Zen says that if you want to find truth, you have to seek. Zen also says don’t seek, because then you won’t find. This is why Zen is called “the path of paradox.” Zen: The Path of Paradox explores this paradoxical world, this distinctive approach to life. Through his commentaries, Osho illustrates how the Zen anecdotes are not just ancient stories, but that their message is intensely relevant to our own concerns: corruption in politics, truth and lies, mindfulness, dying gracefully without fear.

Zen is not a theology, it is a unique phenomenon. Not easy to understand for a Western mind. Most religions exist around the concept of God. For Zen, the individual human is the goal - an end unto himself. So there is no concept of God in Zen. Certainly those who have been brought up as Christians, Muslims, Hindus, or Jews, cannot conceive of what sort of religion Zen is. If there is no God, then it becomes atheism. It is not; it is theism to the very core - but without God. This is the first fundamental to be understood. Let it sink deep within you, then things will become clear.

 I love the statement that the "man of Zen walks in Zen and sits in Zen" for the simple reason that meditation cannot be just a part of your life. You cannot make a fragment of your life meditative.

Written more than 25 centuries ago, the Diamond Sutra is the first text to record the Buddha's own teachings, and it remains one of the most popular. Osho comments in a series of talks on these sutras and brings Buddha's teachings into the 21st century. One day, after the Buddha finishes his daily walk to collect alms, a senior monk steps forth to ask how he can best help humanity. Buddha responds, and thus begins a dialogue regarding the nature of perception.

"The World Is on Fire" is the title of the first chapter in this new fifth volume of The Dhammapada, Osho’s contemporary presentation of the sayings of Buddha. What does Buddha mean by fire? He means anguish, anxiety, despair, misery; that's what Buddha means by fire. It is a symbol. Everybody is on fire because everybody is divided, split, schizophrenic. Everybody is on fire because there is great anxiety in the world, the anxiety of: “Am I going to make it this time or not?” Does this sound familiar to you?

In alternating chapters Osho comments on specific sutras of Buddha and responds to questions from his audience, deepening the understanding of these timeless works. "My talking on Buddha is not just a commentary: It is creating a bridge. Buddha is one of the most important masters who has ever existed on the Earth - incomparable, unique."

In this extraordinary series, Zen: The Special Transmission, Osho introduces us in 10 talks to the world of Zen. In alternating chapters, he comments on Zen sutras and responds to questions of his audience.

More than 2,500 years ago, Gautama the Buddha walked the earth, teaching to all who would listen. Buddhist lore has it that shortly after he passed away, his disciples met to recall all that they were able of the truths that Buddha had spoken. These sayings were compiled into The Dhammapada, an anthology of 423 verses containing the essence of his principles.

The organized religions have exploited humanity’s insecurity in the face of life’s mysteries by providing readymade sets of beliefs. But in an increasingly sophisticated, globalized society, the consolation of belief has been losing its appeal. And a purely materialistic science that denies consciousness, or that makes it merely a byproduct of matter, has nothing to offer as an alternative. 

Not believing, but only experiencing, says Osho in this inspiring series of talks, is a way of finding truth and meaning. While Nietzsche's declaration that "God is dead, therefore man is free" was an incredible step in understanding, he argues, it is in itself a negative solution and does not bring freedom. Simply removing God is not enough. Osho is no atheist by far and not in favor of any "anti-believe" system either. "It is meditation that fulfills your inner being and takes away the vacuum that used to be filled by a great lie, God."