Meditation is easy

Taking things lightly

Taking things easily
and without forcing
after some time
the rush of thought
outward and inward
subsides naturally
and the true face
shows itself

Bukko

To be a buddha is not a difficult job. It is not some achievement for which you need a Nobel Prize. It is the easiest thing in the world, because it has already happened without your knowing. The buddha is already breathing in you. Just a little recognition, just a little turning inwards... and that has not to be done forcibly. If you do it forcibly you will miss the point. It is very delicate. You have to look inward playfully, not seriously. That's what he means by "taking things easily." Don't take anything seriously.

Existence is easy with you

Existence is very easy. You have got your life without any effort, you are living your life without any effort. You are breathing perfectly well without being reminded; your heartbeat continues even in your sleep -- so easy is existence with you! But you are not so easy with existence. You are very close-fisted. You want everything to be turned into an achievement.

Enlightenment cannot be an achievement. That which you have already -- how can it be an achievement? The authentic master simply takes away things which you don't have and you believe you have, and he gives you that which you already have. You are having many things which you don't have at all, you just believe that you have them. The master's function is that of a surgeon, to cut all that is not you and leave behind just the essential core -- the eternal being.

Life is a game

It is a very easy phenomenon; you can do it on your own. There are no problems and no risk in taking things easily, but people take things very tensely. They take things very seriously, and that spoils the whole game. And remember, life is a game. Once you understand it as a game, a deep playfulness arises on its own accord. The victory is not the point; the point is to play totally, joyously, dancingly.

Osho, excerpts from The Buddha: The Emptiness of the Heart #1

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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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In this Osho quote about meditation it is recommended to take things lightly. The poem of Bukko reminds the meditator to be easy with meditation and not to force anything. To be a Buddha is simple, the inner Buddha is always breathing in us. Just a little recognition is needed. This is what meditation is for: to realize what is already here.