Do not judge

This meditation method is a fundamental principle in Tantra, advocating for radical acceptance of all phenomena without the imposition of mental distinctions like ‘good’ or ‘bad’. It challenges the ingrained human habit of judgment, seeking to reveal an unconditioned, unified reality and foster inner peace and authenticity.

What the Method Is

The core instruction, or sutra, for this method is: “The purity of other teachings is an impurity to us. In reality, know nothing as pure or impure”. This statement encapsulates Tantra’s non-dualistic approach, asserting that all distinctions between pure and impure, moral and immoral, are man-made constructs rather than inherent realities.

How It Is Done

To practice “Do not judge”, the following guidance is provided:

  • Look at the Bare Fact: The essential step is to look at the bare fact of existence and don’t label it. This means observing things, people, or even your own internal states (thoughts, emotions, desires) exactly as they are, without immediately applying concepts of ‘good’ or ‘bad’ to them.
  • Avoid Mental Interpretation and Projection: Do not bring your mind to the fact. The moment you interpret or intellectualise a fact, you create a “fiction,” a “projection,” or a “borrowed idea” that distorts reality. This includes avoiding external labels, as well as internal verbalisation or thoughts like “this is beautiful” or “this is bad” when observing something. Osho states that any thought, idea, or judgment is a borrowed thing; no thought can be original.
  • Remain Silent and Non-Condemnatory: Practise being silent, non-condemnatory, and non-justifying. This involves deliberately dropping the “mechanical habit of judging” that is deeply ingrained in the mind.
  • Move to the Source of the Feeling: When a mood (like hate or love) arises, do not place it on the person in question, but remain centred. Instead of projecting the emotion outwards, shift your awareness inwards to the source from which that feeling is originating.
  • Be a Witness: The practice involves being a witness, an observer, not a judge. Whether observing external phenomena or internal thoughts and emotions, maintain a detached, non-identified stance. Even with positive thoughts, like that of a divine being, avoid saying “Beautiful!”, as this identification feeds the thought process.
  • Practice with Easier Things First: For authentic and strong emotions like anger, which are difficult to manage directly, start with easier, “cold” things such as walking, taking a bath, or habitual gestures like nodding. Gradually move to more complex emotions like anger or sexual desire as your awareness develops.
  • Relive Past Experiences (Psychodrama): To practice remaining undisturbed by strong emotions, you can re-enact past experiences of anger or other intense desires in a private setting. This allows for a “deep catharsis” and helps you gain the knack of remaining undisturbed in real-life situations.
Commentaries and Insights

Osho’s commentaries offer a profound understanding of the philosophical underpinnings and transformative potential of the “Do not judge” method:

  • Tantra’s Amoral Nature: Tantra is not concerned with morality or immorality; it is amoral. It views traditional moral concepts (good/bad, pure/impure, virtue/sin) as “man-created” distinctions and “attitudes of man” rather than absolute realities. For Tantra, these distinctions are “irrelevant”.
  • Condemnation Creates Hypocrisy and Division: Societal morality “inevitably” creates hypocrisy because it sets “impossible conditions” and ideals that humans cannot truly fulfil, leading to a split personality and inner conflict. Condemnation prevents true understanding and perpetuates self-deception. Tantra aims to dissolve this inner division, fostering a “total existence within, undivided, non-conflicting, not opposed”.
  • Acceptance as the Path to Transformation: Total acceptance is the basic framework for Tantric practice. By accepting oneself wholly, including all “animal energies” like anger, sex, or greed, the practitioner can transcend them. This is a “choiceless growth,” not a suppression or a fight. Osho states, “Acceptance is transcendence”. When everything is accepted, one is “thrown to the center”.
  • Alertness is the Core: For Tantra, the fundamental issue is not immorality but “sleep” or “unawareness”. Immorality is merely a symptom of being “fast asleep”. The purpose of meditation is to cultivate alertness. When one is perfectly aware, dreaming and thinking cease, and a transformed quality of being emerges.
  • Energy Transformation: By moving awareness to the source of an emotion (like anger or love) without projecting it outwards or suppressing it inwards, the energy is “transformed” and “absorbed back into its source”. This process is not suppression; it is a redirection of energy that allows it to “subside into the original source” and unburden the individual, leading to a “different quality of personality”. This allows one to become “master of your body, your mind, your energy”.
  • Beyond Polarities: Tantra seeks to move beyond all dualities and “polar opposites” like love and hate, pleasure and pain, virtue and vice. When one achieves “witnessing consciousness,” these polarities no longer bind or define the individual. A Buddha’s love, for example, is described as “love without hate” – a diffuse, warming glow rather than an intense, burning flame.
  • The World as a Reflection/Drama: When the non-judgmental attitude is fully embraced, the world can be perceived as “a juggling, a picture show” or a “psychodrama”. This realisation frees one from suffering, as “happiness happens only when you are grounded in this attitude, that the world is just a play”. This detached perspective is not a loss of sincerity but a different kind of engagement.
  • Connection to Other Concepts/Traditions:
    • “Judge ye not”: This method aligns with Jesus’s teaching of “Judge ye not,” implying that non-judgment leads to freedom from being judged oneself, ultimately resulting in becoming divine.
    • Buddha’s Middle Path: The practice of remaining in the middle, neither attached nor repulsed, is central to Buddha’s “majjhim nikai” or middle way. Witnessing inherently keeps one in the middle.
    • Gurdjieff’s Identification as Sin: This method directly counters “identification,” which Gurdjieff famously called “the only sin”. Unconscious identification with phenomena (including judgments) is the problem, while conscious awareness (non-judgment) is the solution.
    • Authenticity: Non-judgment is crucial for being “authentic” and “factual” by stripping away “ideologies, theories, isms” and “false persona[s]”.
    • Unburdening of Repressions: By not judging, thoughts and emotions are allowed to flow freely, preventing repression and the creation of “suppressed complexes”. Dreams, for instance, are seen as cathartic releases for what is repressed during the day.
    • Zen: The non-judgmental approach resonates with Zen’s emphasis on living directly in the present moment, without the interference of mental constructs or philosophical theories.
    • R. D. Laing: Osho connects Tantra’s non-interfering acceptance to modern psychological insights, citing R.D. Laing’s view that non-interference with madness can lead to its spontaneous resolution.
  • Spiritual Health vs. Disease: For Tantra, the mind itself is the disease. Meditation is the “medicine” that dissolves this disease. A clear, sane mind, even if cultivated, is still a barrier that must eventually be “thrown” to achieve true enlightenment, which is a state beyond mind.
  • The Simplicity Trap: The technique appears deceptively simple, which can be a barrier for the ego, as the ego seeks difficult challenges for its fulfilment. However, Osho asserts that spiritual transformation is not a causal phenomenon requiring arduous effort; it’s a remembering of an already-present state, and simple techniques effectively foster this alertness.