long they stay enlightened.
B: Teach this triple truth to all: A generous heart, kind speech, and a life of service and compassion are the things which renew humanity.
MS: Point well-taken. Say, odd question, perhaps, but are you a god?
B: I consider myself a guide — a teacher. But try and understand that there is no intermediary between mankind and the divine. People create distinctions out of their own minds and then believe them to be true. In the sky, for example, there is no distinction between east and west.
MS: Let’s say I wanted to take a beginner’s Buddhism class. Where would I start?
B: The secret of health for both mind and body is not to mourn for the past, nor to worry about the future, but to live the present moment wisely and earnestly.
MS: To be honest, I’m thinking about all the errands I need to run this weekend. I’ve got this bum lawnmower that —
B: Focus here, young man. The quiet. The tea before you. The sun as it streams into this room.
MS: But so much of your focus is on suffering. You’re like a Jewish mother . . .
B: Think of the suffering as identifying the disease. First we diagnose the problem, and more importantly, we prescribe the cure.
MS: More suffering?
B: Now it is you who are kvetching like a Jewish bubbe. The road that leads out of suffering is the Noble Eightfold Path.
MS: All right, give ’em to me.
B: The Eightfold Path: proper understanding, proper thought, proper speech, proper action, proper livelihood, proper effort, proper mindfulness, and proper