The end of the spiritual question
Jeroen
Not all those who wander are lostNetherlands Veteran
Just recently I had a discussion with a neo-sannyasin friend, who said to me that all her spiritual questions had ended with Osho. Osho once said in a discourse, “I don’t answer questions — I destroy them”. So she doesn’t read spiritual books anymore, because of course why would you if you no longer have a spiritual question.
This set me to thinking, what exactly is my interest in spiritual books? After some thought, I arrived at the question, what is my place in this life? And I discovered that recently that question has been fading as well. I came across a piece by Alan Watts not long ago, where he talks about how human beings are lived by the universe, that just as we don’t digest our food or pump our blood, that our lives too are automatisms but on a different level, and we are the universe engaged in a play of becoming aware.
It seems to me that a lot of these things seem obvious but if you let them sink in long enough they become deep truths, and they become the end of your questions as they do so.
Comments
So what do you think the Buddha had to say about such things?
What is a "neo-sannyasin"?
Sounds like Osho had been reading Trungpa.
Well I think the Buddha was into the search for enlightenment, and thought nothing short of nirvana should be considered an endpoint of the search.
A neo-sannyasin is usually held to be one initiated by Osho, rather than in the Hindu tradition.
I think the Buddha’s view on these things was rather absolute? These days there is a whole plethora of alternative views in the new-age bookshops, a large array of beliefs. Of course in the Buddha’s time there were many meditation teachers, but he ultimately rejected them.
That’s kind of like walking into a new-age bookshop and declaring it’s all rubbish, that you know it better. Because the Buddha did decide to teach his own lore. You have to have a strong vision to do that, an independence.
In a way the Buddha was shaped by his upbringing as a prince — the best quality, nothing less would do, in spiritual teaching even if the surroundings were humble.
Anyway, just my morning musings…
Good tip
Now that I can order practically any book from my local library or read the latest 'spiritual influencers' online, I tend to go to the raw source.
Trees.
Too many scandals at the moment...
Maybe I will become more dharma ascetic...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Criticism_of_Jainism
Or maybe just stick with Dhyana, Chan or whatever they call it next...
https://www.fabriziomusacchio.com/weekend_stories/told/2025/2025-07-25-student_teacher_relationship_in_zen/
Maybe I will just be Yogi Yawn...
Osho was from a Jain family, did you know that @lobster? He often told stories about Mahavira, and about the Jain monks that would come to visit the family when he was young. Of course, when he was Acharya Rajneesh and giving teaching discourses throughout India he would like nothing better than to outrage the local Jain establishment, he was a bit of an iconoclast in that time.