The Coffee with . . . series allows experts and disciples to conduct hypothetical, enlightening interviews with individuals who have shaped the modern world. From religion to art to popular culture, these figures would have much to say regarding the current state of the world.

The earth trembles. Lions, tigers, and scorpions grow tame. Humans shower one another with kindness. Such marvels herald a wondrous event: Siddhartha Gautama, known as The Buddha. What knowledge would such a sage have to impart? The Way of the Bodhisattva becomes clear as The Buddha speaks here about suffering and the hardships of life (reminding us that help is always near), impermanence, reincarnation, karma, desire, morality, mindfulness, compassion, love, and the body. Joan Duncan Oliver—editorial director of the One Spirit book club and contributor to “Tricycle: The Buddhist Review”—conducts the “interview,” while singer/composer Annie Lennox, a practicing Buddhist, provides the enlightening preface.