Marpa heard about a master. He was searching and he went to the master, he surrendered to the master, he trusted totally. And he asked the master "What am I supposed to do now?"
The master said, "Once you have surrendered to me. you are not supposed to do anything. Just believe in me. My name is the only secret mantra for you. Whenever you are in difficulty, just remember my name and everything will be all right."
Marpa touched his feet. And he tried it immediately - he was such a simple man. He walked on the river. Other disciples who had been with the master for years could not believe it - he was walking on the water!
They reported to the master that. "That man, you have not understood him. He is no ordinary man, he is walking on water!"
The master said "What?"
They all ran toward the river and Marpa was walking on the water, singing songs, dancing. When he came to the shore, the master asked, "What is the secret?"
He said, "What is the secret? It is the same secret that you have given to me: your name. I remembered you. I said, 'Master, allow me to walk on water' and it happened".
The master could not believe that his name He himself could not walk on water. But perhaps. he had never tried. But it would be better to check a few more things before he tried. So he said to Marpa, "Can you jump from that hill?"
Marpa said, "Whatever you say" He went up on the hill and jumped, and they were all standing in the valley waiting - just pieces of Marpa will be there! Even if they can find pieces of him, that will be enough - the hill was very high.
But Marpa came down smiling, sitting in a lotus posture. He came just under a tree in the valley, and sat down. They all surrounded him. They looked at him – not even a scratch.
The master said, "This is something You used my name?"
He said, "It was your name."
The master said. "This is enough, now I am going to try" and the first step in the water he sank.
Marpa could not believe it when he sank. His disciples jumped in and somehow pulled him out. He was half dead. The water was taken out of his lungs, somehow he survived.
And Marpa said, "What is the matter?"
The master said, "You just forgive me. I am no master, I am just a pretender."
But Marpa said, "If you are a pretender, then how did your name work?"
The pretender said, "My name has not worked. It is your trust. It does not matter who you trust - it is the trust, the love, the totality of it. I don't trust myself. I don't trust anybody. I cheat everybody - how can I trust? And I am always afraid of being cheated by others, because I cheat others.
Trust is impossible for me. You are an innocent man, you trusted me. It is because of your trust that the miracles have happened."
Whether the story is true or not does not matter. One thing is certain, that your misery is caused by your mistakes and your bliss is caused by your trust, by your love. Your bondage is your creation and your freedom is your declaration.
You are asking me, "Why am I miserable?" You are miserable because you have not accepted the responsibility for it. Just see what your misery is. Find out the cause and you will find the cause within yourself. Remove the cause and the misery will disappear.
But people don't want to remove the cause, they want to remove the misery. That is impossible, that is absolutely unscientific.
And then you ask me to save you, to help you. There is no need for you to become a beggar. My people are not to become beggars. My people are not sheep; my people are emperors. Accept your responsibility for misery, and you will find that just hidden inside you are all the causes of bliss, freedom, joy, enlightenment, immortality. No savior is needed. And there has never been any savior; all saviors are pseudo. They have been worshipped because you always wanted somebody to save you. They have always appeared because they were always in demand, and wherever there
is a demand, there is a supply.
