The Dhammapada:The Way of the Buddha

Osho Books in Print

About The Dhammapada:The Way of the Buddha

Osho calls the incomparable Dhammapada sutras of Buddha, "the book of books." He explains that these sutras are concerned with aspects of man’s unawareness, and that Buddha’s whole message is concerned with the raising of our consciousness. These sutras were compiled by Buddha’s disciples to contain the essence of all his teachings. This was the last turning of the Wheel of Dharma, 2,500 years ago. At the beginning of his commentaries on these sutras, Osho says he is setting the Wheel of Dharma in motion again.

He also responds to questions from disciples and seekers in alternate discourses, with a generous sprinkling of stories, personal anecdotes and, of course, a multitude of jokes. Visually this boxed set is stunning, without doubt a collector’s piece and twelve volumes to treasure for years to come.

Reviews

"Now that religion has become just a formality, and the burning messages of the buddhas who have been on earth degraded to mere formal faith, the message of Osho who has reached to such dazzling heights of human consciousness through his own experience, is incomparable in its strength to pierce the beauty within our hearts."
- Boston Club, Japan

Excerpt from The Dhammapada:The Way of the Buddha

"These words of Buddha come from eternal silence. They can reach you only if you receive them in silence. These words of Buddha come from immense purity. Unless you become a vehicle, a receptacle, humble, egoless, alert, aware, you will not be able to understand them. Intellectually you will understand them – they are very simple words, the simplest possible. But their very simplicity is a problem, because you are not simple. To understand simplicity you need simplicity of the heart, because only the simple heart can understand the simple truth. Only the pure can understand that which has come out of purity.

I have waited long...now the time is ripe, you are ready. The seeds can be sown. These tremendously important words can be uttered again. For twenty-five centuries, such a gathering has not existed at all. Yes, there have been a few enlightened masters with a few disciples – half a dozen at the most – and in small gatherings The Dhammapada has been taught. But those small gatherings cannot transform such a huge humanity. It is like throwing sugar in the ocean with spoons: it cannot make it sweet – your sugar is simply wasted.

A great, unheard-of experiment has to be done, on such a large scale that at least the most substantial part of humanity is touched by it – at least the soul of humanity, the center of humanity, can be awakened by it. On the periphery, the mediocre minds will go on sleeping – let them sleep – but at the center where intelligence exists a light can be kindled.

The time is ripe, the time has come for it. My whole work here consists in creating a buddhafield, an energy field where these eternal truths can be uttered again. It is a rare opportunity. Only once in a while, after centuries, does such an opportunity exist. Don’t miss it. Be very alert, mindful. Listen to these words not only with the head but with your heart, with every fiber of your being. Let your totality be stirred by them."

Volume 1, Chapter 1