47.

Suppression
In Sanskrit the name is alaya vigyan, the house where you go on throwing into the
basement things that you want to do but you cannot, because of social conditions,
culture, civilization. But they go on collecting there, and they affect your actions,
your life, very indirectly. Directly, they cannot face you--you have forced them into
darkness, but from the dark side they go on influencing your behavior. They are
dangerous, it is dangerous to keep all those inhibitions inside you. It is possible that
these are the things that come to a climax when a person goes insane. Insanity is
nothing but all these suppressions coming to a point where you cannot control them
anymore. But madness is acceptable, while meditation is not--and meditation is the
only way to make you absolutely sane.

Osho The Great Zen Master Ta Hui Chapter 11

Commentary:

The figure on this card is quite literally "all tied up in knots". His light still shines
within, but he has repressed his own vitality trying to meet so many demands and
expectations. He has given up all his own power and vision in return for being
accepted by the very same forces that have imprisoned him. The danger of
suppressing one's natural energy in this way is apparent in the cracks of a volcanic
eruption about to take place around the edges of the image. The real message of
the card is to find a healing outlet for this potential explosion. It is essential to find a
way to release whatever tensions and stresses might be building up inside you right
now. Beat on a pillow, jump up and down, go out into the wilderness and scream at
the empty sky--anything to shake up your energy and allow it to circulate freely.
Don't wait for a catastrophe to happen.

48. The Source

Zen asks you to come out of the head and go to the basic source.... It is not that
Zen is not aware of the uses of energy in the head, but if all the energy is used in
the head, you will never become aware of your eternity.... You will never know as an
experience what it is to be one with the whole. When the energy is just at the
center, pulsating, when it is not moving anywhere, neither in the head nor in the
heart, but it is at the very source from where the heart takes it, the head takes it,
pulsating at the very source--that is the very meaning of Zazen. Zazen means just
sitting at the very source, not moving anywhere, a tremendous force arises, a
transformation of energy into light and love, into greater life, into compassion, into
creativity. It can take many forms. But first you have to learn how to be at the
source. Then the source will decide where your potential is. You can relax at the
source, and it will take you to your very potential.

Osho The Zen Manifesto: Freedom from Oneself Chapter 11

Commentary:

When we speak of being "grounded" or "centered" it is this Source we are talking

about. When we begin a creative project, it is this Source that we tune in to. This
card reminds us that there is a vast reservoir of energy available to us. And that we
tap into it not by thinking and planning but by getting grounded, centered, and
silent enough to be in contact with the Source. It is within each of us, like a
personal, individual sun giving us life and nourishment. Pure energy, pulsating,
available, it is ready to give us anything we need to accomplish something, and
ready to welcome us back home when we want to rest. So whether you are
beginning something new and need inspiration right now, or you've just finished
something and want to rest, go to the Source. It's always waiting for you, and you
don't even have to step out of your house to find it.