Two separate stories about Donald Trump in yesterday’s paper caught my attention.
First, the president is contesting a judicial decision – which is his right – to invalidate a contract he negotiated with his subordinates to give him favorable treatment under federal tax law and to send $1.8 billion of the American people’s money to his political loyalists.
Secondly, his private business – Truth Social, a website – started to charge money for those with money to get private notice of Trump’s posts on the site before they are published to the general public. Since Trump has the public – not private – office of president of the United States, his website posts can move financial markets up or down. Those market speculators – if they pay Trump – can now buy or sell securities before interest rates or the prices of securities can adjust to the new market guestimates of the future triggered by Trump’s posts. Thus, the fee-paying speculators can beat the market and make good money quickly for themselves, all thanks to paying Trump for advance notice of market-making events.
This is, in essence, a form of trading on inside information, which is illegal under American securities law.
Yahweh, the God of the Hebrew Old Testament, did not like it when leaders took advantage of their positions to take care of themselves and not the people. In Ezekiel 34, we read:
“Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel; prophesy, and say to them, … Thus says the Lord God: Ah, shepherds of Israel who have been feeding yourselves! Should not shepherds feed the sheep? … Behold, I am against the shepherds, …”
What sort of a man is Trump who, seemingly, can’t be a good shepherd caring first and foremost for the well-being of the flock placed under his stewardship?
A Buddhist tradition provides clarity about his character. Trump suffers from an affliction of emotions. These are called “kleshas’ in Buddhism. They are character defects arising from dysfunctional mindfulness.
Nine of the ten kleshas are:
1. Greed
2. Hatred
3. Delusion
4. Conceit
5. Wrong views
6. Doubt/uncertainty
7. Restlessness
8. Shamelessness
9. Recklessness
Put all these personality characteristics in one person and you will have someone very much like Donald Trump.
The Dalai Lama teaches us how to ward off the kleshas and become better, happier people. According to Claude AI:
The Dalai Lama describes these afflicting emotions as mental states that disturb the mind’s peace and lead to suffering – for oneself and others.
The Dalai Lama frequently stresses that afflicting emotions are not intrinsic to the mind – they’re adventitious, meaning they arise from causes and conditions and can therefore be reduced or eliminated. This is a message of hope: the mind’s basic nature is not anger or hatred, so these states can be unlearned.
He often teaches that you can oppose or work to dissolve an afflicting emotion (like anger) without rejecting the person who’s experiencing it – a distinction useful both in one’s own inner life and in relating to others.
In more contemporary talks and collaborations (like his conversations with psychologists such as Paul Ekman and Daniel Goleman), he’s translated these ideas into the language of “emotional hygiene” – the idea that just as we maintain physical hygiene, we can train the mind to recognize afflicting emotions as they arise, create space before reacting and gradually weaken their grip through sustained practice.
He teaches that reasoning and analysis – not just calming the mind – are essential tools. Investigating the emotion itself (where does anger come from? what is it actually pointing at?) can loosen its power over us.