#Osho tao the pathless path full#

He loves the words, the way Lao Tzu has spoken, the style of life that he has lived, but he has never seen any of his statues. And a young man has been thinking for years to go to the mountains and see the statue of Lao Tzu. And I will not deceive you, because after one thousand and one miles you will meet another old man – perhaps me – who will say, ‘This is just a stopover, go on.’Go on is the message.'There is a statue of Lao Tzu, the founder of Tao. But the reality is now – from this point, from this atmosphere, a journey of one thousand and one miles begins. 'The old man said, ‘That is just the way the masters have been talking to people. 'The young man said, ‘What? I was thinking, one hundred miles and the journey is finished.’ The old man said, ‘Now begins the journey.’ 'The whole atmosphere there was representative of the Taoist idea of let-go. It always goes downhill, but it reaches to the ocean, to its very source. Just as the water goes on and on flowing with no guidebooks, with no maps, with no rules, no discipline… but strangely enough in a very humble way, because it is always seeking the lower position everywhere. 'In that lonely spot the statue was standing, and there was a waterfall just by the side – because Tao is called the watercourse way. So don’t be worried, you will reach the ocean. It believes you are not to swim, but just to flow with the river, allow the river to take you wherever it is going – because every river ultimately reaches to the ocean. 'Tao believes in the philosophy of let-go.

Even his statue had something – it was not just a piece of art, it was created by Taoist artists to represent the spirit of Tao. 'Those one hundred miles just came and went by, and they reached one of the most beautiful statues of one of the greatest men who has ever walked on the earth. But whenever the young man said it was time to rest, he was always willing to rest with him – a day or two, and then they would start the journey again. He was surprised that the old man himself never said it was time to rest. And wild, juicy fruits…and they were resting whenever he wanted, the old man was ready. 'And what the old man had said was true – as they entered deeper into the forest and the mountains, it became more and more beautiful. You just follow me, and we will take as many rests as you want.’ You are young, inexperienced I will carry your things. 'The man was so authoritative: when he said ‘Stand up!’ the young man simply stood. I have been on this path thousands of times, and I am at least four times your age. Anyway, I am going you can come along with me.

#Osho tao the pathless path full#

This is one of the most beautiful valleys and the most beautiful mountains and the trees are so full of fruits, fruits that you may not have even tasted. And who is saying to you that you should go continuously? You can take time after ten miles you can rest a day or two days, enjoy. And the saying goes, Just one step by one step, a man can go ten thousand miles – and this is only a hundred miles! You seem to be stupid. The powerful, the weak, the young, the old – it doesn’t matter. He said, ‘Have you not heard the ancient saying? Nobody has the power to take two steps together, you can take only one step at a time. He saw this young man sitting he asked, ‘What are you doing here?’The young man explained: 'So he was sitting just outside the town, and as the sun was rising an old man came by. And without seeing the statue of Lao Tzu, simply be finished. At least there will be light, and I can see better otherwise I will fall somewhere off this small footpath. So he thinks, &lsquot It is better to wait till the morning. I have never walked one hundred miles, and there is no road….’It is a small hill path, a footpath – dangerous too. 'As he comes out of the town to the first milestone, a thought arises in him, ‘My God, one hundred miles! And I only have two feet – it is going to kill me. In the middle of the night – he chooses the time in the middle of the night so that the wife and the children and the family are asleep and no trouble arises – he takes a lamp in his hand, because the night is dark, and goes out of the town.

But finally one night he decides that he has to go – and it is not that far, only a hundred miles – but he is a poor man, and he has to walk. 'And years pass, and there are so many things always coming in between. There are no Taoist temples, so there are very rare statues and they are all in the mountains – standing in the open, carved out of the mountain – no roof, no temple, no priest, no worship. 'There is a statue of Lao Tzu, the founder of Tao.