posted December 02, 2004 08:27 PM         

You are not accidental. Existence needs you. Without you something will be missing in existence and nobody can replace it. That's what gives you dignity, that the whole existence will miss you. The stars and sun and moon, the trees and birds and earth - everything in the universe will feel a small place is vacant which cannot be filled by anybody except you.

This gives you a tremendous joy, a fulfillment that you are related to existence, and existence cares for you. Once you are clean and clear, you can see tremendous love falling on you from all dimensions.

Osho God is Dead: Now Zen is the Only Living Truth Chapter 1

Commentary:
This naked figure sits on the lotus leaf of perfection, gazing at the beauty of the night sky. She knows that "home" is not a physical place in the outside world, but an inner quality of relaxation and acceptance. The stars, the rocks, the trees, the flowers, fish and birds - all are our brothers and sisters in this dance of life. We human beings tend to forget this, as we pursue our own private agendas and believe we must fight to get what we need. But ultimately, our sense of separateness is just an illusion, manufactured by the narrow preoccupations of the mind.

Now is the time to look at whether you are allowing yourself to receive the extraordinary gift of feeling "at "home" wherever you are. If you are, be sure to take time to savor it so it can deepen and remain with you. If on the other hand you've been feeling like the world is out to get you, it's time to take a break. Go outside tonight and look at the stars.
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Commentary:
From the alchemy of fire and water below to the divine light entering from above, the figure in this card is literally 'possessed by' the creative force. Really, the experience of creativity is an entry into the mysterious. Technique, expertise and knowledge are just tools; the key is to abandon oneself to the energy that fuels the birth of all things.

This energy has no form or structure, yet all the forms and structures come out of it. It makes no difference what particular form your creativity takes - it can be painting or singing, planting a garden or making a meal. The important thing is to be open to what wants to be expressed through you. Remember that we don't possess our creations; they do not belong to us. True creativity arises from a union with the divine, with the mystical and the unknowable. Then it is both a joy for the creator and a blessing to others.
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Commentary:
The image of integration is the unio mystica, the fusion of opposites. This is a time of communication between the previously experienced dualities of life. Rather than night opposing day, dark suppressing light, they work together to create a unified whole, turning endlessly one into the other, each containing in its deepest core the seed of the opposite.

The eagle and the swan are both beings of flight and majesty. The eagle is the embodiment of power and aloneness. The swan is the embodiment of space and purity, gently floating and diving, upon and within the element of the emotions, entirely content and complete within her perfection and beauty.

We are the union of eagle and swan: male and female, fire and water, life and death. The card of integration is the symbol of self-creation, new life, and mystical union; otherwise known as alchemy.

This is the only distinction between the dream and the real: reality allows you to doubt, and the dream does not allow you to doubt....

To me, the capacity to doubt is one of the greatest blessings to humanity. The religions have been enemies because they have been cutting the very roots of doubt, and there is a reason why they have been doing that: because they want people to believe in certain illusions that they have been preaching....

Why have the people like Gautam Buddha been so insistent that the whole existence - except your witnessing self, except your awareness - is just ephemeral, made of the same stuff as dreams are made of? They are not saying that these trees are not there. They are not saying that these pillars are not there. Don't misunderstand because of the word "illusion".... It has been translated as illusion, but illusion is not the right word.

Illusion does not exist. Reality exists. Maya is just in between - it almost exists. As far as day-to-day activities are concerned, it can be taken as reality. Only in the ultimate sense, from the peak of your illumination, does it become unreal, illusory.

Osho The Great Zen Master Ta Hui Chapter 12

Commentary:
The butterfly in this card represents the outer, that which is constantly moving and that which is not real but an illusion. Behind the butterfly is the face of consciousness, looking inward to that which is eternal. The space between the two eyes has opened, revealing the lotus of spiritual unfoldment and the rising sun of awareness.

Through the rising of the inner sun, meditation is born. The card reminds us not to look outside for what is real, but to look within. When we focus on externals, we too often get caught up in judgments - this is good, this is bad, I want this, I don't want that. These judgments keep us trapped in our illusions, our sleepiness, our old habits and patterns.

Drop your opinionated mind and move inside. There, you can relax into your own deepest truth, where the difference between dreams and reality is already known.

posted December 02, 2004 09:02 PM         

Me ~ Patience

Him ~ The Creator

Composite Energies ~ Slowing Down

Insight ~ Intensity

posted December 02, 2004 09:10 PM         

Trust

Rebirth

New Vision

posted December 02, 2004 10:49 PM         

I tried the single card ~

23. The Creator

There are two types of creators in the world. One type of creator works with objects - a poet, a painter, they work with objects, they create things. The other type of creator, the mystic, creates himself. He doesn't work with objects, he works with the subject; he works on himself, his own being. And he is the real creator, the real poet, because he makes himself into a masterpiece.

You are carrying a masterpiece hidden within you, but you are standing in the way. Just move aside, then the masterpiece will be revealed. Everyone is a masterpiece, because God never gives birth to anything less than that. Everyone carries that masterpiece hidden for many lives, no knowing who they are and just trying on the surface to become someone.

Drop the idea of becoming someone, because you are already a masterpiece. You cannot be improved. You have only to come to it, to know it, to realize it. God himself has created you; you cannot be improved.

Osho Ah, This! Chapter 1

Commentary:

The Zen master in this card has harnessed the energy of fire and is able to use it for creation rather than destruction. He invites us to recognize and participate with him in the understanding that belongs to those who have mastered the fires of passion, without repressing them or allowing them to get destructive and out of balance. He is so integrated that there is no longer any difference between who he is inside and who he is in the world outside. He offers this gift of understanding and integration to all those who come to him, the gift of creative light that comes from the center of his being.

The King of Fire tells us that anything that we undertake now, with the understanding that comes from maturity, will bring enrichment to our own lives and to the lives of others. Using whatever skills you have, whatever you have learned from your own life experience, it is time to express yourself.

posted December 03, 2004 12:19 AM         

What beautiful images! I will say that they are not what I am used to seeing... having been primarily a student of the Western Mysteries, but I find them beautiful and enchanting.

Again, when time permits I will have to learn more about this beautiful if somewhat mystifying deck.

In the Light...
A

posted December 03, 2004 10:26 AM         

25. Intensity

Zen says: Think of all the great words and great teachings as your deadly enemy. Avoid them, because you have to find your own source. You have not to be a follower, an imitator. You have to be an original individual; you have to find your innermost core on your own, with no guide, no guiding scriptures. It is a dark night, but with the intense fire of inquiry you are bound to come to the sunrise.

Everybody who has burned with intense inquiry has found the sunrise. Others only believe. Those who believe are not religious, they are simply avoiding the great adventure of religion by believing.

Commentary:

The figure in this card has taken on the shape of an arrow, moving with the single-pointed focus of one who knows precisely where he is going. He is moving so fast that he has become almost pure energy. But his intensity should not be mistaken for the manic energy that makes people drive their cars at top speed to get from point A to point B. That kind of intensity belongs to the horizontal world of space and time. The intensity represented by the Knight of Fire belongs to the vertical world of the present moment - a recognition that now is the only moment there is, and here is the only space.

When you act with the intensity of the Knight of Fire it is likely to create ripples in the waters around you. Some will feel uplifted and refreshed by your presence, others may feel threatened or annoyed. But the opinions of others matter little; nothing can hold you back right now.

posted December 07, 2004 11:33 PM         

26Taurus...I have the Osho Zen deck. I am more comfortable using Oracle decks than Tarot, mainly because I'm not into the symbolism found in most Tarot decks. For me, OZ is more like an Oracle rather than Tarot deck, so I love it to bits. It's the first Tarot deck that I've come across where I can read intuitively, rather than referring to the little white book.

I found that with Tarot, you can get different kinds of answers than you can with Oracle decks, so I searched and searched for a deck that I would have a connection with. I have five or six Tarot decks now, but it is Osho that I use the most.

I find that Osho is very accurate and has a bit of a sense of humour. It is a good deck to kick your butt.

If you want to learn more about the cards, we have a daily card reading thread going on another website (Aeclectic Tarot) though I noticed that lately, everybody is busy doing other things. There are some people that post in that thread that do their daily draw from the Osho website. They don't actually have the cards themselves. Here is the AT link if you want to check it out:
http://www.tarotforum.net/showthread.php?t=27311

Did you know there is an Oracle deck called The Tao Oracle from the same artist? Here is a link to a review of the Tao Oracle deck:
http://www.aeclectic.net/tarot/cards/tao-oracle/

I'd love to add Tao Oracle to my collection.

Cheers

posted December 08, 2004 01:24 AM         

neo ~ Yes, isnt Osho amazing? I'm glad you enjoy his words as well and that the cards had a message for you. Wow....

Hi purple_scorp!!!

Very cool that you have the deck. And I believe you are right, it seems more like an Oracle than your normal Tarot deck. I dont have the deck but like to go to the site for a reading every so often.

LOL! Osho "has a bit of a sense of humor". I have to agree. I've read alot of his books and he certainly does. I like him because he's a straight shooter, he doesnt sugar coat things. He tells it like it is, which can be a bit shocking for some people. I like his straight forwardness though. It's Truth, plain and simple. "Kicks your butt." Yep. Oh! I found out awhile back that he's a Sagittarius. That explains everything. lol

Thank you for those links!! I will definitely be checking them out within the next few days, when I have more time. Youre too sweet.

Take care,

posted December 22, 2004 12:52 PM         

A master in Zen is not simply a teacher. In all the religions there are only teachers. They teach you about subjects which you don't know, and they ask you to believe because there is no way to bring those experiences into objective reality. Neither has the teacher known them - he has believed them; he transfers his belief to somebody else.

Zen is not a believer's world. It is not for the faithful ones; it is for those daring souls who can drop all belief, unbelief, doubt, reason, mind, and simply enter into their pure existence without boundaries. But it brings a tremendous transformation.

Hence, let me say that while others are involved in philosophies, Zen is involved in metamorphosis, in a transformation. It is authentic alchemy: it changes you from base metal into gold. But its language has to be understood, not with your reasoning and intellectual mind but with your loving heart. Or even just listening, not bothering whether it is true or not. And a moment comes suddenly that you see it, which has been eluding you your whole life. Suddenly, what Gautam Buddha called "eighty-four thousand doors" open.

Osho Zen: The Solitary Bird, Cuckoo of the Forest Chapter 6

Commentary:
The central figure in this card sits atop the vast flower of the void, and holds the symbols of transformation - the sword that cuts through illusion, the snake that rejuvenates itself by shedding its skin, the broken chain of limitations, and the yin/yang symbol of transcending duality. One of its hands rests on its lap, open and receptive. The other reaches down to touch the mouth of a sleeping face, symbolizing the silence that comes when we are at rest.

This is a time for a deep let-go. Allow any pain, sorrow, or difficulty just to be there, accepting its "facticity." It is very much like the experience of Gautam Buddha when, after years of seeking, he finally gave up, knowing there was nothing more that he could do. That very night, he became enlightened.

Transformation comes, like death, in its own time. And, like death, it takes you from one dimension into another.

Amazing...

posted December 28, 2004 12:51 PM         

Surely any follower of his would walk the path of peace and would do no harm to others. Right?

"In 1984, followers of the Indian guru Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh spiked salad bars at 10 restaurants in town with salmonella and sickened about 750 people. The cult members had hoped to incapacitate so many voters that their own candidates in the county elections would win..."

I'm torn. Do I throw out the message because the messenger is corrupt? All, after all, is illusion.

Thoughts?

posted December 28, 2004 06:44 PM         

Yes, I believe you are right. It's not your normal Tarot deck. It's one I would like to pick up eventually. Right now the only deck I have is the normal Rider Waite deck, but I like that deck best for some reason.

Hi Rizzo,

I can see how it is confusing. You read his words and think, "Wow! How very true!" And then you find all kinds of articles on the net, with very negative stories about the man. I've read them all. I've also read a huge amount of his work and I base my decision on that. Because I have also found numerous articles, written by Osho himself, about these allegations. When you find out that half of them are lies, or stories blown WAY out of proportion, you just laugh and see it for what it is. Which is how it's always been when someone comes out with powerful truths that can awaken people to their inner selves. There are many examples of people throughout history that were killed and that had lies spread about them, because they are a threat to those who dont want people to awaken.

His teachings are that powerful. Anyone with the powerful kind of information like Osho spreads, will always have people who disagree with and do anything they can - including lying - to stop people from getting the message. Unfortunately with him, people who have never even read any of his work, make up their minds about him by just things theyve heard. I always like to find out for myself. And all I've found in his words is Truth.

This has been discussed on another thread actually, where I defended him by posting a bunch of links that speak about all of these alligations - the Rolls Royces and whatnot. I'll try to find it if youre interested. (BTW, he did have numerous Rolls Royces, and when you see the point in him doing this, it makes perfect sense. Others may have chosen a different way, but he likes to shock people out of their limited thinking)

IMO, I find goodness in him. And I believe you can find goodness in everything. Take the good, leave what you find to be bad. I choose what I feel to be true in my heart, which is he was a good man who brought many gifts to this world through his wise words.

Also, I heard about the incident where some of his followers spiked a salad bar. I'm sorry but knowing what I know of the man, I KNOW with everything in me, he would NEVER tell people to do that. His teachings are not about hurting others or spiking salad bars. That goes against everything he teaches. Oh! So because idiots who spiked a salad bar that that also happened to be into him and his teachings did something awful and harmful to others - now it's Osho's fault???? No. People have free will.

And just by the simple words they used in those couple of lines: "cult members", I know this was written by someone who knows nothing about Osho and is trying to cast him in a bad light to people. I've read that one and I think that that is the most obsurd article that I have seen yet, that has attempted to badmouth him.

Sadly it works. People dont know how to make up their own minds - find things out for themselves. Theyre lazy sheep. It bothers me that such a great man who has contributed so much, has such a bad rap going on about him.

But in any case, the people who need to hear his message will. If your ears want truth, then the truth you will hear.

I hope you come to a conclusion for yourself about him. In the meantime, I'll look for that thread. There are some interesting answers from the man himself, on your questions.

Just my opinions.

Peace,

26