Soul Fire

"While the fire within may burn brightly, a match works better for lighting a one-hitter."
Central to The Chemical Buddha's belief system was the thought that we were all enlightened. Most of us just needed some outside help. (Or just needed to ingest some outside help.) While TCB was often criticized for not following the teachings learned over thousands of years of meditative practice, nothing could be further from the truth. He just thought he could add his own twist to boost everyone's consciousness. He saw his charge as evolving meditation and Buddhism. Since the beginning of time everything has changed. His brand of Bud-dhism seemed like the next step combining what Buddha started 2,500 years ago that the hippies tweaked in the late 1960s. If he got laid and was able to cash in along the way, all the better.
How have you changed during your life?
How have you stayed the same?
Are you the person you want to be?
What needs to change in your life to become that person?

This Bud's For You

"You can’t spell Buddha without 'bud'."
It’s hard to describe how excited The Chemical Buddha was when he came to this realization. It was as if the universe was confirming he was on the right path. For a brief period of time he started calling him self The Chemical Bud-ha. But everyone just thought he had a speech impediment and made fun of him. So he resorted to just telling this insight to everyone. He even went so far as to put it on his business cards. (Which he mostly put in fishbowls at restaurants to try and win a free meal. But he couldn't even manage to do that. Even if his card was the only one in the fish bowl.) There are no known reports on what he thought the universe was trying to tell him when that happened.
Do you believe in destiny?
If so, do you try to find things to justify what happened or what you did?
How do you think you got to where you are in your life?
Was it by accident? Was it planned? Or was it some combination of both?

Let go

"Dying is easy. Living is hard."
Everywhere The Chemical Buddha went people seemed to be worried about or avoiding the thought of dying. To TCB, dying would take care of itself. It would happen when it happened, so why worry about it? He thought living was the thing most people seemed to struggle with. They seemed to be afraid of living. Holding back. Not engaging fully. Putting themselves into a box. Hopefully, by now, you've learned that The Chemical Buddha threw himself into life. He wanted to partake in any and everything. Whether that meant injecting, ingesting or intercoursing. Oftentimes, he ended up infected and infirmed, but he would say that was just a part of the rich tapestry of life.
What is your approach to life?
What are your thoughts on death?
Do you spend more time thinking about living or dying?
What do you need to do to live more?
What do you need to do to prepare for death?

I Know That I Don't Know

“The only thing that exceeds what I don’t know is what I think I know.”
The Chemical Buddha was a master of many things. Check that, he thought he was a master of many things. Especially sex. But trust us, he wasn’t an expert on anything sex related outside of how to get himself off the quickest. Of course, TCB thought the fact that he knew that there were things he didn’t know made him wiser. (This thinking is also what led to today’s insight.) His knowing of his lack of knowledge may or may not have made him wiser. We just know he didn’t seem to be taking any steps towards increasing what he knew. None. At all. Especially about what it took to please someone else. Bastard.
What do you think you know?
When you learn you don’t know, do you try to learn more or are you satisfied with your level of knowledge?
What one thing would you like to know more about? What steps are you taking to learn more?

Best. Drug. Ever.

“O.D. on pure awareness.”
The only time The Chemical Buddha had a drug overdose was the moment right before he died. But because TCB, along with other Buddhists, believed everything happened in our awareness, he likened enlightenment to an overdose of 100% pure awareness. And to partake in pure awareness was the best high imaginable. Although, like any pure drug, the high was hard to maintain so you would eventually come down. Because humans weren’t meant to take in that much juice. If they were, they wouldn’t be human, they’d be gods (or The Chemical Buddha).
How much are you aware of in your life? Are you aware of the impact you have on others (both good and bad)?
How much of your life do you not participate in? Are you aware of the impact it has on others?

Got a Complex?

“Life is pretty simple. You live. You die.”
The Chemical Buddha liked to keep things simple. Because making things complex was the easiest thing in the world to do. All you had to do was add on more stuff and wah-lah, complexity. Anyone could do that. But stripping things down to its simplest qualities? That’s the realm of the Buddhas (or people who had sacrificed huge parts of their brains to caustic, hallucination inducing chemicals). That, coupled with the fact that TCB could only understand things if they were explained to him like he was a 3-year-old (which mentally he was) helped him keep everything simple. After TCB heard a philosopher wax poetic for a couple of hours on why we’re here and what happens after death, he cut through the complex bullshit and boiled it down to the above insight. Then, because his head hurt from all of the thinking, he took a nap.
What do you make more complex than it needs to be? What do you get out of making things complex?
How can you make your life more simple? And how might that help you?

Put This in Your Bong

“I do not promote enlightenment through Buddhism. I promote enlightenment through Bud-ism.”
Because The Chemical Buddha was a Buddha, people often thought he practiced Buddhism. But nothing could be farther from the truth. TCB focused on the chemical part of his name. While the Buddha’s teaching transformed the unenlightened into the enlightened, The Chemical Buddha preferred to focus on the transformation chemicals could make on one’s life. Mainly because it was a hell of a lot easier than the work of clearing one’s mind of thought with meditation. Anyone who has tried drugs could tell you that any street drug worth a damn would do the same thing. And you could buy drugs in any American town. But there wasn’t a Buddhist temple in every city in America. Not even close. Plus it was a lot easier to get rednecks to smoke pot than it was to meditate. In fact, The Chemical Buddha was surprised the Buddha hadn’t already thought of the whole drug angle. Guess he wasn’t that enlightened after all huh?
Where in your life do you take short cuts/compromise?
How does compromising what you want affect you?
How does not compromising affect you?

Oh Chemical Buddha, I'm Coming!

“What do atheists say when they orgasm?”
Typically, when God fearing people do something that feels really, really good (or get the shit scared out of them) they usually moan, scream or gasp out one word: God. But The Chemical Buddha wondered if atheists non-belief in God applied to those moments too. Did they say God or did they say something else? And if they didn’t say God, could he get them to scream out Chemical Buddha instead? (For some reason, the thought of people in bedrooms everywhere calling out his name appealed to The Chemical Buddha. We can attest that no one ever called out TCB’s name while he was in bed with them. They were most likely to just gasp, ‘Oh God, what have I done?’) Eventually, The Chemical Buddha heard from a friend who, unlike TCB, was actually able to bring an atheist to orgasm, that atheists apparently say ‘yes’, ‘oh yeah’ and even, heaven forbid, ‘God’.
Do you think you’re too different for other people to understand? If so, how does thinking you’re different keep you in your own little world?
What would you have to accept about yourself in order to be understood/accepted by other people?

Die Debt Free

“What they don't say is, you don't take the debt with you either.”
The Chemical Buddha was a fan of the saying, ‘you can’t take it with you.’ Of course, he applied that saying when he was asking people for them to give him their stuff or commenting on a STD he had just given a sex partner. Then, one day after twisting up a fatty of Maui Wowie, this all got turned on its head. It was on this day that TCB realized one of the biggest secrets no one ever talked about was you didn’t take the huge amounts of debt with you either. This insight lead to a massive credit fueled shopping spree that literally stripped the tri-county area of every six pack of Pabst Blue Ribbon, Twinkie and stick of beef jerky. To say he spent it on stuff that had absolutely no value once it was used up would be an understatement. (Unless you count recycling beer cans as value).
What baggage do you carry around with you and how does it affect your life?
Do you see it as a choice to carry it around or do you think you have to carry it? What would it take to change your perspective and truly free yourself from your past?

What'll you Have?

“The best beer is free beer.”
The Chemical Buddha was often asked, "What are you drinking?" To which he replied, "Whatever you’re buying." See, TCB didn’t have an alcohol (or drug or pussy preference). Whatever the universe provided was what he was taking. He didn’t want to refuse the universe and therefore make the universe mad. There’s nothing worse than living in a universe that thinks you’re ungrateful and don’t appreciate the bounty it lays out before you. Of course, this was also the line of thinking TCB tried to use on his ‘monks’ when he would walk around the house naked claiming he had a hard on (it was hard to see under all of his belly rolls). He would say, "Look what the universe has provided. Who wants to take advantage of this bounty?" Another thing you should know about TCB is he considered not answering to be a "Yes." So if you were passed out or too stoned to form a coherent answer, you were about to be filled with enlightenment (as he liked to call it).
What is your view of the universe? Does it provide everything you need? Or do you think it is always testing you or both?
Are you clear with your answers on what you will and will not do? Or do you move through life being taken advantage of and wondering how you got there?

We're Not Talking About Deordorant

“Every saint has a secret.”
The Chemical Buddha loved everyone. He just loved some people less than others. One such group was the hypocritical, holier than thou crowd. People who acted like they were perfect. Like they didn’t have any problems. What TCB discovered is that everyone had a secret. Something from their past they’re not proud of. Even The Chemical Buddha had some things from his past he’d rather people not know about. For instance, toward the end of his life, The Chemical Buddha doubted whether or not he was enlightened. He also worried that people would just think he’d ripped off the Buddha’s thinking and insights. And to be honest, after his passing, we did find a ‘Teachings of the Buddha’ book in his room with certain passages circled. We’re sure that’s just a coincidence though.
Who don’t you like and what is it about them you don’t like?
In what ways are you like the people you don’t like?

Fuel Injection

“Inject a new reality.”
The Chemical Buddha was deathly afraid of needles. And if he were still around to ask, we’re sure he would say it was the needles that killed him and not the heroin. But that takes us away from the lesson of today’s insight. What TCB would want you to take away from this is how he overcame his fear of needles. And by walking through that which terrified him, he was able to experience things he never dreamed imaginable. In fact, he might have never been able to attain the level of enlightenment he eventually reached. Therefore, he would not have become the TCB we all know, love and follow today. Of course, The Chemical Buddha was already really stoned when he first had someone inject him and he squealed like a baby pig, but that’s another story.
What are you afraid to do?
Is it possible you may find something worthwhile on the other side of that fear? Maybe places you never dreamed imaginable?

Zzzzzzz

“The secret to a successful relationship is pretending you’re asleep.”
The Chemical Buddha was involved in some relationships where his partner liked to discuss deep, personal, highly volatile topics right before bed. Topics like: when are you going to pay me? Is that it? Why are you so bad in bed? TCB learned early on that if he pretended to be asleep the expectations of an answer would stop. And so, eventually, would the questions. This did lead to several awkward moments in The Chemical Buddha’s life where he would pretend to be asleep while eating and, on a couple of occasions, driving. His friend actually called an ambulance on him one time when he fell asleep while watching porn. (Which almost never happened.) Even though they didn’t take him to the hospital, he still had to pay the bill.
How do you avoid dealing with things you don’t want to deal with?
And what does it cost you?

Meet Mr. Happy

“We're all fundamentally unhappy.”
The Chemical Buddha couldn’t quite figure people out. Most seemed to focus on what was wrong, rather than what was right. Others seemed to worry more about when the good times would end, rather than enjoying them while they were going on. TCB figured unhappiness was man’s natural state and happiness, therefore, must be the unnatural state. He surmised that we must be fundamentally unhappy. But he couldn’t quite reconcile that with the fact that he spent his waking hours feeling happy. Of course, maybe that was because he was either drunk or stoned most of the time. When he first starting promoting his alternative lifestyle/religion, he made this one of its pillars. But, no matter how unhappy it seemed to make them, most people choose to cling to their current lifestyle.
What do you cling too? Does it make you happy or unhappy?
Would letting go of it free you up for something else or have you convinced yourself it won’t make a difference?

Experts are Idiots. Idiots are Experts.

“No one knows, but we all get to find out.”
The Chemical Buddha wasn’t a big believer in expert advice or professional opinions. People who thought they knew everything were usually proven to not know anything. Because their brains would twist the information to fit what they saw. The ‘experts’ mind/intellect wasn’t open to seeing something new. He preferred the thinking of novices and idiots. They usually had a way of boiling things down into the simplest components. Some would say they were too simple, but TCB found a lot of value in starting there. For the record, The Chemical Buddha never passed himself off as an expert on anything other than himself. He was the only person who knew the most about TCB. That was the reason he was often pissed off when people tried to act like they were an expert on his life and what he should do with it.
What do you know? What don’t you know? What do you think you know?
How well do you know your own life and what motivates you?

Beautiful on the Inside?

“Go ugly early.”
Believe it or not, The Chemical Buddha spent a lot of time in bars. And one of the things he discovered was that ugly women got all the play. While the beautiful ones seemed to just sit in the corner shooting men down, their ugly sisters were getting laid. That’s when the TCB came up with the above insight. He also formed the philosophy that to get the best of the ugly girls you had to make your move early. Before they were snapped up by some better looking guy. This was actually the only way The Chemical Buddha was able to have a chance at getting laid. But if he had to spend money to get them drunk, he would quickly loose interest. The Holy Grail of ugly chicks for him, were the ones that were already drunk. Of course, there was a large likelihood they could turn into emotional baskets cases.
What things about yourself do you consider ‘ugly’?
How do you do to cope with your ‘ugliness’?

Last Dance with Mary Jane

“Pot: smokeable amnesia.”
When The Chemical Buddha was smoking pot he couldn’t remember what he’d just said let alone what he was going to do or what he had been doing. To him, pot was the perfect way to release all attachments to the past. Another benefit is it helped him enjoy every little moment of life. Like the taste, texture and colors of the world around him. And everything he ate was ‘the best ever!’ Of course smoking weed also helped him loose all attachment to getting shit done. Along with any motivation for being successful. So while it was a mixed bag of benefits, The Chemical Buddha thought the positives far outweighed the negatives. But labels like ‘positive’ and ‘negative’ always depended upon your perspective. And what end of the bong you were on.
What do you need to forget?
How would you benefit from slowing down and taking in what the world has to offer?

You Don't Have to go Home, but You Can't Stay Here

“The ultimate last call is death.”
The Chemical Buddha seemed to swing between being on top of the world and a preoccupation with his own mortality. But when he was using, he saw how his view of the world depended entirely upon what chemicals were flowing through his body. So was reality when he was sober or was reality when he was high off his ass? Regardless of which it was, whenever last call/death came, reality, as he knew it ceased. And while there was always a chance he had something at home to keep the party going, once death came, the party was over. His atoms would then disperse and join other parties somewhere else. And the thought of his atoms going to another party without him was enough to make him drink heavily. Although he didn’t give a shit about the atoms he got rid of himself. He was perfectly happy leaving them behind.
How do you feel being left behind?
How do you feel about leaving others behind?

What's Next?

“Always looking for something better.”
The Chemical Buddha had a lot of respect for people who seemed to be content with the simple things. For the boring and mundane things that went on and on and on and on. He, on the other had, was always looking for what was just over the next horizon. He believed it was this quest that allowed us (as a culture) to progress. If we were all happy where we were, new lands would never have been found. Let alone all the amazing sex aids that have been created since man first found the joy of pulling his own crank. And none of the new drugs would have been synthesized. Yes. It was this quest for something better that had the human race stretching beyond what seemed impossible decades earlier. And no matter how unhappy this search made us, it was all worth it.
Are you happy where you are, or do you think the next thing will make you happy?
What is wrong with where you are now? Do you think your search will take you someplace different?

You Like Me. You Really, Really, Like Me.

“Life is the only thing worth living.”
Admittedly, The Chemical Buddha was pretty stoned when he said this because it seems like a pretty obvious duh? But The Chemical Buddha wasn’t so sure it was that easy. To him, it seemed like a lot of people lived their lives for someone else. So he wasn’t sure if that qualified as living or not. But he definitely didn't think so. He preferred to live his life for himself. Although there were times he saw that he had lived to impress others or to try to get other people to like him. And while it did push him to ‘clean up’ his act, it didn’t necessarily make him happy. In fact, he sometimes gave up some pretty important things in order to go after what he wanted. Then, when he got the object of his desire, he missed what he had given up to get it. This created an unending cycle of unhappiness for TCB. So he decided to start living for himself and hoped he would find someone that liked him for him.
Do you think you’re worthy of being loved just as you are? Why or why not?
What have you given up to be loved?