OSHO Zen Study Group: I Existence

pleroma

I am new to this deck but I find that, just like the advice of any person, his thoughts must be taken with a grain of salt. Osho is very wise and the deck contains a great deal of wisdom and practical advice but someone pointed out that he is very anti-religious which is not a viewpoint that everyone can or should take.

I think the existence card is a truly beautiful card. But I think that it actually is similar to the lessons of the magician of rws in the sense that it reminds us of our personal power as beings. We have the power to say 'yes' to life and the world, to accept it, to be part of it, or to attempt to influence it. The act of acceptance is a mighty act, and the kind of contemplation the woman on the lotus leaf seems to display seems very similar to the effortlessness of the magician's weilding of his tools. I think perhaps that the existence card makes the beauty of the lesson clearer by stripping the ornamentation from the card and having the reader contemplate the beauty and power of simply being. Just speculation, but I do love this card.

-Nick
 

cSpaceDiva

In many ways there is no comparison between these cards and their traditional counterparts, but sometimes the way to understanding the card is by understanding what it is not. The Magician uses tools and illusion to obtain power, this figure uses nothing. How much more powerful can you be than when you realize you are free to be exactly who you are, nothing more and nothing less? She is not trying to impress anyone, because then she would be giving her power to those she wants to impress. On a mundane level, this is represented by the figure's nudity, there is nothing to hide and no shame. By just being she is open to everything that is offered to her, all of existence.
 

Indigo Rose

cSpaceDiva said:
How much more powerful can you be than when you realize you are free to be exactly who you are, nothing more and nothing less? She is not trying to impress anyone, because then she would be giving her power to those she wants to impress.


This is an incredible statement cSpaceDiva. Your words resonate with me. The ego can make us strive for acceptance in a way that will only bind us. Thanks for sharing.

:heart:
 

squeakmo9

This card came to me when I was at a low point. I could feel comfort coming from my dad who had passed many, many years before. Osho saying..."You are not accidental", made me smile and cry at the same time. I think there is a holiness, as Osho says, that comes from living as not only human but as one very much in touch with Spirit. In touch with the Essence of who you REALLY are.
 

paradoxx

In Comparison

In comparison to the RW style of magician, the figure in this card is resting on a flower, the flowers of the rW style is the magician. The figure in the existence card is in simple relaxation, the magician is acting out his role. The Rw style magician has tools of reality to influence existence, the figure in the exiestence card is one with existence as existence is her tool.
 

Master_Margarita

On the fence...

I'm really undecided about whether it enhances my experience of these cards, or corrupts it, to compare the Osho Zen majors to their RWS counterparts.

Is the "Existence" card intended to be a response to, or answer to, The Magician, or is it just totally unrelated? Or is it a restatement of the energy of the card in modern terms?

As has been observed many times already in the thread on this particular card, the Magician is all about trickery and illusion on a certain level. I for one also think the Magician is all about power. But he's also an "entry level" trump, and in the game he is low on the totem pole.

Does this card mean that all of existence is trickery, an illusion, created by our mind, maya, as well?

I don't know what to think.

This is probably good for me.
 

Sanctum_Priest

I don't get how this card relates to the Magician....or how the words in the book relate to existence...forget the traditional meanings...leave behind any hope of understanding the relevance of the titles...just enjoy the wisdom of the book:

"The stars, the rocks, the trees, the flowers, fish and birds -- all are our brothers and sisters in this dance of life. We human beings tend to forget this as we pursue our own private agendas and believe we must fight to get what we need. If...you've been feeling like the world is out to get you, it's time to take a break. Go outside tonight and look at the stars."
 

ArcaneWisdom

I'm really undecided about whether it enhances my experience of these cards, or corrupts it, to compare the Osho Zen majors to their RWS counterparts.

Is the "Existence" card intended to be a response to, or answer to, The Magician, or is it just totally unrelated? Or is it a restatement of the energy of the card in modern terms?

As has been observed many times already in the thread on this particular card, the Magician is all about trickery and illusion on a certain level. I for one also think the Magician is all about power. But he's also an "entry level" trump, and in the game he is low on the totem pole.

Does this card mean that all of existence is trickery, an illusion, created by our mind, maya, as well?

I don't know what to think.

This is probably good for me.

I am definitely on the same side of the fence as you Master_Margarita. I bought this deck not too long ago and I am trying to slowly learn each card. I pulled this one today and tried to study it but I quickly became confused because I tried to assimilate it with the magician. This card can mean so many things! I guess it really just depends on the particular situation. Thank you for all of the previous posts and descriptions of this card. It has really helped me gain insight.

I think that studying the OZT really adds a new perception to other standard decks. I know that studying this card definitely broadened my horizons of the magician card.
 

bluecaffeine

I can imagine that the word EXISTENCE just means, we can sit "naked" in the nature, look at the stars. There is not much more necessary. We must not always DO sth, we must not express ourselves through our clothes. We are just there, we exist and have the same right to exist like plants and stars. We must not always talk, we can express ourselves HOW we sit.
It is SIMPLE, but our mind mostly makes more of it. Hope you understand what I mean.