"MY CHILDREN, MY WEALTH!"
SO THE FOOL TROUBLES HIMSELF.
BUT HOW HAS HE CHILDREN OR WEALTH?
HE IS NOT EVEN HIS OWN MASTER.
The fool lives around the idea of "my" and "mine": my nation, my religion, my race, my family, my wealth, my children, my parents…he lives around "my" and "mine."
And he has come alone and he will go alone; nobody brings anything into the world and nobody takes anything from the world.
Alone, empty-handed we come; alone, empty-handed we go. The wise knows it; hence the wise claims nothing as "mine." He uses things, but he does not possess them. Using is perfectly good — use all the things of the world, they ARE for you.
The world is a gift from God — use it, but don't possess it. The moment you become a possessor, you cannot use things — the things start using you. The moment you become a possessor, in fact you are possessed by your things, you become a slave.
And the very idea of possessing is stupid. How can you possess anything? You don't even possess your own being. What else can you possess? You are not even a master of yourself.
Buddha says: "MY CHILDREN, MY WEALTH!" SO THE FOOL TROUBLES HIMSELF. And how many anxieties arise out of this "mine," "my" business? Totally false! Basically false, but it can create many many miseries.
It is like when in the dark night you see a rope and you think that it is a snake. Now you are running, screaming, trembling, you may have a heart attack. And there was no snake at all — there was only a rope! But the heart attack will be real, remember: an unreal snake can create a real heart attack.
These are unreal problems. Claiming "mine" — anything! Country, church, children, wealth, anything — when you claim "It is mine!" you are creating a great source of anxiety, anguish for yourself. You are creating a hell around yourself.
OSHO