“If you can understand this only then can you understand other things that I have to say.”
Lao Tzu says, “All the world says: My teaching greatly resembles folly, because it is great, therefore it resembles folly.” […]
Because it is great, that’s why it looks like folly.
Deep down, if you search within yourself you will also see that if suddenly Mahavir comes and stands here naked you will think that he is a fool, what is he doing here? If Lao Tzu comes here you will not be able to recognize him, it will be impossible for you to recognize him. He will look like a perfect fool!
Bodhidharma reached China. The whole country was waiting for him. The king himself had come to the border of the country to receive him. A million people had gathered, because a great Master was coming. And when the Master appeared, people started giggling. It was impossible to believe their own eyes. Even the emperor felt very uneasy because this man Bodhidharma had one shoe on one foot and the other he was carrying on his head. What manner of man was this?
The king said, “Excuse me, sir, but what are you doing? We had come to receive a sane man; are you insane?”
Bodhidharma laughed and said, “So you have failed in the examination. If you can understand this only then can you understand other things that I have to say. If you cannot tolerate such a small contradiction – it’s not much, just carrying a shoe on the head – if you cannot tolerate and understand this much it will be useless for me to stay here.”
He turned back. He left the town, went into the forest. He said, “There is no need to stay, nobody will be able to understand me; now I will wait. Those who can understand me, they should come to me.”
He never entered into the capital again.
Contradictions are very difficult for the mind. Mind lives in a routine. The shoe must be on the foot, that’s the accepted thing. It should not be carried on the head. Such an innocent thing – he was not doing any harm to anybody. But no, impossible.
We have a levelling of everything.
Osho, Tao: The Three Treasures, Vol 4, Ch 1
Series compiled by Shanti
All excerpts of this series can be found in: 1001 Tales
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