The Real Teaching Begins After Enlightenment

The real teaching, in my view, is not in the enlightenment story. It is what came after. Buddha taught for forty-five years. We call that mind “How may I help you?” Maybe Buddha’s greatest teaching is not what he said but that he bothered to say it. He could have gone to nirvana. But he stayed to help. 

When I was little sometimes I would pretend to be sick. I would get off school. But all my friends would be in school and I would have no friends to play with. What fun could nirvana possibly be if all our friends and families and strangers and enemies weren’t there?

In fact, that is the point. Nirvana is the place where all your friends and families and strangers and enemies are. In other words, nirvana is right here and right now. We did it! We got here! And since we did, since we no longer need anything at all, we might as well help everyone else to get here. How may I help you?

It’s so great. We don’t need the teachings of Buddha or Jesus or Moses or Muhammad. Instead, we can just be Buddha and Jesus and Moses and Muhammad.

You might say this is impossible—but only if you make Jesus, Moses, Buddha. Let’s just function together. Let’s just work in harmony. Realizing we are already complete, there is nothing to get. So only help.

Excerpt from Buddha’s Enlightenment Day Speech 2025