Our illness, our unrest,
our words, our thoughts,
our speech, the tension of our lives—
ninety-nine percent of it
is entangled in speech.
There was an American President, Coolidge.
He spoke so little
that it was said
no politician in the world
received fewer abuses than Coolidge—
simply because there was no way
to abuse him.
Even his family lineage could not be cursed.
When he became President for the first time,
at a press conference
a journalist asked,
“Will you tell us something about your future plans?”
He said, “No.”
They asked,
“What is your answer regarding this issue?”
He said,
“I have no answer.”
They asked,
“Which political ideology influences you the most?”
He said,
“No. I will not answer.”
Many questions were asked.
Except for “no,”
nothing came from him.
When everyone was leaving,
he said,
“Wait. Don’t take this on record.
Whatever I have said—
do not record it.
Do not report it.”
And he had said nothing.
“This was unofficial,” he added.
“I spoke as a friend.
Nothing was said.”
And truly,
nothing had been said.
At the time of his death,
someone asked Coolidge,
“Why did you speak so little?”
He said,
“The moment I spoke, I was trapped.
Then I discovered—
when you do not speak,
trouble never comes.”
Once he was invited to a grand gathering.
Beside him sat the most powerful,
the most beautiful,
the wealthiest woman of the capital.
She said,
“President Coolidge,
I have made a bet—
that if you stay here for one hour,
I will make you speak
at least three words.”
Coolidge said,
“You lose.”
Only two words.
For the rest of the hour,
he did not speak again.
After that,
he only waved his hand.
~ Translated from Nirvan Upanishad by Osho (Hindi Discourse), Discourse 1
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