Therapy And Meditation

Clearing the ground for meditation

Buddha never needed any psychotherapy for his sannyasins; those people were innocent. But in these twenty five centuries, people have lost their innocence, they have become too knowledgeable.

People have lost their contact with existence. They have become uprooted. I am the first person who uses therapy but whose interest is not therapy but meditation...just as it was with Chuang Tzu or Gautam Buddha. They never used therapy because there was no need.

People were simply ready, and you could bring the rosebushes without clearing the ground. The ground was already clear. In these twenty-five centuries man has become so burdened with rubbish, so many wild weeds have grown in his being that I am using therapy just to clean the ground, take away the wild weeds, the roots, so the difference between the ancient man and the modern man is destroyed.

The modern man has to be made as innocent as the ancient man, as simple, as natural. He has lost all these great qualities. The therapist has to help him ― but his work is only a preparation. It is not the end. The end part is going to be the meditation.

Osho, excerpts from The Great Pilgrimage From Here to Here

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Osho book recommendations on meditation

The Book of Secrets: Keys to Love and Meditation

Awareness: The Key to Living in Balance (Osho, Insights for a New Way of Living)

Lunchtime Enlightenment: Modern Meditations to Free the Mind and Unleash the Spirit - at Work, at Home, at Play

Meditation: The First and Last Freedom

Everyday Osho: 365 Daily Meditations for the Here and Now

Meditation For Busy People: Stress-Beating Strategies To Calm Your Life

Discover the Buddha: 53 Meditations to Meet the Buddha Within

The Everyday Meditator: A Practical Guide

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Here an Osho quote on meditation and therapy.