Buddha was once visiting a village. A man asked him, Every day you say that everyone can become enlightened. Then why doesn’t everyone become enlightened?” “My friend,” Buddha replied, “do one thing: in the evening make a list of all the people in the village and write down their desires next to their names.”
The man went into the village and he asked everyone; it was a small village with only a few people, and they gave him their answers. He returned in the evening and gave the list to Buddha. Buddha asked, “How many of these people seek enlightenment?” The man was surprised because not a single person had written that he wanted enlightenment. And Buddha said, “I say that every man is capable of enlightenment, I do not say that every man wants enlightenment.”
That every man is capable of enlightenment is very different from every man wanting to be enlightened. If you want it, then consider it to be possible. If your quest is for truth, there is no power on earth that can stop you. But if you don’t long for truth, then too there is no power which can give it to you. So first you need to ask if your thirst is a real one. If so, then rest assured that a path is available. If not, then there is no path – your thirst will be your path to truth.
The Path Of Meditation
The Foundation Of Meditation
Osho
