There was another rabbi, his name was Pinas, something like that. He entered the meditation place, and many disciples were gathering together and talking. So the rabbi asked them, “What are you talking about?” So, all the disciples were telling him, perhaps the ones who prepared to be priests, or to be rabbis in Judaism. So the rabbi asked them what they were discussing. So the male priest said, “Well, we are saying how scared we are that the evil urge will pursue us.” Like probably they were afraid about the sex drive. They said, “We’re worried that the sexual desire is chasing after us.” So the rabbi said, “Don’t worry. You haven’t gotten that high enough for the devil’s urge to chase you. Right now, you are chasing it.” I don’t know who would that be.
There’s another one, very cute. A philosopher made an appointment to dispute with a Master called Nasruddin, a Sufi Master. And after he made an appointment, he came at the appointed time to dispute with that Master and then found out that the Master is gone, He was not at home. So he was very, very angry. He was very angry and frustrated. So before he left the house of the Sufi Master, he wrote on the gate, on the Master’s gate, he said, “Stupid donkey.” So as soon as the Master came back home and saw this, immediately He rushed to the philosopher’s house and apologized. He said, “Oh, I had forgotten that I had an appointment with you that day at that hour. I apologize for not having been at home. But of course, I remembered immediately, as soon as I saw you sign your name on my gate.” This is good. It’s good. So don’t sign your name like that everywhere.
Just like the story of the Buddha, you remember? That somebody came to the Buddha and scolded Him and humiliated the Buddha all morning, the whole morning long. He just stood there and humiliated the Buddha and called Him all kinds of bad names and cursed Him and scolded Him in every way possible. And the Buddha didn’t say anything. He just smiled and sat there. So after a while, the man said, “I have been degrading You all morning. Why do You just keep quiet and don’t say anything? Aren’t You disturbed? You don’t feel angry? You don’t feel concerned?” Buddha said, “No, why should I? If somebody wants to give me some present and I don’t accept it, then the person has to take it back home.”
And there is another story similar, there was a man who studied with a master and the master taught him that every time anybody scolded him or humiliated him in some way, then he must pay that person in money. So he did that for many years, until one day his master said, “OK, now you don’t have to pay anymore. It’s OK, no more.” So he left the master and went to another city. And there he saw another master, sitting in front of the gate of a city. And humiliated everybody who passed him by. Everybody who passed the master by, he just scolded them, cursed them, and humiliated them, all kinds of things. And when it came to the student’s turn, as he passed by, that master also scolded him and humiliated him in all ways. And the student began to laugh very loud. So that master was surprised and said, “Why are you laughing? Everybody was upset. You are the only one who laughs when I scold you, for no reason.” So the student said, “All these years I had to pay for people when they scold me and today you scolded me for free, I’m so happy! That’s why I’m laughing.”
So the master now knows his match. So he invited that student to come into his city and gave everything to him as his successor. The city happened to be a spiritual practicing center, and the master and the disciples had built it up as a city. And everything inside, every precious thing, and all the disciples and all the disciples around the world also belonged to that student now, because the master had found a successor. So that’s very good that we should be used to hardship and humiliation. Maybe one day we’ll get the whole city, you never know. Or maybe Hsihu Center, at least. Well, it’s not a city but it’s pretty. It’s pretty enough. And I’m also looking for a successor. I might sit in the front gate and scold everybody.
There’s another story, very nice. There was a monastery, and there was a master there. And then a person came in and asked… Because the monastery had no gate, so you don’t have to close the door, or things like that. Similar to ours here; we only zip up the tent when we want to keep the wind and the light out, that’s all. Zip it up and zip it down. It had no gate, actually. So the person asked, “But then how do you keep out the thieves?” So the master said, “Well, we have nothing valuable here that people would want to come and steal. All the valuable things have been given away to other people.”
So the person kept asking again, “And how about the bad people? You know like all the people making trouble? How do we deal with them?” So the master said, “Well, we just ignore them.” And then the person asked again, “But does it help? Ignoring people, does it help?” The master didn’t answer. He just closed his nose, closed his ears, closed his eyes and pretended not to hear anything. And he kept asking again and the master didn’t say anything. He asked once more and the master didn’t say anything. So he was very angry and stood up and left. So after that, the master said, “Hey, come back here. It really helps, doesn’t it?”
Demonstration is better than lecturing. It really helps. So it’s a good lesson for us. If people annoy you, you just ignore them like this. Be deaf, dumb, and then they will soon be fed up with you. That’s what I do sometimes, but it doesn’t help. I must tell you the truth. It doesn’t work here. I don’t know why. The more I ignore people, the more they come. So now I just have to put up with it. “If you can’t beat them, then join them.”
Let’s become Buddha together. Now we continue with our job, boring job. Yesterday when? What? Number what? (Fifty-eight.) Nay. (Fifty-nine.) Fifty-eight? No. Fifty-seven? OK. Fifty-six was “when you open your mouth and… and listen to the sound of the… (Yes.) of your breathing.” Remember? (Yes.) Now, did any of you try that in the tent yesterday? The Buddha must have laughed. When He saw you opening your mouth like an idiot, like that. Number 56. No, fifty-six already. We already opened the mouth.
Now, Number 57: “When sitting on a bed or on a seat, let yourself become weightless and beyond mind.” What does “beyond mind” mean? (Samadhi.) Not thinking anything. But you try, I bet – one second, only. Beyond mind, meaning in samadhi, beyond thinking, beyond calculating. Because when there is a mind, there is thinking, there is running around, there is calculating, and all kinds of garbage going on.
Now, number 58: “In a moving vehicle…” Well, this is for driving people. Oh, but don’t do it. “By rhythmically swaying experience.” Experience what? Maybe samadhi. But I would not advise this to the driving people. “Or in a still vehicle letting yourself swing in slowing invisible circles.” Did you ever do that? Well, you can try, but I don’t think you should do that. The police will run after you, because your car will go like this. What the Master meant perhaps was not the driver but the passenger. Just let yourself be moved, swaying around, swinging around with the movement of the vehicle. At that time, they had perhaps horses, horse carriages. So the movement, it must be very smooth. So maybe He tried to ease your tension by teaching you to move with the movement, so that you don’t feel agitated, and it’s comforting for you. Then perhaps you’ll have some (inner Heavenly) Light and (inner Heavenly) Sound experiences.
Photo Caption: “Transforming Into Something More Extraordinary”
