Question 3
Lao tzu has talked about pure, absolute truth and has looked upon all conceptions as the only barrier that prevents man from entering his nature. from this are we to assume that religion and truth are beyond the capabilities of an ordinary person? will the embracing of the simple, natural self as described by lao tzu -- remain a rare attainment?
It is not beyond the reach of the ordinary man. It is unattainable only by those who consider themselves non-ordinary. An ordinary man is a rare phenomenon. Everyone is non-ordinary. Ask each person you meet -- all are non-ordinary. Have you ever met a person who is ordinary? Even if a person says he is ordinary, he will claim to be very, very ordinary. In other words, I am non-ordinary even among the most ordinary.
Lao Tzu says: "Become ordinary and you shall attain. Your non-ordinariness is your only hurdle." What is our non-ordinariness?
Some men earn wealth in order to be extraordinary. Some one renounces in order to be extraordinary. Our extraordinariness depends entirely on our doing. The more a person does, the more extraordinary he becomes. Lao Tzu says: "All is attained by non-doing." Therefore the extraordinary never attain, because "extraordinary" means one who has attained something, done something.
But it is next to impossible to find an ordinary man. Every person, whether he says it or not, whether he shows it nor not, believes himself to be the centre of everything. He considers himself to be the exception and not the rule. He takes himself to be the peak and is always working with that assumption. Some attain a certain amount of success and feel happy. Others do not and are filled with despair and inferiority.
-Osho, The Way of Tao, Volume 2, #21, Q3