16.

Thunderbolt
What meditation does slowly, slowly, a good shout of the master, unexpectedly, in
the situation where the disciple was asking some question, and the master jumps
and shouts, or hits him, or throws him out of the door, or jumps over him....

These methods were never known. It was purely the very creative genius of Ma Tzu,
and he made many people enlightened. Sometimes it looks so hilarious: he threw a
man from the window, from a two-storey house, and the man had come to ask on
what to meditate. And Ma Tzu not only threw him, he jumped after him, fell on him,
sat on his chest, and he said, "Got it?!"

And the poor fellow said, "Yes" - because if you say "No," he may beat you or do
something else! It is enough - his body is fractured, and Ma Tzu, sitting on his chest,
says, "Got it?!" And in fact he got it, because it was so sudden, out of the blue - he
could never have conceived it.

Osho Isan: No Footprints in the Blue Sky Chapter 4

Commentary:

The card shows a tower being burned, destroyed, blown apart. A man and a woman
are leaping from it not because they want to, but because they have no choice. In
the background is a transparent, meditating figure representing the witnessing
consciousness.

You might be feeling pretty shaky right now, as if the earth is rocking beneath your
feet. Your sense of security is being challenged, and the natural tendency is to try to
hold on to whatever you can. But this inner earthquake is both necessary and
tremendously important - if you allow it, you will emerge from the wreckage
stronger and more available for new experiences.

After the fire, the earth is replenished; after the storm the air is clear. Try to watch
the destruction with detachment, almost as if it were happening to somebody else.
Say yes to the process by meeting it halfway.

17. Silence
The energy of the whole has taken possession of you. You are possessed, you are no
more, the whole is.

This moment, as the silence penetrates in you, you can understand the significance
of it, because it is the same silence that Gautam Buddha experienced. It is the same
silence that Chuang Tzu or Bodhidharma or Nansen.... The taste of the silence is the
same.

Time changes, the world goes on changing, but the experience of silence, the joy of
it, remains the same. That is the only thing you can rely upon, the only thing that
never dies. It is the only thing that you can call your very being.

Osho Zen: The Diamond Thunderbolt Chapter 1

Commentary:

The silent, mirrorlike receptiveness of a star-filled night with a full moon is reflected
in the misty lake below. The face in the sky is deep in meditation, a goddess of the
night who brings depth, peace and understanding.

Now is a very precious time. It will be easy for you to rest inside, to plumb the
depths of your own inner silence to the point where it meets the silence of the
universe. There's nothing to do, nowhere to go, and the quality of your inner silence
permeates everything you do.

It might make some people uncomfortable, accustomed as they are to all the noise
and activity of the world. Never mind; seek out those who can resonate with your
silence - or enjoy your aloneness. Now is the time to come home to yourself. The
understanding and insights that come to you in these moments will be manifested
later on, in a more outgoing phase of your life.