Osho

chanratt

I have read very little from this Guru, but despite all of the controversies that surround him, some of his teachings seem to be spot on. What is the general opinion on this guy?

nanadhaja

While it is true that some of Oshos teachings may be good,a lot of what he did certainly was not and controversy certainly followed him around.I am always wary of a spiritual leader who has security guards armed with machine guns around him.
Please note that the situation with HHDL is not the same.The Indian government insists on this type of security as they do not wish hom to be assasinated on Indian soil.His(oshos)fleet of Rolls Royces,followers told to hand over all their possesions and the sexual activities that were encouraged in the 1970's all caused people to think twice about him.However there are many followers of Osho who have turned their lives around thanks to some of his teachings which on the surface appear to be a mix and match of many of the good things found in a variety of religions.
With metta,
Phra Greg

Nidish

@Nanadhaja As I can see that you are a monk(I would love to be one too), I ask you this. What do you think of Osho's ideology of severing lust by feeding it????? And what does Buddhist texts say to that???

Dakini

@Nanadhaja As I can see that you are a monk(I would love to be one too), I ask you this. What do you think of Osho's ideology of severing lust by feeding it????? And what does Buddhist texts say to that???

That sounds very Vajrayana--use desire as a vehicle to spiritual bliss, to transcend desire.

nanadhaja

First off,that does sound not very Theravadan and I do not know if this is of another school of thought i.e.Vajrayana.
However,at a base level there is possibly some logic to this theory.
I guess you have heard the expression "Too much of a good thing"
Often when we over do things we stop enjoying the thing we are doing.
I remember years ago I really loved mac and cheese and would eat it several times a week(including breakfast)Then one day when thinking about what to eat,the thought of mac and cheese was a real turn off and I didn't eat it again for a couple of years.
If I hadn't ordained when I did then I could well be going off of sticky toffee cheese cake by now as well.
:eek:
With metta,
Phra Greg

Nidish

But, I think I remember reading somewhere that lust(or craving) is like hunger and it never ceases if you feed it... Tell me if I am wrong.. And, as a monk, what do you do for such fetters????? And what do you recommend for a lay 15 year old follower(me)????

dorje

Firstly, it's the same as your ego.

dorje

Firstly, it's the same as your ego. You cannot tame it by feeding it. What you can do is to use whatever which is afflicting you to drive you in your Dharma practice.

I heard a story from my Lama once that there used to be a very well known lama in Tibet who was very realized, and everyone wanted to learn from him. One day a thief, who has been stealing all his life, decided he had enough of thievery and, because of his regret and remorse of him not practicing Right Livelihood and breaking the precepts over and over again, went to this lama to seek help.

The lama told him:

Just as you have stolen money an valuables,
so now you must steal time.
Just as you have used that money for your own benefit,
so now you must use that time to practice the Dharma.
Just as you have lied when you are guilty and said you are innocent,
so now you must lie to yourself that are able to forgive yourself even when you feel you can't.
Just as you have hidden your loot in holes for safeguard,
so now you must hide yourself in caves for practice.
Just as you have observed people and understood their actions before stealing from them,
so now you must observe your own mind and understand its nature.
Just as you have jumped at the tiny sliver of opportunity you have to ensure your success in your theft,
so now you must jump at the tiny sliver of opportunity your success in your practice.

The lama gave him the practice of the Guru Yoga of Guu Rinpoche as Dorje Drollo, and the thief was able to attain at least some form of realization following the instructions of the lama.

So you see, it's how you use your afflictions, and use them as energy to drive your practice. Angry? Use that angry energy and look for ways to make things better for everyone. Maybe be like Erin Brokovich and help the weak and poor fight against the big corporations who are bullying them. And so on. Be creative.

TheJourney

I don't know this person...what did he do that is bad? Had sex? That doesn't show anything about what he knows, to me. You can have as much sex as you want. Nothin bad about it.

Vangelis

What do you think of Osho's ideology of severing lust by feeding it????? And what does Buddhist texts say to that???

Dhammapada verses 342 & 343:

Driven by lust, people run around like a hunted hare;
bound in chains they suffer for a long time again and again.

Driven by lust, people run around like a hunted hare;
therefore let the mendicant wishing to conquer lust
shake off one's own craving.

The Buddha never advocated "fighting fire with fire" as can be seen from his recommendations for other hindrances (from the Kodha Vagga):

Conquer anger by love.
Conquer evil by good.
Conquer the stingy by giving.
Conquer the liar by truth.

As far as I'm concerned, any teaching that teaches to encourage lust did not come from the Buddha. However, along the path, one needs to test the mind as is brilliantly described by the Venerable Acariya Maha Boowa Ñanasampanno in his talk "Straight from the Heart": http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/thai/boowa/straight.html

Jeffrey

I always drank beer until I got bored of brewing it. Now I still drink non-alcoholic beer and I realize it was just a nervous habit that allowed me to be creative with brewing. And it sucked up my time and energy so that I didn't have to think about what else to do.

Those thoughts are just responding to the idea of filling yourself in order to get over that filling.

Its like when I was consumed with idealistic notions of romance unhappy not to have a woman. Then I got one and realized it wasn't all that. Not that there is anything wrong with women. Or beer. In moderation

pegembara

He appears to have lots of Buddhist wisdom but can't say if he practises what he teaches.

Example taken from Osho's website:


And the mind is always a chooser, it lives through choosing. The moment you stop choosing and allow life to be as it is, you immediately fall into the middle. Let-go is the way of the middle. Choicelessness is the meaning of let-go; Then you allow life, whatsoever it brings.

Buddha calls it the philosophy of suchness, ’tathata’, the philosophy of as-it-is-ness. Let it be as it is: when it is night, it is night; don’t hanker for the day. When it is day, it is day; don’t ask for the night. When it is pain it is pain; when it is pleasure it is pleasure. Don’t choose, allow it to happen. Slowly, slowly a great understanding arises out of this allowing, out of this let-go. And that understanding makes you alert, aware that you are separate from both.

You are neither life nor death: you are just a witness.

Osho

In this world of suchness
there is neither self nor other-than-self.

To come directly into harmony with this reality
just simply say when doubts arise, “Not two.”
In this “not two” nothing is separate,
nothing is excluded.
No matter when or where,
enlightenment means entering this truth.
And this truth is beyond extension or
diminution in time or space;
in it a single thought is ten thousand years.


The Book of Nothing: Hsin Hsin Ming

mugzy

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1984_Rajneeshee_bioterror_attack

newtech

He just pick up old religion concepts, add a little here, some synonyms there, and voila, guru.