People are usually very happy, if their prejudices are met with agreement and their expections fulfilled. When you find Osho, a different approach to life is uncovered, as he speaks on something we have always been looking for—a way to be alive. His vision of becoming alive is expressed in this series THE REBELLIOUS SPIRIT. This series continues with these next ten talks in Part 2. Osho lays out his vision of a balance between the primary need for personal transformation, as the foundation and at the same time, not ignoring contemporary political and social issues.

Osho illuminates the Chinese Zen master Hyakujo’s concept of sudden enlightenment, showing that everyone is already a buddha. No master, he says, can give you anything; he can only take your false beliefs away.

On finding the “original man” within yourself, says Osho, you will find everything worth discovering. In these talks, Osho traces Zen from its early days with Bodhidharma in China through a succession of masters and poets. He tells anecdotes about the Zen masters, showing how their seemingly absurd statements and actions are actually devices to jolt people out of their spiritual sleep. And he asks you not to take his word for it, but to experience it for yourself - these talks are not about Zen, they are Zen.

Zen, meditation, is “the great adventure” - the adventure of turning in and discovering the treasures hidden within each one of us. In this audiobook, Osho explains the limitations of the intellect and shows how to explore the dimensions that lie beyond it, inviting us to experience that we are much more than our minds.

The organized religions have exploited humanity’s insecurity in the face of life’s mysteries by providing readymade sets of beliefs. But in an increasingly sophisticated, globalized society, the consolation of belief has been losing its appeal. And a purely materialistic science that denies consciousness, or that makes it merely a byproduct of matter, has nothing to offer as an alternative.

Zen says that if you want to find truth, you have to seek. Zen also says don’t seek, because then you won’t find. This is why Zen is called “the path of paradox.” Zen: The Path of Paradox explores this paradoxical world, this distinctive approach to life. Through his commentaries, Osho illustrates how the Zen anecdotes are not just ancient stories, but that their message is intensely relevant to our own concerns: corruption in politics, truth and lies, mindfulness, dying gracefully without fear.

With an entire genre of self-help books available in the market, this series of talks by the enlightened mystic Osho stands apart. Through his commentary on the tiny but exquisite Song of Meditation by Hakuin, “one of the greatest of Zen masters”, Osho speaks on how contemporary man goes through life with the idea that he must be different from how he is and so trying to change. Whether the search is for self-improvement or self-realization, Osho simply states that “trying” is what is in the way.

“To be a buddha is not a difficult job. It is not some achievement for which you need a Nobel Prize”. Commenting on anecdotes and haikus by the Zen masters, Osho explains that being a buddha is the easiest thing in the world - it has already happened without you knowing. The empty heart, a place beyond thoughts and feelings, is within everyone. Meditation, and becoming truly thoughtless, is the key. Osho presents Zen as potent, alive, and relevant to the modern world.

Osho responds to questions on "Relaxing and Waking Up" and "The Difference Between Instinct and Intuition". "In meditation you are not going anywhere. You are simply being here, relaxed, utterly centered in yourself. Everything stops. For this, no 'how' is needed."

Zen is not a theology, it is a unique phenomenon. Not easy to understand for a Western mind. Most religions exist around the concept of God. For Zen, the individual human is the goal - an end unto himself. So there is no concept of God in Zen. Certainly those who have been brought up as Christians, Muslims, Hindus, or Jews, cannot conceive of what sort of religion Zen is. If there is no God, then it becomes atheism. It is not; it is theism to the very core - but without God. This is the first fundamental to be understood. Let it sink deep within you, then things will become clear.

All of the Osho audiobooks are created from his extemporaneous talks, and in this volume reflect the intimate setting in which they were given, with small audiences of those gathered in the Oregon commune around him. Everything is on the table - belief in God, the meaning of compassion, what happens when we die.

These talks are answers to personal questions from seekers that touch on a wide variety of fundamental life issues. This is an enlightened being's profound, loving and, at times, humorous response to them. Amongst the many subjects covered, Osho speaks on parents and children, trust and surrender, love and jealousy, sex and pornography; play and creativity, desirelessness, enlightenment and the belief in God.

Do you see the meditativeness of the trees surrounding you? Such stillness! Just as you are listening to me, they are listening to me, not even a leaf moving. The birds are singing.

The Sutra of Forty-Two Chapters is a succinct summary doctrine by which Buddhism was introduced to China. Each of the 42 sutras begins with "the Buddha said" This particular sutra deals with The 20 Difficult Things to Accomplish in this World and Osho takes us through each verse, and dissects it line by line, never omitting to explain - in clear modern terms - the real meaning of the verses.

In these talks, Osho introduces his audience to Zen, with its emphasis on being alert and attentive to the simplest acts of ordinary life as a way to experience meditation. Zen stories serve as starting points for several talks in the series, illuminating the nature of that rare human capacity to transcend the limits of the rational mind.