Buddha Buys a Chai

The date is 528 BCE. Siddhartha Gautama walks up to a little square with a bodhi tree. Before sitting down to meditate, he stops by a local chai vendor and has a cup of tea. He sits there staring into his chai and contemplating life. He finishes his chai and proceeds to lean up against the tree to meditate. The rest is history, which has influenced and impacted billions of people throughout the world for thousands of years.

Now, imagine the time chain of Bitcoin transactions has existed for millennia, so every transaction ever conducted with what everyone considers to be money is recorded in the Bitcoin blockchain. So here we are two thousand years later, and we can see that Buddha bought a chai at 12:38 pm on May 5, 528 BCE.

So fucking what?

This might be an unpopular view in the Bitcoin community, where the permanent, immutable recording of transactions is seen as some ultimate form of truth. With the Bitcoin blockchain, we have the only time in history when we have an accurate record of many humans’ series of economic transactions. But to refer to that as “truth” devalues at least what I mean by that term. So, is knowing what Jesus paid for a glass of wine in a Jerusalem café what you think is important about “truth”? I don’t give a shit what Jesus’ or Buddha’s favorite beverage was. I’m interested in what they said that can point me to Truth with a capital T. And that you will not find on a time chain of transactions.

It is critically important to distinguish between economic affairs and their transactions and the search for deeper wisdom. This is not to suggest they are not connected. As I argue in my book, Money, Love, and Bitcoin: Creating a Path to a Freer, Fairer, and More Peaceful World, without a monetary system of honesty and integrity, it is difficult to build systems and structures on a solid foundation that allow us all to have our contributions, property, and potential to be honored and respected.

Having the first-ever transparent, immutable, and permanent record of a substantial component of human activity is phenomenal. History, as they say, has otherwise been written by the victors. A record of transactions can give us clues to the unfolding of events. An immutable record is extraordinarily valuable in thwarting attempts to rewrite history, as is often done by the victors or those whose actions might not always be viewed in a favorable light.

But who bought or claimed ownership of a castle, a kingdom, or a corporation does not tell us the why or how of it, only the what. Whats are important, but whys even more so. What we do in our lives is not so much a secret, but why we do it often is, sometimes even to ourselves.

Knowing Buddha bought a chai does not reveal the reason we know of the existence of the Buddha. Why we know of the Buddha, Jesus Christ, Plato, Lao Tzu, Mohammed, or any of the sages of the wisdom traditions of humanity is not disclosed by the economic transactions they engaged in, but rather the Truths they explored and the wisdom they imparted to all those who also seek to understand these Truths.

As we explore new systems and structures for humanity, both economic and beyond, it is important to distinguish between the many layers of human activity and their significance in life.

Knowing the date and purchase price of a purple sapphire engagement ring made in Nepal that I bought for my beloved doesn’t reveal the depth of our relationship, our love, or what this ring symbolizes. We may infer certain things from the economic transaction, but we can never grasp the truth of what truly matters about it. One can never understand love through a ledger.

As we consider what Bitcoin can do and what it can’t, let’s ensure we distinguish what is important in the realm of the market and economics from what is important in the Truth of life. Failing to do so will likely result in repeating the mistakes of past and current political and economic systems. If we envision these systems with clarity of the deeper Truth of life, then we are on a clearer path to create a freer, fairer, more peaceful, and loving world. So go read what Buddha taught and don’t be fascinated by what he bought.