A Matter of Belief

Volume 77. July 3, 2026

On July 6, 2026, the Dalai Lama celebrates his 91st birthday. As His Holiness navigates the ninth decade of his fourteenth incarnation, it is time to take stock.

The Dalai Lama is loved intensely by the Tibetan people as their spiritual and temporal leader. He is revered as a sort of god-king.

In 2011, the Dalai Lama relinquished his temporal authority, jettisoning the “king” role, but what about being a “god”?

I attended a public teaching by His Holiness in Madison, Wisconsin in 2008 when this very issue was brought up. He handled it deftly.

The question: “The Dalai Lama is said to be an incarnation of Avalokiteshvara, the Bodhisattva of Compassion? So, are you a divine being incarnate here on Earth?”

His answer: “The Bodhisattva of Compassion manifests in an infinite number of forms in response to the needs of sentient beings. So, if you believe I am Avalokisteshvara, then, yes, I am.”

It’s a matter of belief, and that brings up a little story.

Once upon a time, the emperor of China was extremely fond of clams. He loved them more than any delicacy. One day a chef in the imperial kitchens came upon a clam he was unable to open. Thinking it strange, he mentioned it to the emperor.

The emperor placed the clam on an altar and offered incense and prayers to it. Suddenly, the clam opened up and Kuan Yin, the Bodhisattva of Compassion in her female form, appeared.

The emperor wrapped the clam in silk, placed it in a precious sandalwood box and enshrined it in a temple. Then he summoned a Buddhist monk to explain the weird event.

“Your Highness,” the monk began, “the Bodhisattva of Compassion does not appear without reason. No doubt she has appeared in the hopes of deepening your faith in the Dharma.”

The emperor replied, “But she preached no Dharma.”

The monk asked, “Your Majesty, do you consider what you have seen usual or unusual? Do you believe what you have seen?”

The emperor answered, “It was definitely unusual, and I deeply believe what I have seen.”

The monk said, “Then you have heard the Dharma preached.”

At that, the emperor had a sudden realization.

The End

Whether she manifests as a woman on a clam shell or a man on a mountaintop in Tibet, the Bodhisattva of Compassion always finds a way to lead us away from selfishness and toward kindness.

He or she or it appears daily in the people you love and the things that attract your attention the most.

It doesn’t matter what you believe, it matters that you believe.

In the words of another Bodhisattva of Compassion, Jesus Christ:

“Your faith has saved you. Now go in peace.”

May blessings be upon you and the Dalai Lama forever!

The Birds of Summer

Volume 76. June 16, 2026

Ah, summer! Bird lovers in North America are in their glory.

The swallows have returned to Capistrano. The buzzards have returned to Hinckley Ridge. Robins chuckle on evening lawns. Unseen birds tootle in morning trees. Birdsong fills the air.

The chipper chirping cheers us up and causes poets to rhapsodize. American poet Emily Dickinson once gushed effusively, “I hope you love birds too. It is economical. It saves going to heaven.”

With deference to Miss Dickinson, there was perhaps no greater bird nerd than the king of Ch’u. His story goes like this.

Once upon a time in old China, the king of Ch’u was an ardent bird lover. He filled his palace with fine-feathered friends.

One day a clever merchant, seeking to gain favor with the king, went to Mount Tan, where it was rumored the fabled phoenix was said to nest. The merchant searched high and low for the mythical bird, alas, to no avail.

Returning home, he met a man carrying a strange-looking bird. It was a common pheasant. The clever merchant bought it, went straight to the palace and presented it to the king.

The merchant said, “Your royal majesty, I have just been to Mount Tan. I have found the fabled phoenix! Please accept this rare and auspicious bird as a token of my high esteem.”

Looking it over, the king thought it was rather a poor-looking fowl, somewhat doughty, nowhere near the beautiful bird of legend.

But poultry passion took over. The king accepted the faux-phoenix as the real thing with great pleasure.

The End

What’s the matter with us?

Here we are — everyday — confusing a pheasant for a phoenix, confusing our ego with Buddha-nature.

Why must we fixate on thoughts and focus on fantasies?

Why can’t we relax, go with the flow and let things be?

Buddha-nature is sublime, serene, untroubled. It’s our True Self.

Followers the Way do not mistake their rational thoughts for truth.

Yet, fools take them for their Original Self.

If we could only cast aside likes and dislikes, we’d be bodhisattvas right where we sit.

Nirvana is there for the taking.

How so?

Slow down for a second. Listen. Do you hear the birds chirping?

Observing nature is a form of meditation. It requires awareness, focus and being present to the moment. When we sit and let our thoughts settle, our True Self (Buddha-nature) is revealed.

Have a great summer … in nirvana!

So You Say It’s Your Birthday

Volume 75. May 18, 2026

In a few weeks, the United States of America celebrates her semiquincentennial (meaning “half of five hundred”). 250 years!

Happy Birthday, America! You’ve come a long way, baby.

A war of independence, the creation of a democratic government, a Civil War, a Gilded Age, two world wars, status as a world power, a civil rights movement, and a second Gilded Age today.

Friends, at this historic juncture of American history we have good news and bad news.

First, the bad news. America is currently suffering under the torment of the worst president in American history. Recent polls indicate that nearly two out of three American citizens disapprove of Donald Trump’s atrocious conduct in office.

The good news is we’ve hit bottom. We can’t get worst than Trump. The only direction to go is up. The future looks bright. America’s best days lie ahead.

Two and a half centuries is a long period of time. For Buddhism, however, it’s an afternoon nap.

Buddhism is more than ten times older (and wiser) than its fresh American upstart. In fact, on Sunday, May 24, 2026, the historical Buddha (b. 563 BCE) celebrates his 2,589th birthday.

We missed his “semi-quin-millennial” eighty-nine years ago!

The ancient chronicles record the mythical legend of his birth.

“When the World-Honored One was born, he pointed one hand at the sky and one hand down to the earth. He made seven circumambulations, contemplated the four directions, surveyed the whole world, then announced, ‘In heavens above and on earth below, there is no one in the world like me.’ ”

A pretty good speech for a newborn, but a declaration symbolic of one whose destiny it is to save humanity from suffering and death.

Japanese Zen master Hakuin (1686 – 1769) composed a verse in celebration of the Buddha’s birthday:

Casting all obligations aside, abandoning his filial duties,

He left home to master the Way and help gods and men.

At his birth in Kapilavatsu, he blurted out bits of hogwash.

No one but Yunmen could ever grasp what he was saying.

Yunmen (864 – 949) was a Chinese Zen master of the Tang dynasty. He was known for his forceful teaching style. What did he grasp?

Well, let me put it this way. Upon hearing the Buddha’s birth story, he commented, “If I had been there and seen that, I would have beaten him to death with my staff and fed his carcass to the dogs.”

The point: Whenever rites, dogmas and saviors are taken as merely external factors and not experienced as inner events, they fall short of transforming our spirit. Only when we make the Buddha and his teachings are own do we attain enlightenment.

The Buddha wasn’t born 2,589 years ago. He is born today in each one of us.

So, let’s celebrate! Every day is a good day for a birthday.

And that’s very good news indeed.

They’ve Killed Mr Chaos!

Volume 74. April 18, 2026

We interrupt our regular scheduled programming to bring you this special report from The Buddha Times.

News flash: They’ve killed Mr. Chaos!

Barely halfway through his second term, Donald Trump is generally considered the cruelest, most corrupt, and most chaotic president in American history.

The 2024 Presidential Greatness Project Expert Survey, conducted by 154 scholars (including Republican and conservative scholars), ranked Trump dead last (45th out of 45 U.S. presidents).

Murdering peaceful protesters in the streets of Minnesota, enriching himself and his billionaire friends, embroiling the Middle East in a misguided war, assaulting democratic norms, perverting justice, covering up his involvement in the Epstein scandal — another day, another outrageous episode of presidential depravity.

His insolence is infuriating. But Trump is not dead yet.

There is another Mr Chaos, whose passing we note today.

To tell the story of his demise, we turn to Chuang-tzu, our special correspondent from the world of Taoism, who reports:

Once upon a time, before there was a world, there was nothing but primordial Chaos — the undifferentiated soup out of which everything came to be.

The gods met Mr Chaos, who treated them with immense kindness. Thereupon, the gods set to work creating the world. Having finished their task, they decided to show their appreciation to Mr Chaos, whose self-effacing help was essential to their work.

The gods supplied him with the same senses that they themselves enjoyed. They bored seven holes in him: eyes to see, ears to hear, nostrils to smell, and a mouth to taste, eat and breathe.

While the gods were congratulating themselves on the splendid results, however, Mr Chaos died.

The end.

What’s the moral of the story?

Mr Chaos symbolizes that pure state that exists before the division of heaven and earth, that pure state that exists, as it were, before our rational minds butt in and “create” the universe.

Buddhism calls that state of primal unity Buddha-nature.

We experience Buddha-nature when we let things be.

Why make waves? Why stir up trouble? Eat when you’re hungry. Drink when you’re dry. Sleep when you’re tired. Go about your day as naturally as water flowing down a stream. Let things be.

When we discriminate between this and that, we kill Mr Chaos.

When we meditate, we perceive the essential Oneness of life.

Even while watching a special report.

We now return you to your regularly scheduled programming.

The Buddha Goes To War

Volume 73. March 8, 2026

If it weren’t so serious, it would be laughable.

The Trump administration cannot articulate why they chose to go to war with Iran. Their rationale keeps shifting.

First, it was a response to the violent crackdown by Iranian authorities on protesters. Then, it’s a mission to take out the regime’s leadership to allow the Iranian people to take over their government. Then, it’s sold as a need to prevent a nuclear-armed Iran. Then, it becomes an operation to dismantle Iran’s navy and ballistic missile capability. Finally, it’s billed as a preemptive strike to stop an “imminent” threat against the U.S. and Israel.

They’re selling reasons like brown bananas, but no one is buying what they’re selling. Public support for the war is tepid at best.

As the Trump administration struggles to get its story straight, people are dying, embassies are closing, Americans are scrambling to leave the region and gas prices are going up.

So, what’s the real reason for the war with Iran?

One word: ignorance.

A failure to see our connection to all people and all things.

Buddhism teaches that all life is deeply interconnected. Nothing exists in isolation. Nothing is independent. We are all one.

Your well-being is connected to my well-being.

One day a student asked, “Master, all things return to the One. What does the One return to?”

The Zen master answered, “When I was in Ch’ing Chou, I made a cloth shirt. It weighed seven pounds.”

A seven-pound shirt is an absurdity.

The point: If you want to achieve enlightenment, if you want to return to the One, if you want to achieve a state of peace and unity with all life, stop using your rational mind. Meditate.

Most people live in a dream world, a world of delusion, a world of separation. The illusory world seems real to us. But when we meditate, when we hear the sound of one hand clapping, then we transcend dualities such as good versus bad, friends versus enemies, the U.S. versus Iran. We become One.

So, get out of the dualistic mind. Get into the Buddha-mind.

Iran is not the enemy of the United States. Our enemies are fear, greed, money, lust for power, self-centeredness, ignorance and aggression.

How do we defeat these enemies?

The Buddha recommended morality, meditation and wisdom.

Be kind to one another.

Meditate.

And appreciate that all life is interconnected.

Now that’s a war worth waging.

Thoughts on an Old Friend

Volume 72. February 2, 2026

Sitting here in the dead of winter, pondering the eternal verities, beneath a moon for the misbegotten, I thought of an old friend, someone I love very, very much.

It’s hard to describe my friend. It would take too many words.

When I open my mouth and talk, differences arise between us.

But when I stop thinking, we’re in perfect harmony.

My friend is secret, hidden, but totally open and absolutely clear.

No saint can teach, nor demon can frighten, my friend.

Oddly enough, all the Buddhas who attain nirvana know my friend.

The sorrowful seas of samsara and the bliss of the Yonder Shore — my friend knows it’s all the same.

Who is this old friend who has been with me through thick and thin, since the day I was born?

Who woke up to the world with me as a babe in my mother’s arms?

Who played with me as a toddler when we built a ship upon the stairs using cushions and blankets?

Who learned skills with me like reading, writing and arithmetic in elementary school?

Who searched for an identity through awkward teenage trends?

Who loved a woman and worked in the world?

Who helped others find their path in life?

Who, like a counselor, told me that I am all and all is me?

Who I assume will be there sitting soul-like on my deathbed, holding my hand, looking back on life?

Who is this boon companion who never left my side?

Who, when approached, runs away?

Who, when ignored, comes very close?

Who is this old friend, loyal and true?

It’s me.

My true self.

The no-self.

My old friend,

Buddha-nature.

There’s no difference between me and my friend.

We are like a great mirror reflecting daily experience.

We are difficult, very difficult, to put a finger on.

Yet we’re easy, very easy, to experience firsthand.

I’d like to tell you more about us, but it’s best to say nothing at all.

The True Master of the Universe

Volume 71. January 9, 2026

Well, well, well. Heading into the new year, who would have thought Marco Rubio would be the Viceroy of Venezuela and Donald Trump would be the Emperor of the Western Hemisphere?

But here we are.

Citizens of Greenland, Cuba, Columbia, Mexico and even Canada, are concerned, quaking in their boots, fearing the rapacious power of the imperial U.S. presidency.

Despite their lofty titles and expansive land claims, however, Trump et al. are no match for the true Master of the Universe: Buddha-nature.

Japanese Zen master Hakuin put all arrogant tyrants in their place and nullified their greedy usurpations way back in the 18th century when he stated Dharma truth this way:

He rules a vast realm, Unremitting Buddha-nature,

A splendid, pristine landscape, fresh day after day.

Kuan-ting, second patriarch of the T’ien-t’ai school in China, stated Dharma truth even more succinctly in the 7th century:

There is nothing that is not the ultimate reality!

From the most piddling stinkbug crawling in a barnyard dungheap to the most glorious star system beyond the Andromeda Galaxy, all things are manifestations of Buddha-nature.

How do we enter this infinite, everlasting realm?

Easily, through meditation.

Find a quiet spot. Sit with your back straight. Focus on the breath. Dispel evil thoughts. Discard fantasies. Avoid conceptualization. Rest in the Great Calming alone. Identify all things with Buddha- nature. Be confident that there is nothing that is not the Buddha. Dwell where there is no dwelling. Dwell where all Buddhas dwell.

And that’s it!

The immanence of Buddha-nature is both the departure point and the point of arrival in meditation.

For thousands of years, teachers have passed on this teaching.

But begin to ponder it, even slightly, and you at once stray from the Path.

Contemplating the mind gives rise to the Mahayana, the big ferry boat that carries us across the sorrowful seas of samara to the bliss of the Yonder Shore.

Let the Mahayana achieve its victory.

Reach the state beyond thought.

Buddha-nature is not simply everywhere. It’s everything.

Citizens of Greenland, Cuba and Columbia, set aside your fears!

A mind grounded in meditation experiences no distress.

Don’t let a “splendid, pristine landscape, fresh day after day,” become sullied with fear, anger and rational thought, or else you will never enjoy the happy new year.

Be Good For Goodness Sake

Volume 70. December 12, 2025

You better watch out. You better not cry.

You better not pout. I’m telling you why.

Santa Claus is coming to town.

Santa Claus might be coming to town for some people, but not for the vast majority of the U.S. population.

Federal Reserve data (2024) indicates that enormous financial wealth is concentrated in the hands of a tiny number of people.

In fact, the top 1% hold around 30% of all U.S. household wealth, while the top 10% control even more, nearing 85%.

It’s stunning, astonishing really, that such a small segment of the population controls nearly all the wealth of our nation.

One danger of this financial inequality is political. The aristocracy has leveraged its immense wealth into political power. The super rich are the de facto rulers of our country — a death knell for democracy.

The real danger of being massively wealthy, however, is spiritual. You become selfish, greedy and attached. And, as the Buddha points out in his Second Truth, attachment causes suffering.

Perhaps a story might illustrate.

Once upon a time, the emperor of China revered a Buddhist priest. The emperor thought so highly of him that he ceded to the priest great wealth and unprecedented power.

The priest became full of himself, puffed up with pride at his prestige. He no longer bothered upholding Buddhist precepts.

When the priest died, he was reborn as a large ox, tearfully pulling carts through the mud, drooling gobs of slobber from his mouth.

When his master spotted him, he rebuked his student for receiving this karmic retribution. The master scolded him, saying, “Look at you! How shameful! You went from wise to foolish overnight. Frittering away your virtue like that! Indulging in selfish fantasies! What were you thinking! Do you still wish to deny the karmic law of moral causality?”

The ox bellowed dolefully. The End

My friends, American aristocrats may have their wealth, but we have our benevolence. They may have their exalted ranks, but we have our integrity.

Philosophers down the ages, from Plato to Aristotle to Kant and Confucius, disagree on metaphysics, epistemology and politics, but — incredibly — they all agree on one thing: morality.

They all agree that virtuous behavior is the only road to happiness.

Virtue is its own reward. Be good for goodness sake.

Comport yourself as if you are in daily attendance on the Buddha.

Accumulate merit and the whole world will hold you in respect.

Why do this? Because …

He’s making a list. He’s checking it twice.

He’s gonna find out who’s naughty or nice.

Santa Claus is coming to town.

One Step Beyond Thanksgiving

Volume 69. November 25, 2025

Medieval German mystic Meister Eckhart long ago offered some good spiritual advice: “If the only prayer you said in your whole life was ‘thank you,’ that would suffice.”

He makes a valid point. Gratitude is essential for human happiness and spiritual well-being. The truly wise, however, go one step beyond gratitude.

Perhaps a story might illustrate.

One enchanted evening, in old China, a Buddhist priest witnessed a wondrous sight in a lonely graveyard.

He beheld a beautiful goddess praying before a pile of bones. She wore a jeweled crown upon her head and silk slippers on her feet. Her necklace and arm bangles tinkled softly with precious gems. Her body emitted a sweet flowerlike fragrance.

Auspicious clouds of pastel pink and purple floated above her head. The grove of trees surrounding her glowed with celestial light.

Taken aback, the priest approached the radiant being. He said,

“Oh holy one, I feel highly favored to gaze upon thy sublime form. But why have you chosen to appear in this hideous boneyard? Why do you bow in homage before this pile of stinking bones, which are more wretched and worthless than wood chips?”

The goddess replied, “Come closer and I will answer you.”

The priest drew beside her and she told her tale.

“I was born into a poor family — the poorest of the poor. There wasn’t even a roof over our heads let alone rice to fill our starving bellies. Yet, undaunted by destitution, I practiced good acts. Because of my meritorious deeds, I attained a fortunate rebirth as a goddess in heaven after I died. But when I walked the earth as a human being, this pile of bones was my body. Every autumn I come here in thanksgiving to express my gratitude for it.”

Suddenly, she vanished into the clouds and mist, leaving behind only the plaintive cries of the autumn insects.

Later that evening, the priest contemplated the vision. He felt ashamed that he was remiss in his duty to inform her that even a goddess in heaven will eventually decay and die.

Under the moon, he meditated. Emerging from the Great Silence, he brushed with ink the following verse:

Instead of thanking her old bones,

Why doesn’t she grasp the mind that thanks them?

How priceless is the mind that does the thanking.

That mind is the mind of all the Buddhas.

In Buddhism, heaven is not the goal. The goal is nirvana.

Good deeds get you to heaven. Meditation brings you nirvana.

The mind-source deep within you is a precious thing. Be ye god or demon, it can ferry you across heaven, hell or any state of being.

Of course, if the practice of meditation is beyond one’s capability, then pause and sincerely say “thank you.” That will suffice.

Wake Up From The Nightmare

Volume 68. October 8, 2025

Halloween is just around the corner. ’Tis the season of goblins, ghouls and hell on earth. Cometh October, cometh the nightmare.

Unfortunately, our bad dream started in September. Take a look at a few examples.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth convened a rare assembly of the military’s top brass to impart an extremely important message: Lose weight and shave your beards.

“It’s about the look,” he said.

FCC Chairman Brendan Carr issued an ultimatum to ABC regarding the content of Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night show, stating, “We can do this the easy way or the hard way.”

Critics called Carr’s threat a dangerous attack on free speech.

Interim U.S. Attorney Lindsey Halligan indicted former FBI Director James Comey on two criminal counts. Lindsey, a former personal lawyer for Donald Trump, was appointed to the job (by Trump) after no self-respecting attorney would sign off on the charges.

Question: What happens when a grandiose narcissist with no capacity for human kindness is given unlimited presidential power and immunity from any abuse of that power?

Answer: He surrounds himself with incompetent sycophants, exacts revenge on his “enemies,” and lets the bad times roll.

And here we are. Nightmare Town.

Buddhism seems to say, “Who wouldn’t want to wake up from a nightmare?”

In Buddhism, we wake up to an experience of Buddha-nature.

We are here forever in one form or another, but while we are human, we have an important task: Wake up! Become a Buddha! Achieve enlightenment!

If you don’t keep your mind pure and free from thoughts, if you don’t act kindly and consider the welfare of others, if you don’t appreciate the transience of life and the impermanence of time, you’re only a yakking fool.

Consider the following story.

One day, in medieval Japan, a Buddhist priest performed funeral rites for a monk.

He said, “In the seven days since the death of this virtuous monk, loneliness has deepened over the Zen gardens. His gentle disposition and humility made all who knew him regard him as their elder brother. His kindness and sincerity made all who met him wish to become his friend. We miss him dearly.”

The next day the priest presided at the funeral of the shogun. He offered these words in eulogy: “That old coot was as hard as flint, ruthless to the core, as venomous as they come. Even the Buddhas and the patriarchs found him impossible to endure.”

One man woke up to Buddha-nature. The other did not.

This Halloween let’s take off our mask and let our True Self shine.

Otherwise, it’s back to the nightmare.