With an entire genre of self-help books available in the market, this series of talks by the enlightened mystic Osho stands apart. Through his commentary on the tiny but exquisite Song of Meditation by Hakuin, “one of the greatest of Zen masters”, Osho speaks on how contemporary man goes through life with the idea that he must be different from how he is and so trying to change. Whether the search is for self-improvement or self-realization, Osho simply states that “trying” is what is in the way.

According to Osho, laughter is "the very essence of Zen". And while the theme of these talks is that meditation - watching, remaining alert and aware - is the path to self-realization, Osho encourages us first to "be happy, and meditation will follow".

In this extraordinary series, Zen: The Special Transmission, Osho introduces us in 10 talks to the world of Zen. In alternating chapters, he comments on Zen sutras and responds to questions of his audience.

Osho illuminates the Chinese Zen master Hyakujo’s concept of sudden enlightenment, showing that everyone is already a buddha. No master, he says, can give you anything; he can only take your false beliefs away.

On finding the “original man” within yourself, says Osho, you will find everything worth discovering. In these talks, Osho traces Zen from its early days with Bodhidharma in China through a succession of masters and poets. He tells anecdotes about the Zen masters, showing how their seemingly absurd statements and actions are actually devices to jolt people out of their spiritual sleep. And he asks you not to take his word for it, but to experience it for yourself - these talks are not about Zen, they are Zen.

Nirvana has become an idealized word associated with the juxtaposition of a cult rock celebrity who died before his time and a vague new age version of Eastern religion. An altered state to be hoped for but likely unattainable, reinforcing that all too familiar uneasiness associated with never being able to have what we truly desire in life.

Not believing, but only experiencing, says Osho in this inspiring series of talks, is a way of finding truth and meaning. While Nietzsche's declaration that "God is dead, therefore man is free" was an incredible step in understanding, he argues, it is in itself a negative solution and does not bring freedom. Simply removing God is not enough. Osho is no atheist by far and not in favor of any "anti-believe" system either. "It is meditation that fulfills your inner being and takes away the vacuum that used to be filled by a great lie, God."

The Magic of Self-Respect is the second volume in a series titled Authentic Living. So much of the experience of everyday life, says Osho in this insightful guide, is shaped by religious and social conditioning - and we are not even aware of the fact.

These discourses contain what Osho describes as the most significant statements ever made, which point to the whole secret of the mystic approach toward life. And the sutra that begins this series of discourses, he says, contains the very essence of the entire Upanishadic vision - that the universe is an indivisible totality, an organic whole. Osho illuminates these ancient texts with such clarity that their significance seems stunningly obvious.

In these delightful and playful talks, Osho introduces the mystery, the wonder and the emptiness that is Zen, not comparable to anything else and a completely different approach to life. The chapters alternate between elaborating original excerpts by the 14th Zen master, Ikkyu, taking us into the world of Zen – and responding to personal questions, which brings the world of Zen into our lives, connects with our issues and questions.