that, think twice!" The emperor has never seen such a lion of a man; he has fought wars, has won victories, has made it clear that nobody is more powerful than him, but suddenly this beggar says to him, "Think twice of what you are saying, because you may not be able to fulfill it!"

The king said, "Don't be worried, that is my concern; you ask what you want, it will be done!"

The beggar said, "You see my begging bowl? I want it to be filled! It does not matter with what, the only condition is that it should be filled, it should be full. You can still say no, but if you say yes, then you are taking a risk."

The emperor laughed. Just a beggar's bowl... and he is being given a warning? He told his premier to fill the beggar's bowl with diamonds, so that this beggar would know who he was asking.

The beggar again said, "Think twice." And soon it became apparent that the beggar was right, because the moment the diamonds were poured into his begging bowl they simply disappeared!

The word began to spread like wildfire in the capital; thousands of people arrived to watch. When the precious stones were finished the king said, "Bring out all the gold and silver, everything! My whole kingdom, my whole integrity is being challenged." But by the evening everything had disappeared and there were only two beggars left--one used to be the emperor.

The emperor said, "Before I ask your forgiveness for not listening to your warning, please tell me the secret of this begging bowl."

The beggar said, "There is no secret. I have polished it, made it look like a bowl, but it is a human skull. You go on pouring anything into it and it disappears."

The story is tremendously meaningful. Have you ever thought about your own begging bowl? Everything disappears--power, prestige, respectability, riches--everything disappears and your begging bowl goes on opening its mouth for more. And the "more" takes you away from this. The desire, the longing for something else takes you away from this moment.

There are only two kinds of people in the world: the majority are running after shadows; their begging bowls will remain with them till they enter their graves. And a very small minority, one in a million, stops running, drops all desires, asks for nothing and suddenly he finds everything within himself.


Osho, Zen Transformation Tarot
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Osho Zen & Transformation Tarot

                                       

                                    Osho (11 December 1931 – 19 January 1990)


Hi are you interested in tarot?
you can use Osho Zen Tarot to give yourself an online reading, using a complete tarot deck online.

You can choose from two tarot decks "Transformation Tarot" or "The Zen Tarot" (The deck Ide recommend) The The pictures on cards themselves are very good, beautiful pictures, and sometimes quite hard hitting. With each card there is a description, telling you about the meaning of the card. These cards differ from traditional tarot decks, and are good for personal, spiritual growth, or just a bit of fun!

Some people might get a message, or something deeper from them.



Zen Tarot


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Transformation Tarot

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Enjoy & May Peace Be With You.