Osho : Since Buddha, many scientific
developments have happened....
We don’t know what Buddha actually said although he never used
anybody like Ouspensky or Plato or Vivekananda; he himself was his own
interpreter. But there arose a problem when he died. He spoke for forty-two
years – he became enlightened when he was about forty and then he lived to
eighty-two. For forty-two years he was speaking morning, afternoon, evening.
Now there were no scientific methods for recording what he was saying. When he
died the first question was how to collect it all.
He had said so much – forty-two years is a long time, and many had
become enlightened in those forty-two years. But those who became enlightened had
become crystallized in the heart. because that is easier, simpler, and people
tend to move to the simplest process, to the shortcut. Why bother? If you can
reach a point directly, straight, then why go roundabout? And when Buddha was
alive there was no need for anybody else to interpret him; he was his own
spokesman, so the need was never felt.
There were thousands of arhats and bodhisattvas; they all
gathered. Only those were called to the gathering who had become enlightened –
obviously, because they would not misinterpret Buddha. And that’s true, they
could not misinterpret him – it was impossible for them. They had also
experienced the same universe of the beyond, they had also moved to the farther
shore. But they all said, ”We have never bothered much about his words since we
became enlightened. We have listened to him because his words were sweet.
We have listened to him because his words were pure music. We have
listened to him because just listening to him was a joy. We have listened to
him because that was the only way to be close to him. Just to sit by his side
and listen to him was a rejoicing, it was a benediction. But we did not bother
about what he was saying; once we attained there was no need. We were not
listening from the head and we were not collecting in the memory; our own heads
and memories stopped functioning long ago.”
Somebody became enlightened thirty years before Buddha died. Now
for thirty years he sat there by the side of Buddha listening as one listens to
the wind passing through the pine trees or one listens to the song of the birds
or one listens to the rain falling on the roof. But they were not listening
intellectually. So they said, ”We have not carried any memory of it. Whatsoever
he must have said was beautiful, but what he said we cannot recollect. Just to
be with him was such a joy.” It was very difficult now – how to collect his
words?
The only man who had lived continuously with Buddha for forty-two
years was Ananda; he was his Personal attendant, his caretaker. He had listened
to him, almost every word that he had uttered was heard by Ananda. Even if he
was talking to somebody privately, Ananda was present. Ananda was almost always
present, like a shadow. He had heard everything – whatsoever had fallen from his
lips. And he must have said many things to Ananda when there was nobody there.
They must have talked just on going to bed in the night.
Ananda used to sleep in the same room just to take care of him –
he may need something in the night. He may feel cold, he may feel hot, he may
like the window to be opened or closed, or he may feel thirsty and may need
some water or something, or – he was getting old – he may feel sick. So Ananda
was there continuously. They all said, ”We should ask Ananda.” But then there
was a very great problem: Ananda was not yet enlightened. He had heard
everything that Buddha uttered publicly, uttered privately.
They must have gossiped together; there was nobody else who could
have said, ”I am friendly with Buddha,” except Ananda. And Ananda was also his
cousin-brother, and not only a cousin-brother but two years older than Buddha.
So when he had come to be initiated he asked for a few things before his
initiation, because in India the elder brother has to be respected just like your
father. Even the elder cousin-brother has to be respected just like your
father.
So Ananda said to Buddha, ”Before I take initiation.... Once I
become your bhikkhu, your sannyasin, I will have to follow your orders, your
commandments. Then whatsoever you say I will have to do.But before that I order
you, as your elder brother, to grant me three things. Remember these three
things.
First: I will always be with you. You cannot say to me, ’Ananda,
go somewhere else, do something else.’ You cannot send me to some other village
to preach, to convert people, to give your message. This is my first order to
you.
Second: I will be always present. Even if you are talking to
somebody privately I want to hear everything. Whatsoever you are going to say
in your life I want to be an audience to it. So you will not be able to tell
me,’This is a private talk, you go out.’ I will not go, remember it!
And thirdly: I am not much interested in being enlightened, I am
much more interested in just being with you. So if enlightenment means
separating from you I don’t care a bit about it. Only if I can remain with you
even after enlightenment, am I willing to be enlightened, otherwise forget
about it.”
And Buddha nodded his yes to all these three orders – he had to,
he was younger than Ananda – and he followed those three things his whole life.
The conference of the arhats and the bodhisattvas decided that only Ananda
could relate Buddha’s words. And he had a beautiful memory; he had listened to
everything very attentively. ”But the problem is he is not yet enlightened; we
cannot rely upon him. His mind may play tricks, his mind may change things
unconsciously. He may not do it deliberately, he may not do it consciously, but
he still has a great unconscious in him. He may think he has heard that Buddha
said this and he may never have said it.
He may delete a few words, he may add a few words. Who knows? And
we don’t have any criterion because many things that he has heard only he has
heard; there is no other witness.” And Ananda was sitting outside the hall. The
doors were closed and he was weeping outside on the steps. He was weeping
because he was not allowed inside. An eighty-four-year-old man weeping like a
child! The man who had lived for forty-two years with Buddha was not allowed
in! Now he was really in anguish.
Why did he not become enlightened? Why did he not insist? He made
a vow, a decision: ”I will not move from these steps until I become
enlightened.” He closed his eyes, he forgot the whole world. And it is said
that within twenty-four hours, without changing his posture, he became
enlightened. When he became enlightened he was allowed in. Then he related...
all these scriptures were related by Ananda.
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