What would Buddha do?

What would Buddha do? A.k.a.: The New Morality.

It's easy to see in a college town, walking distance from the capital of ideas. Obama stickers brazenly shine from every third car, road maps to the university. This New Morality hugs the avenues and alleyways in close proximity of most major campuses. Beards, short shorts, and bikes distinguish the male prophets. Thick, wool hiking socks protrude from functional, sturdy boots. Stout shoes and stout lager.

Not to digress into sweeping stereotypes or fallacious generalizations. The New Morality shouts mainly from bumper stickers. Myriad thoughts drape window corners; many humorous, others intentially offend. The factions are starting to form a party.

What would Buddha do?

A question I was asked to ponder after purchasing my morning ritual. What would Buddha do? If Buddha were around today...Well, history creates our heroes--unique circumstances mold characters destined for their specific time; and their specific time alone. To be fair however, the sticker was largely a humorous/offensive response to a question posed by our more traditional morality: What would Jesus do? In answering, the essence of the rebel Jew's teachings must be gleaned (some fundamentalists might argue their is no "essence", its black and white and should be read that way).

So, to give the question more consideration than perhaps it was asking...

Buddha was both skeptical and practical. His pragmatism had a very real goal: relief. Relief from the suffering of a delusional life. He would seek to detach from identification with this world. In "essence." Not too different from Jesus.

The context in which the sticker was placed proffered a different view. "No, I didn't go to church. I was out practicing witchcraft and becoming a lesbian." The overall message coming from the rear window clearly resisted more traditional American views.

Maybe the owner was thinking like a breakaway Hindu seeker after all. Buddha was a rebel, seeking a different spiritual path from the one his Hindu fathers insisted. Again, not too different from Jesus.

Both spiritual figures sought to reform conventions. Religion is always more than morality, but both legends could be seen as positing a New Morality for their time. So what do the modern prophets tell us?