Excerpt: The emperor couldn’t believe his eyes—a zen master rolling on the floor laughing? It was an embarrassment… Until the zen master replied…
The following is an excerpt from Everyday Osho by Osho (page 93). In it, you’ll read about a curious interaction between an emperor and a zen master that’ll remind you to stop taking everything so seriously. Enjoy!
The Story:
Once it happened that a great Chinese emperor went to see a great Zen master.
The Zen master was rolling on the floor and laughing, and his disciples were laughing too—he must have told a joke or something.
The emperor was embarrassed.
He could not believe his eyes, because the behavior was so unmannerly; he could not prevent himself from saying so.
He told the master, “This is unmannerly! It is not expected of a master like you; some etiquette has to be observed. You are rolling on the floor, laughing like a madman.”
The master looked at the emperor, who had a bow; in those old days they used to carry bows and arrows. He said, “Tell me one thing: Do you keep this bow always strained, stretched, tense, or do you allow it to relax too?”
The emperor said, “If we keep it stretched continuously it will lose elasticity, it will not be of any use then. It has to be left relaxed so that whenever we need it, it has elasticity.”
And the master said, “That’s what I’m doing.”
NEW In The Shop: Don’t Let The Tame Ones Tell You How To Live [Poster]
Why We ♥ It: Some of the best advice I (Matt here) ever got was: don’t take life advice from people who aren’t living a life you want to live and don’t take criticism from people you wouldn’t go to for advice. I created this poster to act as a reminder to listen more closely to our role models and less closely to our critics, trolls, and tamed-comfort-zone-hugger acquaintances. It’s also a perfect gift for the outdoor adventurer, travel enthusiast, or solo explorer (or soon to be). Available in print or digital download. 👇🏼
...Want to advertise your book, product, or service? Send inquiries to matt@movemequotes.com.
Afterword: Strategic Playfulness
Seriousness hardens; playfulness softens.
If you’re having a hard time opening your heart, your eyes, or your life—maybe it’s because they’ve each hardened from prolonged seriousness.
And maybe what’s needed is the opposite… some strategic playfulness.
When’s the last time you simply played? Played at a playground and went down the slides and used the monkey bars and played tag…? Or played charades or Taboo or Heads Up and acted like a fool with family…? Or had a night out with the friends who get you loose and laughing and dancing?
The thing about life is that it always flows towards hardness… never softness; always towards stiffness… never flexibility; always towards seriousness… never playfulness.
Softness, flexibility, and playfulness are things we have to swim upstream for—against the natural current of life. What it requires is a serious effort on our part. Why? So we can release the tension harbored within our body… soften the stiffness of our minds… and relax the strings of our life’s bow.
Otherwise, we’ll too lose our elasticity and lose our ability to take high quality shots within the spans of our lifetimes.
If you enjoyed this excerpt from Everyday Osho, you should read Osho’s book in full. It comes highly recommended:
![Everyday Osho by Osho [Book]](https://movemequotes.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Everyday-Osho.jpeg)
By: Osho
Book Overview: Everyday Osho features 365 short meditations that offer insights into living fully in the here and now. Each brief text is thoughtful and inspiring and the perfect length for starting a daily meditation practice. With topics that range from gratitude to nature to philosophy to love, Everyday Osho contains a full year of meditation and inspiration.
Read Next:
NEW In The Shop: Don’t Let The Tame Ones Tell You How To Live [Poster]
Why We ♥ It: Some of the best advice I (Matt here) ever got was: don’t take life advice from people who aren’t living a life you want to live and don’t take criticism from people you wouldn’t go to for advice. I created this poster to act as a reminder to listen more closely to our role models and less closely to our critics, trolls, and tamed-comfort-zone-hugger acquaintances. It’s also a perfect gift for the outdoor adventurer, travel enthusiast, or solo explorer (or soon to be). Available in print or digital download. 👇🏼
...Want to advertise your book, product, or service? Send inquiries to matt@movemequotes.com.
Written by Matt Hogan
Founder of MoveMe Quotes. On a mission to help busy people do inner work—for better mental health; for healing; for personal growth. Find me on Twitter / IG / Medium. I also share daily insights here. 🌱
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