affinity with any element of nature

Posted at 1:31, 16.9.2006

That is the beauty of the feminine energy. Don't be like a rock! Be like water -- soft, feminine. And victory is yours.

Remember Jesus: Blessed are the meek, for theirs is the kingdom of God.

The meek? -- the watercourse way -- they will. It takes time, but they have patience. They have no idea of winning, that's why they win. The people who want to win are defeated by their very idea, because they start struggling, and in struggling they dissipate their energy.

That's what is meant with 'become water' -- melt, become water.

And what is meant with 'evaporate'? That is the ultimate -- that is learning how not to be, that is learning the art of absence. The vapour simply disappears, you cannot catch hold of it, and you cannot even see it. You can see it only when it is turning into vapour. Soon it is gone, and soon it is invisible. A Buddha is seen only when he is in the body. Once the body is dropped, you will not be able to catch hold of him. He is simply gone; he has become part of the ultimate sky. That is the ultimate -- to disappear. Buddha calls it anatta, no-self. Shunyata -- emptiness, nothingness. Nirvana -- cessation. So these are metaphors. Poetic ways of saying, things which cannot be said in any other way. Get attracted to water, feel affinity with water. Feeling, affinity with any element of nature -- water, fire, sky, earth, and air -- is immensely helpful. But that's not what is meant.

Do you know about Jain monks? They don't take a shower, they don't take a bath. Never go to a Jain paradise, otherwise you will be in difficulty. There will be no showers. And plumbers, of course, will not be needed. They are so much against the body that even a simple joy like a shower seems to be too much of a luxury. See the pathological mind, how it works. Afraid that if they take a shower they will be enjoying the body -- the joy that will come, and the gladness that will spread all over the body. They are so against the body, how can they take a shower? They stink. They don't brush their teeth because that is a kind of beautifying of the body. And for what? The body has to be dropped, the sooner the better. The body has to be felt as horrible, so make it as horrible as possible. Make it horrible for yourself and for others too! What have people been doing on this earth? Negating life. The taoistic approach is that of affirmation. Taoism is in love with life. It is fleeting, it is momentary -- but who says that it is not momentary and it is not fleeting? Still you can love it -- even more so because it is fleeting. You can pour all your love. Tomorrow it may not be there. Go on loving, go on being as much in celebration as possible, in all the ways possible.