If Buddhism has taught me anything, it's that you can't engineer happiness. Real joy in this life comes only by a wholehearted engagement with emptiness. Any attempts to engender joy, no matter how valiant, are ultimately impermanent. Institutions wither, people die, and the enthusiasm that burns so brightly at the heart of many social programs ultimately burns out. Worse, no intentional act, no matter how pure in intention, is wholly wholesome in its impact.

I remember when I was a kid and working at a coffee shop. This well dressed, well spoken man used to come in all the time. Apparently he used to be a doctor in the country he grew up in. His medical license didn't transfer, so now he was studying up to take his exams in America. The man was a saint. He was kind, generous in spirit, and just a pleasure to be around. He once was named Mr. Barbados back in his home country and was very interested in bodybuilding and weightlifting - an interest I shared with him. Everyday he'd come in and ask me how my workouts were going. He even came to see me lift a few times at some powerlifting meets.

I saw this guy pretty much everyday for a year. One day he comes up to me and says that he needs me to proctor a test for him. I agree. He tells me, "don't worry about me cheating, I'm a Jehovah's Witness. We don't cheat!" I was flabbergasted by his admission. If you know anything about this sect of Christianity, you'll know that bearing witness - essentially proselytizing - is at the heart of their practice. I never heard him mention a peep about it. I asked him about it. "Good sir," he says to me, "do you think I would cheat?" I tell him no. "Do you think I am a good man?" I said of course. "Are you happy to see me when I come in?" Absolutely, I said. "That is my witness. That is my light of Christ."

Atta dipa. Be your own light. We can only illuminate our own way and let that brightness shine on the paths of others.

If Buddhism has taught me anything, it's that you can't engineer happiness. Real joy in this life comes only by a wholehearted engagement with emptiness. Any attempts to engender joy, no matter how valiant, are ultimately impermanent. Institutions wither, people die, and the enthusiasm that burns so brightly at the heart of many social programs ultimately burns out. Worse, no intentional act, no matter how pure in intention, is wholly wholesome in its impact.

I remember when I was a kid and working at a coffee shop. This well dressed, well spoken man used to come in all the time. Apparently he used to be a doctor in the country he grew up in. His medical license didn't transfer, so now he was studying up to take his exams in America. The man was a saint. He was kind, generous in spirit, and just a pleasure to be around. He once was named Mr. Barbados back in his home country and was very interested in bodybuilding and weightlifting - an interest I shared with him. Everyday he'd come in and ask me how my workouts were going. He even came to see me lift a few times at some powerlifting meets.

I saw this guy pretty much everyday for a year. One day he comes up to me and says that he needs me to proctor a test for him. I agree. He tells me, "don't worry about me cheating, I'm a Jehovah's Witness. We don't cheat!" I was flabbergasted by his admission. If you know anything about this sect of Christianity, you'll know that bearing witness - essentially proselytizing - is at the heart of their practice. I never heard him mention a peep about it. I asked him about it. "Good sir," he says to me, "do you think I would cheat?" I tell him no. "Do you think I am a good man?" I said of course. "Are you happy to see me when I come in?" Absolutely, I said. "That is my witness. That is my light of Christ."

Atta dipa. Be your own light. We can only illuminate our own way and let that brightness shine on the paths of others. What will be your witness? How will your light shine in the world?