A man of Zen is totally different from the man of Yoga, and the distinction has to be understood.

 

The man of Yoga is in tremendous control. The whole methodology of Yoga is how to control yourself, how to control absolutely. The man of Yoga cannot be disturbed because he is in such utter control.

 

The man of Zen cannot be disturbed because there is no control. But the difference is great.

 

The man of Yoga is not absolutely in control, nobody can be. There are possibilities when he will lose his control. You just have to bring about those possibilities - he will lose control, because all control is relative, it is only up to a certain extent.

 

Watch your control: if there is a ten rupee note you may not steal it, but ten thousand rupees? Then you feel a little inclined. And ten lakh rupees? Then you start thinking, then the idea seems to be worth thinking about. You start dreaming... ten lakh rupees? And just for onCe, and people are doing so many sins, you will be doing one and only one. And then you can donate half of the money to the church or to the temple. And it is not so wrong either, because it doesn't belong to a beggar - it belongs to some very rich person, and it doesn't matter to him whether he has ten lakh less or more. And in the first place he has exploited people for all this money. Now you are gathering energy to do it! But if it is ten crore rupees? Then you will not think a second time: you will simply grab it and rush.

 

There is a certain limit to all control; beyond that you will fall. Nobody- call be in absolute control, because control is an unnatural thing and nothing unnatural can ever be absolute. Only nature can be absolute. Unnature has to be maintained; it takes energy, conflict, struggle, And when you are controlling yourself, there is somebody inside you who is against it - otherwise what is the point of controlling?

 

Control always splits you: the one who controls and the one who is being controlled, the top-dog and the bottom-dog. And the bottom-dog waits for its own opportunities. There is constant barking and they go on fighting inside you. And you know it! There are moments when you can control your anger, and there are moments when you cannot. There are moments when you can control anything, and there are moments you cannot control. Sometimes the top-dog is powerful and sometimes the bottom-dog is powerful.

 

And the conflict continues and the victory is never absolute. Nobody ever wins it because the other remains there, maybe tired, resting, waiting for its time. And whenever one is in control, the other is gaining power by resting. And the one who is in control is losing power by control-ling? because controlling means energy is being lost, dis-sipated. Sooner or later, the controller becomes weak and the controlled becomes powerful. And this goes on, this is a wheel.

 

The man of Yoga seems to be in great control, but cannot be in absolute control. He has repressed.

 

All that he has repressed is waiting there underneath him like a volcano - it will erupt. And when it erupts, he will be thrown in fragments.

 

The man of Zen cannot be disturbed - but the reason is totally different. Not that he is in absolute control: he cannot be disturbed because he is not.

 

And then one thing more has to be understood: because he is not, there is no division. He is just a natural man. But you carry the idea of control from the man of Yoga, and that's why the natural man has always been misunderstood. For example:

 

A master died and his disciple started crying, great tears started coming, sobbing. The disciple was known himself as an enlightened person. Others said, "This is not right - you should not cry, you should not weep. What will people think? Is it right for a man who is enlightened to cry? '

 

And that disciple said. "There is no question of right and wrong - if tears are coming, they are coming. There is nobody to prevent them."

 

This is a totally different vision - this is the natural man.

 

And they said, "But you have been telling us that only the body dies, then why are you crying and weeping for the master's dead body? Only the body has died and the body was just material. It was going to die - dust unto dust."

 

And he said, "What are you talking about? I am not crying for the soul - the soul never dies, okay, so I am not crying for the soul! I am crying for the body, because it was beautiful, so beautiful. I will never be able to see such a beautiful man walk again. I will never hear his voice."

 

And they said, "But you should not be attached!"

 

But he said, "I am not attached! Just a flower has withered away and tears are coming to my eyes - I am not attached. These tears are not out of attachment."

 

This is very difficult to understand, because we know only tears which come out of attachment. We have not know natural tears - we have forgotten ALL that is natural. We know tears of attachment; we don't know tears of innocence.

 

A Zen man is a natural man.

 

WHEN IT BLOWS,

 

THE MOUNTAIN WIND IS BOISTEROUS...

 

This is the description of a Zen man.

 

BUT WHEN IT BLOWS NOT,

 

IT SIMPLY BLOWS NOT.

 

When he laughs, he laughs. When he cries, he cries. It is a simple phenomenon. Just as birds sing, the Zen master speaks; just as flowers bloom, he lives. But his life has no ulterior motive, no goal.

 

His words are not teachings but assertions of joy - hallelujah! his celebration of being. And that, too, when it happens it happens. When it doesn't happen, it doesn't happen.

 

There have been Zen masters who talked their whole lives, and there have been Zen masters who never talked. Sometimes it happens that the song is sung in words, and sometimes it happens that the song is sung in silence. But there is nobody to do something. Whatsoever is happening is happening.

 

This is what is called freedom by Buddha: nobody to control and manipulate, all control disappears - freedom i born. Freedom from the self, the true freedom, Freedom for the self is the pseudo freedom. Yoga tries freedom for the self, and Zen is nothing but freedom from the self? Then one becomes like a tree, like an animal, like a child.

 

The sage is like a child, not like a yogi, not like a mahatma. The mahatma is trying to control himself continuously, day in, day out - curbing, dropping this, creating that. His whole life is his own effort.

 

And, naturally, the so-called mahatmas look very tired, sad, desperate. Their life has not the quality of joy. They talk about satchitanand, but their life has not the quality of joy.

 

Zen people have the quality of joy. They don't talk about satchitanand - they ARE satchitanand.

 

They are truth, they are bliss, they are consciousness.

 

-Osho, "Take It Easy, Vol 1, #9"