Why are we not Buddhas yet?

An investigation into time, metrics, and practice

By Lama Federico Andino

(from a talk on Turning the Wheel of Dharma)

The Fake Mala and the Awkward Question

I was recently at a family gathering. My mother, trying to start a conversation with a gentleman of Chinese origin, proudly mentioned that her son—that is, me—was Buddhist. The gentleman, very serious, looked at me and flatly denied any such possibility.

"No, he can't be a Buddhist," he declared. "First, I saw him eating meat. And second, he's Argentinian."

I intervened, trying to explain that Tibetan Buddhism includes eating meat and that nationality is not an impediment to enlightenment. But the man, looking at my mala (Buddhist rosary), insisted:

—That necklace must be fake.

My mother looked at me worriedly: "Is your mala fake?" I laughed. How can a mala be fake? As long as it has beads and can be used to count breaths, it's real. But for that man, everything was fake because I didn't fit his idealized and rigid image of what a Buddhist should be.

That anecdote, though amusing, hides a profound symptom that I confirmed on my recent trip to Portland, Oregon. There, surrounded by the "Buddhist industry," a woman said something to me that chilled me to the bone:

—I don't know why we practice so much, if we're never going to be Buddhas anyway. The time of the Buddhas has passed.

This statement is the heart of this writing. Is it true? Are we condemned to practice eternally without ever reaching the goal? Or have we perhaps lost our way?

The Two Extremes of the Pendulum

In contemporary Buddhism, especially in the West, we find ourselves caught between two extreme and dangerous positions.

On one hand, we have Discursive Enlightenment . This is the "I am Buddha because I say so" stance. We see people who proclaim themselves enlightened, prophets, or Rinpoches based purely on rhetoric. It's the "Shri Shri Shri" syndrome, where enlightenment is a self-invented title of nobility used to gain status. There is no evidence, no support, only ego disguised as dharma.

On the other hand, there is Historical Defeatism . This is the stance of that woman in Portland: "There are no more Buddhas. Monks have scandals, teachers fail, so enlightenment is a myth of the past." This is just as harmful because it turns the practice into an empty ritual, with no hope of bearing fruit.

If Buddhism is a path, it must have a destination. If we remove the destination, we are simply walking in circles.

Sakya Pandita, one of the great sages of Tibetan Buddhism, conducted a chronological analysis of Buddhist literature. He asked: How long does it take, on average, for a person to become enlightened through serious practice? The answer is not "never," nor "three lifetimes," nor "instantly." The average is twelve years .

Twelve years. That's the time it takes to complete a university degree and postgraduate studies. It's a manageable amount of time. So, if we've been practicing for twenty or thirty years, why aren't we Buddhas yet? The answer is that perhaps we aren't measuring our progress.

The "Budometer" and the Science of Practice

As a scientist and researcher, as well as a Lama, I am interested in what we can prove. I am not interested in dialectical arguments about who is holier. I am interested in knowing if the "medicine" of the Dharma is working.

All Buddhist schools, whether Zen, Theravada, or Vajrayana, have their own maps. They have what I jokingly call a "Buddhist-o-meter." These are generally based on the Bhumis (levels or lands). To simplify and make it universal, together with the Conecta Foundation and the Vajrakula Foundation, we are developing progression metrics. We have identified three major stages that every practitioner must pass through. If you want to know why you are not progressing, you need to know which stage you are at.

Stage 1: Entry and Adherence

This is the beginner stage, the "Buddhist-curious" stage. Here, the person approaches Buddhism perhaps seeking peace, or because they like the aesthetics, or because they want to suffer less.

The only measurable factors in this phase are habits and impulsiveness . The goal of this stage is not to have mystical visions, but to achieve adherence .

• Are you able to sit down to meditate every day or only when you feel like it?

• Can you quit addictive behaviors? If you smoke a pack a day, can you cut down to half?

• Can you recognize what is good and follow it, and recognize what is bad and leave it?

The biggest obstacle here is inconsistency. Many people get stuck at this stage for decades because they only practice when conditions are ideal.

Stage 2: Stability, Causes and Conditions

Once discipline is established, we enter the stability phase. Here, we no longer struggle to sit on the cushion; we sit because it's what we do.

But a new challenge arises: Interdependence . In Stage 1, one is concerned with one's practice. In Stage 2, one realizes that one cannot practice in a vacuum. If you eat poorly, you meditate poorly. If your environment is violent, your mind is agitated. If beings suffer, you suffer.

Here we measure resilience , which is the true test. I ask my students: "Your grandmother died three months ago... Did you meditate that day? Your partner left you... Did you practice that day?" If the answer is "no, I was very sad," you're still in Stage 1. The Stage 2 practitioner meditates especially when the world is falling apart. The Buddha meditated until the day he died.

This is where we integrate ethics with reality. It's the dilemma of the Buddhist soldier or the police officer: How do I uphold my vows of non-harm in a hostile environment? There are no easy answers, but simply holding the question and the practice amidst the chaos is a sign of progress.

Stage 3: Yogic Integration

This is the advanced stage. Here, the practitioner no longer "does" Buddhism; Buddhism

It does so to him. It is what in Zen is called "one taste": Samsara and Nirvana cease to be distinct.

Paradoxically, although this stage is very spiritual, it has very clear biological and physical metrics, often called Siddhis or achievements.

• Tumo: In Vajrayana, we can measure with a thermometer whether a practitioner can raise their body temperature at will. It is a physical fact.

• Lucid Dreams: We can measure whether a person has conscious control while sleeping (moving their eyes in specific patterns during the REM phase).

• Samadhi: We can measure how many hours a person can remain absolutely motionless, without moving a muscle, in meditative absorption.

In stories like Journey to the West or the biographies of Milarepa, we see these abilities. They aren't fairytale magic; they are technologies of consciousness. If you've been practicing for 30 years and you still have no control over your dreams or your emotional/physical temperature, perhaps you haven't reached this stage.

The Happiness Trap

Someone asked me during the talk: "Teacher, I've always heard that you have to practice without expectations. Isn't measuring progress creating expectations?"

That's a great question. And the answer is a paradox. At first, in Stage 1, you should practice without expectations, just to tame the mind. But if you continue practicing "without seeking anything" after 20 years, you become a spiritual tourist.

Buddhism isn't about being happy. If you're looking to feel good, relaxed, and happy, you're seeking a better Samsara . You're decorating your prison cell. Buddhism is a path to the death of the ego and liberation from confusion. It's revolutionary. If your practice only helps you better tolerate the stress of your job or ignore a violent protest in the street, it's not Dharma, it's anesthesia.

You have to go to the edge . Like in yoga: the real work happens just before the stretch becomes painful. In meditation, you must go where the fear is, where the discomfort is. If there's a violent march, meditate on the march. If there's noise at home, integrate the noise.

Find your map

Why aren't we Buddhas? Because we often don't know there's a path. Because we get lost in the noise of the internet, where we're told to take mushrooms, pray to Shiva, or buy a mindfulness course for executives.

My advice is simple: go back to your school, whatever it may be, and find its traditional map. Figure out where you stand: Are you in the adherence stage, the stability stage, or the yogic stage? Don't skip steps, and above all, stop seeking comfort.

It is possible. Not in three immeasurable eons, but in this lifetime. But it requires that we stop playing at being Buddhists and start training like Buddhas.

Turning the Wheel of Dharma, November 21, 2025.

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