Nirvana: the Last Nightmare: Learning to Trust in Life

Deep into Zen.

Firstly, it must be remembered that Osho never wrote anything down. All his 300+ books are transcribed from talks given before live audiences.Osho is not only a gifted speaker, he is a master psychologist, an intellectual genius, poet, and buddha, among many other things. In fact, what may describe him best is no-thing or his no-thingness.Osho's talks are all play; he is having fun. But at the same time he is performing a spiritual alchemy on his listeners. Osho uses many devices, or techniques, to engage the mind, while simultaneously deconstructing it.Osho takes his listeners on a journey wherever they are into the HereNow. Through masterful explanations of 5 Zen parables, diametric dissection and annihilation of questions from his audience with amusing anecdotes and jokes woven throughout,  Osho's style is a thing of beauty - or better yet no-thing - for at the core of all his talks lies a palpable silence. This is the silence of the buddhas, shared in words.Between and behind all his words is a deep emptiness, which is his real message. Yet this emptiness is also a fullness - a fullness of consciousness or awareness. It is indeed a paradox. But life is full of paradoxes, especially when it comes to spiritual truth.Semantics aside, these 10 talks are given in Pune in Osho's prime and are some of his finest.I highly recommend listening to them on Audible or whatever audio format you prefer. There is much lost in the reading of these talks alone. However, there is something gained as well. Reading is more intimate, but it loses something of Osho's presence and silence. Nevertheless, different formats of communication work differently. I prefer the audio and video (if available) of Osho's talks. The books are great too. This is one of my favorites!

Osho is like an exquisitely precise surgeon removing the reader's ego. But after the operation one feels much better! This is a bit more punchy than James Sloman's 'Nothing.' Osho's explanations are often quite simple and he sometimes even gets poetic. But he never fails to get the point across - the person we think we are is not.

This book was very helpful. The author is obviously very well read and put eloquently what the mystics of the worlds great religions have said in his own words. Zen Buddhism is the one most discussed or highlighted in this publication. Osho, alias Rajneesh, does tend to equate himself with the great prophets, but as long as your not looking to follow him [now passed away] and rather read what he's written, that can be overlooked.

Great book

Intense Presence, what more can you ask for.

Zen Buddhists say that after Buddha became enlightened he did not utter a single word, and they also say that he has said five thousand and forty-eight truths. Buddha might have tried hard to express the truth and missed, again and again because the very nature of truth itself is inexpressible. That may be the reason why it is being said that Buddha uttered five thousand and forty-eight separate truths during his lifetime. Zen monks also say that Buddha uttered infinite lies - because whatsoever is uttered becomes a lie. This book is the transcribed version of Osho’s discourses on Zen in the backdrop of five Zen parables.Zen means dhyan, meditation which, according to Osho,is something that can be found only when there is no ego. Nirvana is freedom and it is the whole performance of life. Osho says: “God, nirvana, Tao, truth all are just meaningless sounds; indicative, pointing towards the infinite, towards the beyond - fingers pointing to the moon.” Osho also says that the world is a nightmare because of desiring, and hence nirvana becomes the last nightmare. The whole teaching of Zen is: “to be ordinary, to be so ordinary that the very desire to be extraordinary disappears.”Osho tells a number of jokes, parables and anecdotes during the course of his talks. Here is an interesting anecdote:A man was brooding over his beer at the bar, and said to his friend, “I tell you, Mulligan, I don’t know what I am going to do about my wife.”“What is it now?”The same old thing - money. She is always asking for money. Only last Thursday she wanted ten dollars, yesterday she was around asking for twenty, and this morning, if you please, she demanded fifty dollars!”“What does she do with all the money, for heaven’s sake?” asked the friend.“There is no way finding out. I never give her any.”Osho’s answers to questions from disciples and seekers are included in alternate chapters. His answer to a question - what will happen if the Eastern mind meets with the Western mind - is worth noticing. He says: the Western mind is active and time conscious whereas the Eastern mind is passive, almost lazy and relaxed in eternity. If the Eastern mind and the Western mind meet, that will be the greatest synthesis of the male and the female mind, of the passive and the active mind. It will be simply humanity - whole, total.Some of Osho’s observations:If you are happy being a beggar, only then can you be happy being an emperor.When you know death is coming, go and meet it at the gate. Let death be welcomed.A dead routine gives the feeling that everything is perfectly right. Underneath, everything is in chaos. They are missing life.All that you think about yourself is others’ opinions that you have collected.

There is some new material and some material that I had in another of his books. Osho splendid as ever. Worth a second reading, which I will do for sure.

Honestly, READ THIS BOOK. It will change your life!!! Osho is super on the spot with this lovely series of talks.

Osho at his best.

If you are looking for relaxation, psychic retreat, then this book will do. It is no academic work so if you are planning to do research, don't bother with this one. Like all of Osho's discourses, he takes one social more and turns it upside down with the help of stories, some of which are slightly off centre-so if nirvana is the last best thing to do, Osho will say it is the last worst nightmare. I like that. it is incorrigible but can get repetitive.