Using the Osho Transformation Tarot can be a form of
meditation. Whether you are choosing cards for yourself or
conducting a reading for another person, taking a little time for
preparation beforehand is essential. Find a quiet space where
you will not be disturbed. Allow yourself to settle into a relaxed
and open attitude as you shuffle the cards, emptying the mind
of all preconceived ideas you might have about the answer to
your question or concern. Let go of any other preoccupations
that might distract your attention from the reading. Once you
feel settled and relaxed, then spread the deck in a fan and choose
your card or cards.
As you look at the cards you have chosen, remember that
the words are just indicators toward the larger message and
insight contained in the corresponding story or parable. Even
seemingly and#147;negativeand#8221; words point the way to a hidden potential
for transformation and greater understanding. This will become
clear as you read the stories illustrated by the cards.
Finally, remember Oshoand#8217;s message to remain playful and
lighthearted about all aspects of your search, both inner and
outer. He says, and#147;Take life joyfully, take life easily, take life
relaxedly, donand#8217;t create unnecessary problems. Ninety-nine
percent of your problems are created by you because you take
life seriously. Seriousness is the root cause of problems. Be
playfuland#133; be alive, be abundantly alive. Live each moment as
if this is the last moment. Live it intensely; let your torch burn
from both sides together. Even if it is only for one moment,
that is enough. One moment of intense totality is enough to
give you the taste of eternity.and#8221;
5. The Ultimate Accident
Chiyono and her Bucket of Water
It is not a certain sequence of causes that brings enlightenment.
Your search, your intense longing, your readiness to do anything and#150;
altogether perhaps they create a certain aroma around you in which
that great accident becomes possible.
The nun Chiyono studied for years, but was unable to find
enlightenment. One night, she was carrying an old pail filled
with water. As she was walking along, she was watching the
full moon reflected in the pail of water. Suddenly, the bamboo
strips that held the pail together broke, and the pail fell apart.
The water rushed out; the moonand#8217;s reflection disappeared and#150; and
Chiyono became enlightened. She wrote this verse:
This way and that way I tried to keep the pail together, hoping
the weak bamboo would never break. Suddenly the bottom fell out.
No more water; no more moon in the water and#150; emptiness in my hand.
Enlightenment is always like an accident because it is
unpredictable and#150; because you cannot manage it, you cannot
cause it to happen. But donand#8217;t misunderstand me, because when
I say enlightenment is just like an accident, I am not saying
donand#8217;t do anything for it. The accident happens only to those
who have been doing much for it and#150; but it never happens because
of their doing. The doing is just a cause which creates the
situation in them so they become accident- prone, thatand#8217;s all.
That is the meaning of this beautiful happening.
I must tell you something about Chiyono. She was a very
beautiful woman and#150; when she was young, even the emperor and
the princes were after her. She refused because she wanted to
be a lover only to the divine. She went from one monastery to
another to become a nun; but even great masters refused and#150; there
were so many monks, and she was so beautiful that they would
forget God and everything. So everywhere the door was closed.
So what did Chiyono do? Finding no other way, she burned
her face, scarred her whole face. And then she went to a master;
he couldnand#8217;t even recognize whether she was a woman or a man.
Then she was accepted as a nun. She studied, meditated for
thirty, forty years continuously. Then suddenly, one nightand#133; she
was looking at the moon reflected in the pail. Suddenly the pail
fell down, the water rushed out, and the moon disappeared and#150;
and that became the trigger-point.
There is always a trigger-point from where the old
disappears and the new starts, from where you are reborn. That
became the trigger-point. Suddenly, the water rushed out and
there was no moon. So she must have looked up and#150; and the real
moon was there. Suddenly she became awakened to this fact,
that everything was a reflection, an illusion, because it was
seen through the mind. As the pail broke, the mind inside also
broke. It was ready. All that could be done had been done. All
that could be possible, she had done it. Nothing was left, she
was ready, she had earned it. This ordinary incident became a
trigger-point.
Suddenly the bottom fell out and#150; it was an accident.
No more water; no more moon in the water and#150; emptiness in my hand.
And this is enlightenment: when emptiness is in your hand,
when everything is empty, when there is nobody, not even you.
You have attained to the original face of Zen.
10. Worth
On the virtues of uselessness
Donand#8217;t be bothered too much about utilitarian ends. Rather,
constantly remember that you are not here in life to become a
commodity. You are not here to become a utility, that is below
dignity. You are not here just to become more and more efficient
and#150; you are here to become more and more alive; you are here to
become more and more intelligent; you are here to become more
and more happy, ecstatically happy.
Lao Tzu was traveling with his disciples and they came to a
forest where hundreds of carpenters were cutting trees, because
a great palace was being built. Almost the whole forest had been
cut, but one tree was standing there, a big tree with thousands
of branches and#150; so big that ten thousand persons could sit under
its shade. Lao Tzu asked his disciples to go and inquire why this
tree had not been cut yet, when the whole forest had been cut
and was deserted.
The disciples went and they asked the carpenters, and#147;Why
have you not cut this tree?and#8221;
The carpenters said, and#147;This tree is absolutely useless. You
cannot make anything out of it because every branch has so
many knots in it. Nothing is straight. You cannot make pillars
out of it, you cannot make furniture out of it. You cannot use
it as fuel because the smoke is so dangerous to the eyes and#150; you
almost go blind. This tree is absolutely useless. Thatand#8217;s why.and#8221;
They came back. Lao Tzu laughed and he said, and#147;Be like
this tree. If you want to survive in this world be like this
tree and#150; absolutely useless. Then nobody will harm you. If you
are straight you will be cut, you will become furniture in
somebodyand#8217;s house. If you are beautiful you will be sold in
the market, you will become a commodity. Be like this tree,
absolutely useless. Then nobody can harm you. And you will
grow big and vast, and thousands of people can find shade
under you.and#8221;
Lao Tzu has a logic altogether different from your
mind. He says: Be the last. Move in the world as if you are
not. Remain unknown. Donand#8217;t try to be the first, donand#8217;t be
competitive, donand#8217;t try to prove your worth. There is no need.
Remain useless and enjoy.
Of course he is impractical. But if you understand him
you will find that he is the most practical on a deeper layer, in
the depth and#150; because life is to enjoy and celebrate, life is not to
become a utility. Life is more like poetry than like a commodity
in the market; it should be like poetry, a song, a dance.
Lao Tzu says: If you try to be very clever, if you try to be
very useful, you will be used. If you try to be very practical,
somewhere or other you will be harnessed, because the world
cannot leave the practical man alone. Lao Tzu says: Drop all
these ideas. If you want to be a poem, an ecstasy, then forget
about utility. Remain true to yourself.