There is a famous Zen story about a disciple, Riko, who once asked his
master Nansen to explain to him the old Zen koan of the goose in the
bottle. Namely, if a man puts a gosling into a bottle, and feeds the
gosling through the bottle's neck until it grows and becomes a goose -
and then there is simply no more room inside the bottle -- how can the
man get it out without killing the goose or breaking the bottle? In
response, Nansen shouts RIKO! and gives a great clap with his hands.
Startled, Riko replies, Yes master! And Nansen says, See! The goose is
out!
In this Zen-flavored series of responses to questions, the contemporary
mystic Osho cuts through the mad complexity of the contemporary human
mind and its self-created problems with humor, compassion, and even an
occasional shout and clap of his hands. The goose in the questioner's
bottle may be a philosophical problem or an existential dilemma, a
relationship drama or an emotional crisis -- in each case, Osho's unique
and transformational response sets the goose free, allowing us to
rediscover the simple and innocent clarity each of us brings with us
when we