The fourth question:

Question 4

WHO ARE YOU?

I would like to tell you one story. Many centuries have passed, but that story has remained of tremendous significance for those who want to meditate.

Bodhidharma went to China. He was one of the most unique persons ever. The whole of China was waiting for Bodhidharma.

It took many years for him to cross the Himalayas. It was difficult, and he was walking.

The emperor had come to receive him on the border; the emperor's name was Wu. He had become a Buddhist -- not only had he become a Buddhist, he had put all his treasures into the service of Buddhism. He had converted millions of people to Buddhism, he had created thousands of temples and thousands of Buddha-statues, and he had helped all of Buddha's scriptures to be translated into Chinese. Ten thousand monks used to receive their food from his palace every day. He was supporting in every way.

Bodhidharma was coming -- another Buddha was coming -- Wu had come to receive him. Naturally, this dialogue happened. This is one of the greatest dialogues, a small dialogue but of immense importance.

Wu asked, "What is the merit of all the good deeds that I have been doing in the service of Buddhism?" He must have hoped for a good pat on his head. He must have hoped, and naturally so, because all other Buddhist teachers and monks were saying, "You are simply great. You are the greatest emperor in history You have done such holy works. Your life is the life of true service and compassion." They may have been saying all these things; naturally, Wu expected some sanction from the greatest Master that has come to China. Do you know what Bodhidharma said?

He said, "No merit. Nothing special about it, absolutely nothing."

To translate it into modern jargon, he said, "All bullshit!"

Wu was offended, shocked. He could not believe his ears. And thousands of monks had gathered; they were also shocked. They were afraid really, they were fearing something like that because stories were coming about Bodhidharma -- that he's a strange fellow. And when he came they were absolutely certain that he was a strange fellow, because he was carrying one of his shoes on his head. And he was a very dangerous-looking man. He was all eyes, fiery eyes, as if he would jump and kill you. And naturally, a Master has to do that. And he had long hair and beard, and his whole face was covered with his hair; only those eyes were there. Later on he came to be known in China as 'the barbarian Buddha', as the 'barbarian Brahmin from India'. He was a wild man. A shiver must have gone down the spine of Emperor Wu.

Bodhidharma said, "All bullshit!" There was no point in prolonging the conversation, but it was so abrupt. And Wu was a very sophisticated man, a cultured man, a Chinese emperor -- the Chinese are very cultured people, very polite. It would not look good to stop so suddenly, so just to bring it to a point where it could be easily finished, he asked again, "Are they not holy? You must be joking," he said.

Bodhidharma said, "No! No holiness! All is just empty. There is nothing holy and nothing unholy. All is just empty." He was bent upon breaking this conversation abruptly.

Now even Wu forgot all his sophistication and cultured ways and courtly manners. This man was too much! He provoked him so much that he became angry. And he asked. "Then who are you, standing in front of me?"

And Bodhidharma had a beautiful laugh, and he said, "I don't know."

You ask me, "WHO ARE YOU?"

And I say, "I don't know."

What did Bodhidharma mean when he said, "I don't know"? He SHOULD know. Who else? But what does he mean by "I don't know"? He is saying a thousand and one things in that simple statement. It has taken centuries for people to uncover the meaning of it, and still there are meanings upon meanings.

First, when you come to know, you disappear. There is no 'I'. While the 'I' exists you never come to know. When the 'I' disappears you come to know, but then you are not there.

So there are two kinds of ignorances: one, when you are and you don't know; and the second, a luminous ignorance, full of light -- but you are not there, so who is there to say that "I know"? The 'I' is no longer there.

The second thing: whenever you know something, it has to be separate from you, it has to be an object of knowledge. How can you know the knower? You cannot reduce the knower to an object of knowledge. It remains the knower, it never becomes known. Whatsoever you know simply proves that it is not you. That is one of the basic meditations in the East.

Look at things, watch things, and whatsoever you become capable of knowing, you can be certain this is not you. So that is eliminated. This is called 'the process of elimination'. You watch, sitting silently -- you can see your body, you can feel the legs are falling asleep, you can feel the hand is feeling tired, heavy, you can feel your head is having a headache. Then certainly one thing can be taken for granted: you are not your head, and you are not your legs, and you are not your hand. You are the knower who knows the head and the headache. So the body is eliminated. Then you start watching your mind. A thought arises, a thought of anger, passion, love, or whatever. You can see it arising in you. A cloud of anger comes and surrounds you; you can watch it. Or, you are possessed by a great desire for love, but you can watch that it is there. You can see that anger is there, or love is there, or greed is there, can't you? When you see that greed is there, one thing is certain -- that you are not it. You are one who knows. So mind is eliminated.

When the body and mind are eliminated, then who remains? -- just a pure witness. Now you cannot know this pure witness because you cannot reduce it to being an object. The mirror cannot reflect itself, it can only reflect something else. Your eyes cannot see themselves, they can only see something else. Your witness cannot witness itself. That is the second meaning when Bodhidharma says "I don't know".

And the third: when Bodhidharma says "I don't know", he is saying, "The ultimate is a mystery, and it remains a mystery. There is no way to demystify it."

You ask me, " WHO ARE YOU?"

You would like some traditional answer -- that I am a reincarnation of Buddha. Bullshit! I am not. You would like me to tell you that I am the Messiah you have been waiting for. I am not. I'm not interested in becoming a martyr, not at all. You would like a definitive statement, and no definitive is possible, by the very nature of things.

Let me tell you another story:

Moses went on the mountains and God appeared to him as fire in a bush. And the bush remained green, and the bush was not burning.

This is an indication, a metaphoric indication, of the paradox of God -- that God is a paradox, that God is illogical, that God is absurd, CREDO QUIA ABSURDUM. This is Tertullian's famous statement: "I believe in God because He is absurd. I believe because He cannot be believed."

To put it in a metaphor, in a pictorial way, it is said that Moses saw the bush and the fire in it, and the bush was not burning. He must have felt very confused, puzzled. And then God gave him the Ten Commandments to take to his people. And naturally he asked, "They will ask me, 'Who has given these to you?' What should I say?" And God said, "Say to them: I am that I am."

In the whole Jewish tradition there is no other statement which is more significant than this: I am that I am. Even God cannot say who He is.

You can say who you are, I cannot say who I am -- because you have some identities. I have no identity. You think you are your name. Somebody asks, "Who are you?" You say, "My name is swami this or swami that." "Who are you?" somebody asks, and you can say that you are a Christian or a Hindu or a Mohammedan. "Who are you?" somebody asks, and you can say, "I am a doctor or an engineer or a professor. " These are just identities, superficial. Deep down, are you German or English or Chinese, Hindu, Christian, Buddhist? In your consciousness, at the deepest core, who are you? -- doctor, engineer, professor? No, all these identities disappear. Who are you? You are there. I am that I am -- nothing more can be said about it.