Hayes returned to the United States with his wife, Rumiko, in late 1980 when his Japan residency visa expired, and began teaching and authoring numerous books and magazine articles.
[16] Hayes acted in the 1980 television miniseries Shogun[17] and in 2004 was featured in the Discovery Channel documentary Unsolved History regarding ninja and their practices.
[19] He apprenticed under Dr. Clark Jikai Choffy, an ordained Tendai priest and personal disciple of Jion Haba, the bishop of Tokyo's Reisho-in temple.
[19] Hayes has founded a Buddhist Order based on his teachings and experiences with Tibetan Buddhism and Tendai, called the Blue Lotus Assembly.
During a conference in the United States when the Dalai Lama learned that he had received the 1989 Nobel Peace Prize Hayes assisted with the unexpected security concerns as reporters arrived.
[21] For many years in the 1990s, Hayes served as the Dalai Lama's personal protection escort and security adviser, especially during visits to the United States.