Satsang with a Guru
A more accurate title for this book would be 'Osho's interpretation of what Buddha said'. Osho is the late Indian guru who attracted many westerners in the 1980's. In those days he was known as Bhagwan Shri Rashneesh and got quite a bit of publicity around the world, for various reasons. He was described by the press as everything between 'one of 1000 makers of the twentieth century' and 'the most dangerous man since Jesus'.

Osho was often called the 'sex guru' after some speeches he made on sexuality. According to him, all repressive sexual morality was self-defeating, since one could not transcend sex without experiencing it thoroughly and consciously. He also achieved a reputation for being given 108 Rolls Royce by his disciples and for later having problems with his some of his staff who ran off with his money. Osho himself had to spend some time in an American prison before he was deported from USA.

Having studied philosophy, Osho was appreciated for his teachings that provided a link between east and west for many westeners new to both eastern and western philosophy. Osho claimed that the greatest values in life are awareness, love, meditation and laughter. He also said that enlightenment is everyone's natural state, but that one is distracted from realising it - particularly by the human activity of thought, as well as by emotional ties to societal expectations, and consequent fears and inhibitions.

One popular feature in the ashram was Satsang with Osho (Satsang is an Indian concept that can be translated as 'the company with an assembly of persons who listen to, talk about, and assimilate the truth'). Osho used to give long talks where he explained the Indian way of thinking to the westerners. These talks were usually recorded and transcribed into books. This book is the transcript of a series of talks where Osho explains Buddha's Sutra of Forty-Two Chapters, a scripture compiled by a Chinese emperor in the first century CE. In a typically Indian guru style, Osho explains the text to his international audience, using contemporary anecdotes to illustrate his point.

His style of talking is rather simplistic, in a way that makes his talks rather poetic and easily accessible. Unfortunately some of the melodic flow that you get when you listen to Osho's talks is lost in the transcript. Reading the text also highlights many questionable statements that Osho makes. But as Osho himself points out, itÕs best just to stay with him and take in what he says without too much judgement or critical analysis. That will allow the experience to take place and the timeless truth to find its way in to our hearts and minds.

Gunnel Minett is author of Breath and Spirit and Exhale psychology-consciousness studies