Sinner

In a village a crowd came to Jesus, and they had brought a woman who had sinned in the eyes of the crowd. So they said to Jesus, ”This woman is a sinner, and she has confessed. So what should we do now? It is written in the old scriptures that she should be killed by throwing stones at her, she should be stoned to death. What do you say? What should we do?”

They were trying to put Jesus in a dilemma, because if he said not to kill her... as it was expected he should say, because he was saying, ”Love. And if someone strikes you on one cheek, give him the other cheek; if someone forces you to carry his burden for one mile, go two miles with him; if someone snatches your coat, give him your shirt also.” This man could not say, ”Kill, murder, stone this woman to death.” And if he said, ”No, don’t kill her,” then they could say, ”You are against the scriptures, so you cannot be a prophet. You don’t belong to us. You are a destroyer.”

But Jesus escaped their dilemma – because the dilemma exists only for the obsessed mind. When there is no mind dilemma disappears, because dilemma consists of division. You divide things in two, in opposites, and then there is the question, What to choose, how to choose? Then the problem arises. But if there is no mind, there is no question of choice – a choicelessness has happened.

So Jesus said, ”It is right, it is written in the scriptures to stone this woman to death. It is okay. Bring the stones and kill this woman – but only that man is allowed to stone this woman who has himself not committed sin in his actions, or in his mind.”

Then those who were leading the crowd started dispersing, because there was none who had not committed adultery in act or in mind. And there is no difference whether you commit it in action or you commit it in the mind, it is the same for the consciousness. There is no difference. Whether you think of killing a person or you actually kill, there is no difference, because you have killed inwardly when you have thought. If, just in your mind, you want to rape a woman, you have raped. Your whole being has done it. Whether it has become actual in the world of events or not, that is irrelevant, that is secondary. As far as you are concerned the sin has been committed.

Nobody could throw a stone at that woman. The crowd disappeared, only the woman was left. So the woman said to Jesus, ”But I have committed... I have done a wrong. I am immoral. So whether the crowd is going to stone me to death or not, you can punish me. I confess.”

Jesus said, ”Who am I to judge? It is between you and your God, you and the ultimate, you and the all – who am I to judge? It is something between you and existence. Where do I come in?”

Judgement

I have heard about one Mohammedan Sufi mystic. He used to sell small things in the village, and the people of that village became aware that he had no judgment. So they would take the things and give him false coins. He would accept them, because he would never say, ”This is wrong and this is right.” Sometimes they would take things from him and they would say, ”We have paid,” and he would not say, ”You have not paid.” He would say, ”Okay.” He would thank them.

Then from other villages also people started coming. This man was very good; you could take anything from his shop, you need not pay, or you could pay in false coins, and he accepted everything!

Then death came near to this old man. These were his last words: he looked at the sky and said, ”Allah, God, I have been accepting all kinds of coins, false ones also. I am also a false coin – don’t judge me. I have not judged your people, please don’t judge me.” And it is said that how can God judge such a person?

Truth

A small boy, just ten or twelve years of age, lived in a Zen monastery. Every day he would see many seekers coming to the master to ask for help, methods, techniques, guidance.

He also became attracted, so one day he also came in the morning in the same way a seeker comes to a Zen master. With deep reverence he bowed down seven times. The master started laughing:

”What has happened to this boy?”

And then he sat in the way seekers should sit before a Zen master. Then he waited, as seekers should wait, for the master to ask, ”Why have you come?”

The master asked, ”Toyo” – Toyo was the name of the boy – ”why have you come?”

So Toyo bowed down and said, ”Master, I have come in search of truth. What shall I do? How should I practice?”

The master knew that this boy was simply imitating, because everybody he heard came and asked the same questions, so just jokingly the master said, ”Toyo, you go and meditate. Two hands clapping can create a sound. What is the sound of one hand clapping?”

Toyo bowed down seven times again, went back to his room, started meditating. He heard a geisha girl singing, so he said, ”Right, this is the thing.” He came immediately, bowed down.

The master was laughing. He said, ”Did you meditate, Toyo?”

He said, ”Yes sir, and I have found it: it is like a geisha girl singing.”

The master said, ”No, this is wrong. Go again, meditate.”

So he went again, meditated for three days. Then he heard the sound of water dripping, so he said, ”Right now, this is the thing – I have got it.” He came again, the master asked... he said, ”The sound of the water dripping.”

The master said, ”Toyo, that too is not it. You go and meditate.”

So he meditated for three months. Then he heard locusts in the trees, so he said, ”Yes, I have got it.” He came again.

The master said, ”No, this too is not right.”

And so on and on. One year passed. Then for one year continuously he was not seen. The master became anxious: ”What happened to the boy? He has not come.” So he went to find him. He was sitting under a tree, silent, his body vibrating to some unknown sound; his body dancing, a very gentle dance, as if just moving with the breeze.

The master didn’t like to disturb the boy, so he sat there waiting. Hours and hours passed. When the sun was setting and it was evening, the master said, ”Toyo?”

The boy opened his eyes and he said, ”This is it.”

The master said, ”Yes, you have got it!”

Burden

I have heard one story about Hotei, a Zen master. One day he was passing through a village. On his shoulders he always carried a very big bag full of many toys, chocolates and sweets for children.

Somebody asked him, ”Hotei, we have heard that you are just playing a role, acting. We have heard that you are a Zen master, so why do you go on wasting your time just giving toys to children? And if you are really a Zen master then show us what Zen is.” Zen means the real spirit of religion.

Hotei dropped his bag, immediately he dropped his bag. They couldn’t follow, so they said, ”What do you mean?”

He said, ”This is all. If you drop the burden, this is all.”

They asked, ”Okay, then what is the next step?”

So he put his bag again on his shoulders and started walking. ”This is the next step. But now I am not carrying. I know now that the burden is not me. Now the whole burden has become just toys for children and they will enjoy it.”