The Response of the Smiling Buddha 

I sit and watch as I have

For generations of men,

And see the pain and suffering

That binds all men to this

Wheel of birth and death.

Do not listen with your ears,

Or see with your eyes,

For then your senses will reveal

This crumbling form, which looks

As though it has abandoned

The lamentable world of men.

I am one with the world, and have

Come back to guide those who

Seek the truth.  Already, you

Have begun this journey, searching

For answers within the endless

Rolling of the great wheel.

Peace is found when seeing past

The chaos and despair you

Reach toward those who seek

Your aid and compassion.

Go now, and with a smiling

Countenance renounce the world

To aid your fellow man.

Meanwhile, leave me here to moulder,

As I crumble into the oblivion

That you see around you.  My time

Has come, and I am serene. 

The wheel turns, and I turn with it;

Go now, seeker after truth:

Turn with the wheel and become

One with it, smiling.