Knotty Heads

Man with his knotty head can be so cruel can do disastrous things. He is definitely capable of peace, the same mind can be doing disastrous things and the same mind is also capable of peace. And when there are too many knotty things going on is when one wants peace. When do you talk about peace?  When you are not peaceful.   When do you talk of success? When you are not successful. And why Buddha talked about non-violence? Because, there was violence during his time. Why Jesus was talking about love because there was no love in that place.  So there is always something opposite.

Man is capable of both sides.  To be spiritual is to choose to go beyond the opposites, success and failure, happiness and sorrow, good and bad. Because good is also a knot success is also a knot, and new knots keep coming. As long as you have a knot there is a problem. But something as plain as a cloth you cannot say anything. Once your mind has become like that, others may call you successful. They say you are very successful because you always look content and happy. That is the sign of a successful man. The world will tell you are this you are that, but you know inside you are not successful nor that are you a failure. That is what should eventually happen, where you do not consider yourself to be anything. No more knots in the head, just free. That is the goal. You are just like the plain sheet of cloth without any knots. 

Excerpts from discourses on  Bound to be Free (2010)

Knotless Is Your Goal

Life can be like a plain cloth but we have put knots in the cloth using the same cloth. The knots together in the plain cloth is the mind. Where you are, is the knot, the goal is the knotless. What is the distance between the knot and the cloth? There is no distance, which means it is just there. Which means where is the goal? There is a goal, and it is just there.  The focus is on the knot, not on the cloth.  We make a lot of fuss about the knots, then we are making more knots. But if we stop making fuss and if you can be easy, then the knots will weaken, then you can just undo the knot.  That undoing the knots is spirituality that is what is meditation. 

Undoing happens in meditation, but depending on how quietly you sit.  But in meditation also you try to do so many things, then no one can help you. Instead if you just be normal, natural relaxed. Just relax, without doing so many things, without looking for some shortcut, simply allow these knots to come off. Try to keep your mind free. Any questions coming just ignore do not give too much importance. Do not make issues out of your thoughts. Do not ask the question why this thought is coming. Any form of question is a knot. Your most natural self has no questions it has no answers also, it has no problems no solutions. There is nothing.

Excerpts from discourses on  Bound to be Free (2010)