~~ FROM SOUND TO INNER SILENCE 8 ~~

Brahman' means life - life, infinite life; and 'Nirvana' means just cessation, death - total death.

Buddha says, "Your ordinary death is not total; you will be born again. It is NOT total! You will be born again! I will give you a total death, and you will never be born again." A total death means now no birth is possible. So this so-called death, Buddha says, is not death. It is just a rest period, you will become alive again. It is just a breath gone out. You will take the breath in again, you will be reborn. Buddha says, "I will give you the way so that the breath will go out and will never come in again - total death, nirvana, cessation."

We become afraid because we cling to life. But this is the paradox: the more you cling to life, the more you will die, and the more you are ready to die, then the more you become deathless. If you are ready to die, then there is no possibility of death. No one can give you death if you accept it, because through that acceptance you become aware of something within you which is deathless.

This incoming breath and outgoing breath are the life and death of the body, not of "me." But "I" do not know anything other than the body; "I" am identified with the body. Then it will be difficult to be aware when the breath comes in, easy to be aware when the breath goes out. When the breath is going out, for that moment you have become old, dying, emptied completely of the breath; you are dead for a moment.

IN THE "HH," EFFORTLESSLY, THE SPONTANEITY. Try it! Any moment you can try it. Just riding in a bus or traveling in a train or moving to the office, whenever you have time intone a sound like "Allah" - any sound ending with "AH." This "Allah" helped so much in Islam - not because of any Allah there in the sky, but because of this "AH." This word is beautiful. And then the more one goes on using this word "Allah, Allah..." it becomes reduced. Then what remains is "Lah, Lah..." Then it is reduced further; then it remains as "Ah, Ah..." It is good, but you can use any word that ends in "AH"

- or just "AH" will do.