Jesus and Buddha are in Heaven/Nirvana looking down on their respective followers, shaking their heads. Jesus says to the Buddha, “Buddha, look at them, is that what you meant?”
Buddha studies his followers across the Earth then he studies Jesus’ proclaimed followers. He then says to Jesus, “Nope. My guys missed the point. What about yours, are they close?”
Jesus shakes his head and through an exasperated sigh says, “My guys are so far off base that I can’t help but wonder where I went wrong.”
“You know,” the Buddha says. “That story you told about the kingdom of heaven and the plow seemed familiar to me. ‘Those who look back are not fit for the kingdom of heaven.’ I agree. That’s kind of what I meant by my whole non-attachment thing. See, being mindful of the present is the only way to escape the suffering that is part of life. If someone is overly concerned with things of this world, how can they escape the suffering that comes from it?”
“Well,” Jesus says (in Heaven/Nirvana, the holy speak the same language). “No one really understands suffering down there and that is where the problem begins. When I roamed around those forty days, I learned a lot, much like you did under your tree. The flesh is temporary and feels and hurts and wants. We are all one spirit, at least that’s what I tried to tell them. I said, ‘we are all sons and daughters of God,’ in hopes that they could see that everyone can have salvation, but first, they need to see that suffering is not about hell, it’s about life, in and of itself.”
Jesus said to Buddha, “You know, they love themselves too much. They honestly believe in their own permanence. They have ears, but do not hear; eyes, but do not see. We can’t teach what our followers refuse to learn.”
Buddha replied, “It never ends.”
