Osho - Bodhidharma - The Greatest Zen Master 20 - Less than an eyeblink away

BELOVED OSHO,
BUT THE BATHHOUSE SUTRA SAYS, "BY CONTRIBUTING TO THE
BATHING OF MONKS, PEOPLE RECEIVE LIMITLESS BLESSINGS." THIS
WOULD APPEAR TO BE AN INSTANCE OF EXTERNAL PRACTICE
ACHIEVING MERIT. HOW DOES THIS RELATE TO BEHOLDING THE
MIND?
HERE, THE BATHING OF MONKS DOESN'T REFER TO THE WASHING OF
ANYTHING TANGIBLE. WHEN THE LORD PREACHED THE BATHHOUSE
SUTRA, HE WANTED HIS DISCIPLES TO REMEMBER THE DHARMA OF
WASHING. SO HE USED AN EVERYDAY CONCERN TO CONVEY HIS REAL
MEANING. ...THE BATHHOUSE IS THE BODY. WHEN YOU LIGHT THE
FIRE OF WISDOM, YOU WARM THE PURE WATER OF THE PRECEPTS AND
BATHE THE TRUE BUDDHA-NATURE WITHIN YOU. BY UPHOLDING
THESE SEVEN PRACTICES, YOU ADD TO YOUR VIRTUE. THE MONKS OF
THAT AGE WERE PERCEPTIVE. THEY UNDERSTOOD THE BUDDHA'S
MEANING. THEY FOLLOWED HIS TEACHING, PERFECTED THEIR VIRTUE
AND TASTED THE FRUIT OF BUDDHAHOOD. BUT PEOPLE NOWADAYS
CAN'T FATHOM THESE THINGS. ...OUR TRUE BUDDHA-NATURE HAS
NO SHAPE. AND THE DUST OF AFFLICTION HAS NO FORM. HOW CAN
PEOPLE USE ORDINARY WATER TO WASH AN INTANGIBLE BODY? IT
WON'T WORK. WHEN WILL THEY WAKE UP? TO CLEAN SUCH A BODY,
YOU HAVE TO BEHOLD IT. ONCE IMPURITIES AND FILTH ARISE FROM
DESIRE, THEY MULTIPLY UNTIL THEY COVER YOU INSIDE AND OUT.
BUT IF YOU TRY TO WASH THIS BODY OF YOURS, YOU'LL HAVE TO
SCRUB UNTIL IT'S NEARLY GONE BEFORE IT'S CLEAN. FROM THIS YOU
SHOULD REALIZE THAT WASHING SOMETHING EXTERNAL ISN'T WHAT
THE BUDDHA MEANT.
THE SUTRAS SAY THAT SOMEONE WHO WHOLEHEARTEDLY INVOKES
THE BUDDHA IS SURE TO BE REBORN IN THE WESTERN PARADISE.
SINCE THIS DOOR LEADS TO BUDDHAHOOD, WHY SEEK LIBERATION IN
BEHOLDING THE MIND? ...BUDDHA MEANS AWARENESS, THE
AWARENESS OF BODY AND MIND THAT PREVENTS EVIL FROM ARISING
IN EITHER. AND TO INVOKE MEANS TO CALL TO MIND, TO CALL
CONSTANTLY TO MIND THE RULES OF DISCIPLINE AND TO FOLLOW
THEM WITH ALL YOUR MIGHT. ...TO INVOKE THE BUDDHA'S NAME,
YOU HAVE TO UNDERSTAND THE DHARMA OF INVOKING. IF IT'S NOT
PRESENT IN YOUR MIND, YOUR MOUTH CHANTS AN EMPTY NAME. AS
LONG AS YOU'RE TROUBLED BY THE THREE POISONS OR BY THOUGHTS
OF YOURSELF, YOUR DELUDED MIND WILL KEEP YOU FROM SEEING
THE BUDDHA .... IF YOU CLING TO APPEARANCES WHILE SEARCHING
FOR MEANING, YOU WON'T FIND A THING. THUS, SAGES OF THE PAST
CULTIVATED INTROSPECTION AND NOT SPEECH.
THIS MIND IS THE SOURCE OF ALL VIRTUES. AND THIS MIND IS THE
CHIEF OF ALL POWERS. THE ETERNAL BLISS OF NIRVANA COMES FROM
THE MIND AT REST. REBIRTH IN THE THREE REALMS ALSO COMES
FROM THE MIND. THE MIND IS THE DOOR TO EVERY WORLD. AND THE
MIND IS THE FORD TO THE OTHER SHORE. THOSE WHO KNOW WHERE
THE DOOR IS DON'T WORRY ABOUT REACHING IT. THOSE WHO KNOW
WHERE THE FORD IS DON'T WORRY ABOUT CROSSING IT.
THE PEOPLE I MEET NOWADAYS ARE SUPERFICIAL. THEY THINK OF
MERIT AS SOMETHING THAT HAS FORM. THEY SQUANDER THEIR
WEALTH AND BUTCHER CREATURES OF LAND AND SEA .... THEY SEE
SOMETHING TANGIBLE AND INSTANTLY BECOME ATTACHED. IF YOU
TALK TO THEM ABOUT FORMLESSNESS, THEY SIT THERE DUMB AND
CONFUSED. GREEDY FOR THE SMALL MERCIES OF THIS WORLD, THEY
REMAIN BLIND TO THE GREAT SUFFERING TO COME. SUCH DISCIPLES
WEAR THEMSELVES OUT IN VAIN. TURNING FROM THE TRUE TO THE
FALSE, THEY TALK ABOUT NOTHING BUT FUTURE BLESSINGS.
IF YOU CAN SIMPLY CONCENTRATE YOU MIND'S INNER LIGHT AND
BEHOLD ITS OUTER ILLUMINATION, YOU'LL DISPEL THE THREE
POISONS AND DRIVE AWAY THE SIX THIEVES ONCE AND FOR ALL. AND
WITHOUT EFFORT YOU'LL GAIN POSSESSION OF AN INFINITE NUMBER
OF VIRTUES, PERFECTIONS AND DOORS TO THE TRUTH. SEEING
THROUGH THE MUNDANE AND WITNESSING THE SUBLIME IS LESS
THAN AN EYE-BLINK AWAY. REALIZATION IS NOW. WHY WORRY
ABOUT GRAY HAIR? BUT THE TRUE DOOR IS HIDDEN AND CAN'T BE
REVEALED. I HAVE ONLY TOUCHED UPON BEHOLDING THE MIND.