Once, when Tozan was traveling with another monk, they saw a vegetable leaf floating down a valley stream. Tozan said, “If there were no-one in the deep mountains, how could there be a vegetable leaf here? If we go upstream we might find a wayfarer staying there.”
Making their way through the brush and going several miles up the valley, they suddenly saw the strange-looking, emaciated figure of a man. It was Master Ryuzan. His name meant “Dragon Mountain,” and he was also known as Yinshan, meaning, “hidden in the mountains.” Tozan and the other monk put down their bundles and greeted Ryuzan.
Ryuzan then said, “There is no road on this mountain – how did you get here?”
Tozan said, “Leaving aside the fact that there is no road, where did you enter?”
Ryuzan said, “I didn’t come by clouds or water.”
Tozan then asked, “How long have you been living on this mountain?”
Ryuzan said, “The passing of seasons and years cannot reach it.”
Tozan asked, “Were you here first, or was the mountain here first?”
Ryuzan answered, “I do not know.”
Tozan said, “Why not?”
Ryuzan said, “I don’t come from celestial or human realms.”
Tozan said, “What truth have you realized that you come to dwell here on this mountain?”
Ryuzan said, “I saw two clay bulls fighting, go into the ocean, and up till now have no news of them.”
For the first time, Tozan bowed with deep respect for Ryuzan. Then he asked Ryuzan, “What is the guest within the host?”
Ryuzan said, “The blue mountain is covered by white clouds.”
Tozan asked, “What is the host within the host?”
Ryuzan answered, “He never goes out of the door.”
Tozan then asked, “How far apart are host and guest?”
Ryuzan said, “Waves on a river.”
Tozan then asked, “When guest and host meet, what is said?”
Ryuzan said, “The pure breeze sweeps the white moon.”
Tozan took his leave and departed.

Maneesha, this is the last anecdote in this series, and you have chosen a very beautiful, meaningful, and significant dialogue for any seeker. The words are from a great master, hence you have to be very silent to understand it, so silent as if you are not. You can sit silently like a Gautam Buddha, but your mind goes on weaving strange and unnecessary thought patterns. And those patterns become the barrier to understanding what we are trying to do. It is not a mere lecture, it is a search together for your innermost being.

Now yesterday, when I told you about the great urge of shopping, at that very moment Avirbhava was thinking where to go. And in her mind she thought, “Osho has mentioned Bangkok, Singapore, Hong Kong, London – okay, I will go to LA.” On the surface she was laughing, and inside she was going to LA. First she must have been going to Bangkok, but because I denied those places…. Now do you want me to name all the places of the world? But you won’t drop shopping.

The question is not Bangkok or Singapore or Hong Kong; the question is that your mind is continuously…. She is sitting here and thinking of LA And it is not only her situation. This is the situation with almost everybody; everybody is going toward LA – different LA’s.

Nobody is absolutely here, because the moment you are absolutely here, you disappear and the buddha appears in your place. You will find yourself dispersing like a cloud; and a new image, a new golden image of pure consciousness will start arising in you, just like a mountain peak. Each silent moment is the only moment when you live.

In a seventy-year life span, if you can live only seven minutes as a buddha, that is enough. But unfortunately, even in seventy years you cannot manage seven minutes. The mind goes on and on like a stuck record, repeating the same thing. The mind can never be original, it only knows how to repeat. Have you seen a buffalo chewing? That’s exactly what the mind goes on doing. But all chewing is nothing but chewing gum; it is a stupid act. Even the bamboos are laughing. They know that although everyone thinks he is silent, underneath everybody is sitting on a volcano.

This anecdote can become a transforming force in your life. These few minutes here can create a new man out of you. Just a small thing has to be done: say to the mind, “shut up!” and be strong enough not to be involved or identified with the thinking process. It has become our habit. We have almost forgotten that we were born without any thinking. All thoughts are nothing but dust that has gathered upon us during the time we have been growing up, and this dust is preventing you from seeing yourself.