Chuang Tzu
There is a beautiful story about Chuang Tzu, a great mystic of China. One morning, sitting in his bed, he looked very sad. His disciples had never seen him so sad. And never after waking up had he remained in his bed, sitting. What had happened? Was he sick?
They gathered around and asked him, “Master, what is the matter?” He said, “The matter is really difficult, I cannot solve it; perhaps you may be of some help. I will tell you what is the matter. In the night I dreamed that I had become a butterfly, and I was moving from one flower to another flower.”
The disciples said, “This is nothing to be sad about. In dreams we all do strange things; and this is not a bad thing, to be a butterfly – colorful, beautiful, moving from one juicy flower to another juicy flower. Why are you so worried?”
He said, “You have not heard the whole thing. The problem is, now I am awake and I am wondering whether Chuang Tzu dreamed that he is a butterfly, or now the butterfly has gone to sleep and is dreaming she is Chuang Tzu.”
Both are possible. If Chuang Tzu can dream that he is a butterfly, what can’t a butterfly dream that she is a Chuang Tzu?
The disciples remained silent; there was no answer to it. Chuang Tzu was pointing towards a certain phenomenon that all religions have been teaching – that everything is a dream. The butterfly is a dream, Chuang Tzu is a dream. Then what is real? The real is far away. And in this dream, don’t get disturbed. Whether you are a camel, or a donkey, or a monkey – it doesn’t matter. What matters is that you accept it without any resentment so that you can reach one day the real world of God.
-Osho, From Death to Deathlessness, Talk #13
Beautiful is Chuang Tzu, incomparable is Chuang Tzu, unique is Chuang Tzu! Because he says: Continue easy and you are right. He doesn’t say: Be nonviolent, then you are right; be truthful, then you are right; don’t be angry, otherwise you will be wrong; don’t be sexual…. No! Nothing! He says: Be easy and continue easy, and you are right – and then you choose your own path. He gives you the essence, not particular directions, but just a universal truth.
The right way to go easy is to forget the right way…
Because if you are too concerned with the right way you will become uneasy. So even with Chuang Tzu be easy; otherwise you will become uneasy. And you are so efficient at becoming uneasy that you can even turn Chuang Tzu into a madness.
The right way to go easy is to forget the right way…
Just forget. Be easy, that is all.
-Osho, When the Shoe Fits, Talk #1