Home | Articles | Listings | Community Noticeboard Beloved Sam Love I enjoy your keen wit and edgy analysis. The following response is both from a cosmic perspective and my individual point of view. There are actually about 50 enlightened sannyasins. Almost half are Indians. And exactly half are women. Perhaps a dozen are known as teachers and satsang wallahs The rest are sharing with friends informally through their egoless presence, while chopping wood and carrying water. Most of the 50 are Bodhisattvas, egoless friends in the first stage of awakening. Two are fully enlightened, their seventh chakras are permanently open, and they have access to the mysterious realm of non-Being, the void or nirvana. They work essentially with silent consciousness. Several others are Buddhas in the second stage of enlightenment. They have powerful third eyes and can also work effectively with seekers in silence. Bodhisattvas are often very helpful and popular teachers, and work primarily with concepts, devices and techniques. The reason any Buddha (or anyone) does anything is always fundamentally the same: Consciousness is the only real doer in existence, and all humans simply think, feel and say whatever God wants them to. Buddhas differ from their unenlightened friends in experiencing this directly. Still, it is interesting to speculate on the options that Osho might have considered as he prepared to leave the body and his life's work of creating Zorba the Buddha. In my opinion, Osho made the right decision to ban enlightened sannyasins from teaching in his Buddhafield. Every Buddha has a different style and understanding which would certainly differ from Osho's in some significant way. And Buddhas cannot follow guidelines from any dead master. Even their own. Every teacher must attract their own friends to share with. This requires moving away from Osho's Buddhafield and starting their own experiments with new friends who are interested in their unique way of working. Osho decided that his Buddhafield should continue with his guidance and style for as long as possible. For weaving the complex web of Zorba the Buddha was a twenty-five year creation that he didn't want to be tampered with by his enlightened sannyasins. So he put it all in writing and gave clear instructions to the inner circle; who are still trying to fulfil his guidance. The downside of this is well known to most sannyasins who are ready for rapid growth: Well intentioned bureaucrats cannot generate the energy field of intense awareness that is at the heart of any living Buddhafield. And the Church must follow. Osho understood this fully. He decided to preserve his vision intact, and let his enlightened sannyasins create their own Buddhafields. He knows that the Whole is managing the entire story, and that those who are destined to teach will manage somehow. My work rests on Osho's vision of Love, Life and Laughter, but there are some significant differences that can only be fully developed away from his devotees and Buddhafield. Our living Buddhafield in New Zealand is flowering beautifully with an agenda to create heaven on Earth; as well as pass on the flame of freedom to those whose time has come. Unity is central to the message that comes through me from consciousness. Yet there has never been much connection and sharing between enlightened teachers. They are all guided directly by God and need no validation or consensus for their work. They are usually programmed to feel their way is best, and are somewhat disinterested in the work of others. I feel no competition with any teacher, nor much interest in meeting them. Any meaningful spiritual vision must include a communal lifestyle and support system that allows the journey home to unfold without neurotic fixation on the goal. Awakening is the game we're playing. But the journey is the real goal as each miraculous moment reveals its hidden splendour. Love Maitreya
A Sannyas Lineage of Enlightenment ? Maitreya Responds