The Buddha simply intuited his way to enlightenment with no recipe to follow and no black footprints to guide him along the way.

Martin Palmer has suggested that the phrase in the Tao Te Ching, “The Tao that can be said/told is not the eternal Tao,” might better be translated as “A path that can be discerned as a path is not a reliable path.”

This makes instruction in “How to be a Buddhist” completely useless, and those who would teach, instruct, oversee the training and development of those who want to become Buddhists as charlatans and frauds–because the way that can be discerned as the way is not a reliable way.

Which leaves us with dropping into emptiness, stillness, silence, and waiting for clarity and our natural impulse to arise intuitively and guide us along the way to the way in the way the Buddha did it.

Becoming one with our intrinsic, habitual, natural intuition leading us to realization, recognition, enlightenment, awakening is the way of the Buddha. And all those who are dedicated to the task will all arrive there slowly, over time–or suddenly, just like that!

If we let go of theology, doctrine, dharma, dogma, creeds, beliefs, convictions and opinions, and simply sit quietly in emptiness, stillness and silence for twenty or so minutes, twice or more a day, opening ourseves to our intrinsic, habitual intuition, our original nature and our innate virtues (The things we do best and enjoy doing most) in a regular and routine way, and simply see where it goes, we will be amazed, enlightened, awakened, liberated. This is exactly the way the Buddha did it.

Some things can only be known through experience, and being told what is so is not a reliable way of knowing what is so. In opening ourselves to the emptiness, stillness, silence we will be becoming the Buddha (and the Christ) as only we can be–which is all the Buddha and the Christ did in becoming who they were.

Jesus came saying, “You have heard it said, but I say unto you!” The Buddha said, “Do not listen to ME! Listen to YOU!” And Zen tells us, “If you meet the Buddha on the road, kill him!”

We are left with the clear intent of both the Buddha and the Christ being: “Do not allow the Buddha or the Christ keep you from being the Buddha and the Christ you are capable of being by being who you are!” By the way we go about living our life in the time left for living!