Buddha is reported to have said that lies are sweet in the beginning and bitter in the end ; truth is bitter in the beginning and sweet in the end . And he is right , absolutely right . Truth is bitter . It is not that truth is bitter , but because we have lived in lies for so long , when truth comes , our lies are shattered and that hurts .
Truth never compromises . When it comes , all lies are bound to be shattered . In the beginning it creates chaos , but out of that chaos stars are born , out of that chaos comes creativity . So only very few daring souls have known the truth . Others have lived coddled with their lies , holding their toys , their teddy bears , clinging to comfortable ideas .
For example , man is afraid of death . Because he is afraid of death , knowing nothing of immortality , he clings to the idea of it . He does not even know what life is , although he is alive . He does not know what death is , although he has died many times . But he clings to the idea of immortality .
People come to me and ask , ” What happens after death ? ” I tell them , ” First try to know what happens before death . You are alive – right now your concern should be with what life is . Do you know what life is ? ” They say that they don’t know – and they are interested in knowing about something which has not happened yet : ” After death , what happens ? ” If you know what life is , if you know that which is right now , you will be able to use that same awareness when death comes . It is the same awareness : the same mirror that reflects life will reflect death . And if you are aware , there is no death , there is no birth , there is only eternity . But that has to be an experience , not just an idea .
