Truthfully, I'd really rather not talk about this.  But this is truly historic and not saying anything, especially after all of my rants and tirades against the president, could be taken as a statement in and of itself.  You have to say something.

To be clear, the reason I'd rather not talk about this is because so much is being said elsewhere - the media is saturated with editorials, commentary, punditry, tweets, and satire. My words would be at best redundant, at worst derivative.  Others have more and better informed things to say about yesterday's impeachment, and I sincerely doubt that you are lacking for access to opinions on this situation.

Back in the first decade of this 21st Century, back when I used to give regular dharma talks at the Zen Center, I often used Donald Trump as an example of the first noble truth, of the existence of suffering.  Back then, Trump was a B-list celebrity, a New York real estate tycoon and the host of a reality game show.  But despite all of his riches, I'd point out, he still seemed unhappy.  "He has all the money one could want," I'd point out, "and yet he always looks like he's miserable."  His petty grievances, his ill temper, his intolerance - these were not the marks of a satisfied human being. "He's one of the last people I'd want to be," I'd say.

Suffering, the Buddha taught, is not having what one wants and also having what one does not want. In other words, suffering is desire and craving, both to have some things and to avoid some others. Trump's apparent unhappiness indicated that his particular suffering was due to wanting still more than the abundant riches he already had, and his profound dissatisfaction with that which he did possess.  

On the other hand, Trump posed a conundrum when it came to the concept of karma.  Even back then, it was common knowledge that he was a ruthless and untrustworthy businessman, prone to bankruptcy, cheating and scandal.  There was little doubt that he had hurt a great many people along the way, and that he had lied, stolen, and connived his way into great wealth  And yet, despite all of the negative karma he must have accrued, he was still rich and still lived in luxury.  Is he somehow immune to karma, or do I not understand how karma works?  Or was I wrong about the things I'd assumed he had done to earn bad karma?

Since entering politics and assuming the presidency, Trump's bad actions have been well documented - children in cages, fraudulent charities, cutting off aid to the poor and needy, insults to the weak, the hurt, and the disenfranchised,.  So where are the karmic consequences of these actions?  How can he still be rich and even more famous and powerful than before?

And then I remember that this is a misunderstanding not only of karma but of the first noble truth.  It is incorrect to think that having wealth is a sign of good karma or that being poor indicates bad karma.  Believing the first is a sort of Buddhist equivalent of Christian "prosperity gospel" ("Look at how rich I am.  The Lord must surely love me!").  Believing the second leads to one of the criticisms often leveled against   Buddhism - a lack of sympathy or empathy for the poor, the wretched, the sick, on the basis that their maladies must be the karmic result of wicked actions in their past. No, being rich is not the absence of suffering based on good karma, just as the absence or wealth is not the same as suffering or the result of bad karma.

If we look clearly, we can see the karmic price that Trump is paying, even now, for his actions.  The man is manifestly unfulfilled and unhappy.  He needs to hold seemingly endless rallies among his faithful supporters to boost his self-esteem and confidence.  His angry tweets and constant feuding with anyone who dares to criticize him demonstrates a profound discontent with both himself and the world around him.  He has alienated himself from the international community, multiple branches of the federal government over which he presides, and even most of his own staff, who routinely get fired and replaced at his whim.  He is secluded and lonely, seemingly trusting only of his own immediate family and the most servile and obsequious of advisers.  

And now he is blemished with the brand of impeachment, his failed presidency forever to be remembered as among the worst in American history.

I still don't want to be him.