Buddha praises friendship, - OSHO

Buddha praises friendship,
friendliness, very highly.
 He has even chosen that
when he comes back again
his name will be Maitreya --
the friend.

But
he must have loved the word
so much that he says,
 "Next time, if I am at all
going to come, my name is
going to be
 Maitreya -- the friend."
 The word contains his whole
philosophy.

He says:
 TO HAVE FRIENDS...
 IS SWEET.
  Why is it sweet? –
because with friends your
relationship is not
physiological,
it is not even psychological;
it is a spiritual communion.
With friends you can sit in
silence. When you are with
your lover you can't sit in
silence; silence looks    awkward.
But by friends Buddha does
not mean acquaintances.  By friends he means a love
which has gone beyond
sexuality, a love which has
gone beyond biology, a love
which has transcended
ordinary nature, transcended
gravitation and has become
part of the higher law of
grace.

TO HAVE FRIENDS IS SWEET
AND TO SHARE HAPPINESS....
 OSHO
The Dhammapada:
 The Way of the Buddha,
 Vol 9 #7