Osho on the Three Objects

Three objects which can function as either poisons or the basis of virtue:

1. Aversion: you feel aversion to whoever you dislike
2. Attachment: you feel attachment to whatever you like
3. indifference/ignorance[I've seen both terms used together by other authors, but Osho prefers indifference]: you feel indifferent to things which you neither dislike nor like

(From Osho: The Book of Wisdom : Discourses on Atisha`s Seven Points of Mind Training)

To make the terms clear, the following is from my computer dictionary:

Aversion: a strong dislike or disinclination; someone or something that arouses such feelings; antipathy for, abhorrence of, hatred of… you get the idea.

Attachment: the condition of being attached to something or someone in particular; affection, fondness, or sympathy for someone or something; bond with, closeness to/with, affection for, feeling for…

Indifference: lack of interest, concern, or sympathy; unimportance

Ignorance: lack of knowledge or information; unawareness of, unconsciousness of [this sounds like a definition the Buddhists would use] lack of intelligence; stupidity, illiteracy… [these are the synonyms other writers use to describe indifference/ignorance. They seem to combine the two words. More on that later.]

We normally make judgments about people, places and things. We say, "I like it, I don't like it, or I am indifferent to it."  Atisha considered these objects the three poisons which can become the bases of great virtue. How is that?

According to Osho,

"if you bring in the quality of compassion...If you learn the art of absorbing suffering, as if all the suffering of the world is coming riding on the breath, then how can you be repulsed? How can you dislike anything and how can you be indifferent to anything? If you are unconditionally taking in all the suffering of the world, drinking it, absorbing it into your heart, and then instead of it pouring blessings on the whole of existence - UNCONDITIONALLY; not to someone in particular, remember; not only to man but to all; to all beings, trees and rocks and birds and animals, to the whole existence - material, immaterial - when you are pouring out blessings unconditionally, how can you be attached?" 

Osho goes on to say that by doing the above, all poisons will "transform into nectar and the bondage becomes freedom, and the hell is no more a hell, it is heaven."
This is what I imagine when practicing tonglen: I visualize my breath inward as a dark cloud or smoke. Then, I exhale the white soft moonlight.  I like the idea of changing the poison into sweet nectar and exhaling it for all to receive.

This is part of my study on tonglen which I got from The Tonglen and Mind Training website. As I learn more, I'll do my best to pass it on. If you would like to share your knowledge on this subject,  please feel free. I would love to hear from you. So far, everyone is shy and likes to lurk… That's OK. 


 If you have no object of aggression, you cannot hold your own aggression purely by yourself. If you have no object of passion, you cannot hold your passion yourself. And in the same way, you cannot hold on to your ignorance either.
--From Training the Mind & Cultivating Loving-Kindness by Chogyam Trungpa