“Here, Bodhidharma gives a long answer – an answer for which the person has not raised the question at all, but an answer that contains the essence that can answer all his questions if he listens. He has missed the small answers. Bodhidharma must have been hoping that now this long answer may help.

    “My feeling is that his answer must have been even longer than this, because these are the notes of the same person who was asking. So he must have condensed it.

    “But one thing must be said: that he seems to be a good stenographer. He has not added anything. He may have deleted a few things – we cannot be certain about that – but one thing is certain, that whatever he is saying are true words of Bodhidharma. That I can vouch for. On my own authority I can say to you: these words can come only from a buddha. So one thing is good about the man, however stupid he is, he is a good stenographer. He has a good memory, and he must have been taking notes, it seems. While Bodhidharma was talking, he must have been taking notes. There are a few foolish people who go on doing that.

    “When you are encountering a Bodhidharma, a man like Bodhidharma, listen to him wholeheartedly. Don’t distract yourself in taking notes. If you cannot understand while he is present before you, you will not be able to understand through your notes. I don’t think that these notes would have had any impact on the person who took them. But he has done a great service to you, to humanity.

    “For near about fourteen hundred years the notes were lying deep down in the earth. Just at the beginning of the century they were excavated. But if they had disappeared in the earth then too nothing was lost.

    “Without them, Bodhidharma’s teaching has also flowered, has blossomed into many people’s lives. From direct transmission from one master to another disciple, Bodhidharma’s chain is still alive. The flame that he burned is still alive. There are still people who are gaining much from Bodhidharma’s message. But still these words can be useful to you, not as words but as triggers for meditation.

    “Speaking on Bodhidharma is just like speaking on myself. I don’t see any difference, not at all. It is the same message. Bodhidharma is very close to my heart. This unique man, unique not only among men but unique amongst buddhas, is very close to my heart because of his uniqueness. He is a rare flower: wild, but very rare. Meditate over these words. Each word is pregnant. Each word is a seed. Each single word, if allowed to fall into the heart, can transform you totally.” Osho