The Perfect Master, Vol 1
Discourses
Table of Contents
When the Disciple is Ready
When the Disciple is Ready. A man sought the perfect master for twenty years. When he found him: 'You seem the perfect master.' The master: 'You call me perfect, but I say you have been a disciple all along.' When the disciple is ready: the master appears—not because the master comes but because the disciple's eyes open. The search was for yourself.
There is Communion
There is Communion. 'What is prayer?' Prayer is not something you do—something you become. It's a state of being, a silent dialogue with existence. There is communion: not communication but communion—two hearts merging. Prayer is resurrection—a rebirth of vision. Fall in harmony with the whole.
A Rolling Stone
A Rolling Stone. 'I can detect false teachers but not genuine ones.' Like the doctor who saw only illness. A rolling stone: knowing what's false is not enough—you must know what's true. Expert on the useless is like detecting rotten apples without knowing sound ones. Don't become obsessed with what's wrong—seek what's right.
Via Confusiva
Via Confusiva. 'Your statements contradict—you draw in one direction then go through the back door to the opposite.' All statements are of the moment—no statement contains eternity. Via confusiva: the master confuses deliberately to break the mind's patterns. The real answer lies beyond words—in the silence between contradictions.
Yes, Just Like That
Yes, Just Like That. The vizier betrayed his master to the Mongol. The Mongol hanged him: 'You betrayed your master—how can I trust you?' Yes, just like that: the betrayer is never trusted by anyone. The disciple who betrays one master will betray the next. Faithfulness is not to a person but to truth.
Only One Ecstasy
Only One Ecstasy. 'How does the inner world relate to outer reality?' There are not two realities—all duality is conceptualization. Only one ecstasy: the inner and outer are one. The mind divides; reality is undivided. Ecstasy is seeing the one behind the many.
It Will Devour You Too
It Will Devour You Too. The dervish's begging bowl could never be filled—the king's gold disappeared. 'It will devour you too': the ego is the bottomless bowl. No amount of gold, power, knowledge can fill it. The only way to fill it is to shatter it. The master demands everything—the disciple who gives all gains all.
The Grass Grows By Itself
The Grass Grows By Itself. 'What is conscious ignorance?' It's the ultimate state of consciousness—not ignorance but pure knowing without knowledge. The grass grows by itself: conscious ignorance is not gathering information but being transparent. No knowledge is gathered, but all is known. Like the grass—it grows without effort.
Hail Great Scholar!
Hail Great Scholar! The Nawab found his disciple arguing with people. 'Explain yourself.' The disciple: 'I'm correcting their behavior.' 'Your own behavior needs correction first.' Hail Great Scholar: the scholar knows everything except himself. The true disciple doesn't correct others—he corrects himself.
Buddha and the Beast
Buddha and the Beast. 'What exactly is man?' Man is a mere perhaps—a possibility. The beast IS, the Buddha IS—man is between. Buddha and the beast: man is the bridge between animal and divine. The beast is complete, the Buddha is complete—man is incomplete, a becoming. This is the agony and the ecstasy.