Feeling Anxious? Call Your name!

Amrit Sadhana

When you are bogged down by anxiety what do you do? Try to repress it, or drown it in the drinks, smoke them away or worse, get some anxiety related disorders? The more you try alternatives, the more you get caught into anxiety. Anxiety cannot be removed by the mind because the mind itself creates it.

Zen monks have unusual ways of solving problems. The following Zen story could give an insight.

Bokuju, a Zen master lived alone in a cave.He would sometimes say loudly, “Bokuju” — his own name, and then he would answer, “Yes, I am here.”
His disciples used to ask him, “Why are you calling ‘Bokuju’, your own name, and then saying, ‘Yes sir, I am here’?”
He said, “Whenever I get into thinking, I have to remember to be alert, and so I call my own name, ‘Bokuju.’ The moment I call ‘Bokuju’ and I say, ‘Yes sir, I am here,’ the thinking disappears.”
Relating this story Osho says, "This can be a wonderful cure to anxiety. Just as Bokuju tried to wake himself by calling his name, you can try your own name. When you feel deep anxiety, just call your name and then reply, “Yes sir, I am here,” and feel the difference. The moment you call yourself, there is a jerk. The continuous flow of thinking is interrupted. Anxiety will not be there. At least for a single moment you will have a glimpse beyond the clouds. Once you know that if you become alert, anxiety disappears, you have come to a deep understanding of your own self and the mechanism of inner working."
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