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.
The Buddha Times 