Back

Explore every episode of the podcast Endless Path Zendo | Roshi Rafe Martin

Dive into the complete episode list for Endless Path Zendo | Roshi Rafe Martin. Each episode is cataloged with detailed descriptions, making it easy to find and explore specific topics. Keep track of all episodes from your favorite podcast and never miss a moment of insightful content.

Rows per page:

1–50 of 123

TitlePub. DateDuration
Karma, World Cycles, Vows, and the Tigress24 Oct 202600:53:41

Recorded October 24, 2026.

Long ago, world ages back, we humans got so clever we created a nifty trick. We figured out how to forget or suppress our Original Mind and Fundamental Vow to liberate all beings. With this trick we were able to gather all kinds of goodies for ourselves. Unfortunately, there were unforeseen side-effects: isolation, cosmic loneliness, and the whole catastrophe that Buddhism sums up as greed, anger, and ignorance — which we see playing out in our world today.

Jataka tales present the Buddha’s personal past-life history as he worked to undo our self-created catastrophe and come home to Original Mind and Fundamental Vow. They are a skillful means gifted to us by the Buddha to help us do what he did. It won’t be quick or easy — as the jatakas show. It took even him countless lifetimes. And it all began with a Vow made countless world cycles ago. 

Is this mere imagination? Is imagination “mere”? Isn’t the Vow of the Bodhisattva to liberate all beings, down even to the bushes and last blade of grass, an immense, indeed, overwhelming act . . . of Imagination. Blake wrote, “The Imagination is not a State: it is the Human existence itself.” Buddhas on altars, sutras, teishos, koans, ceremonies, jatakas, thangkas maintain the Dharma treasure. By awakening not just our intellects but our imaginations, they move us from simple belief to ongoing practice-realization. Flattening out the “mythic” element flattens Zen itself.

_____

Galaxy painting by Rafe Martin.



Bodhidharma and Peace of Mind03 Oct 202600:37:55

Recorded October 3, 2026.

Case no. 41 Gateless Barrier: 

Bodhidharma sat facing the wall. Huike, the Second Ancestor, having cut off his arm, stood in the snow and said, “Your disciple’s mind has no peace as yet. I beg you, master, to please put it to rest.”

Bodhidharma said, “Bring me your mind, and I will put it to rest.” 

The Second Ancestor said, “I have searched for my mind, but I cannot find it.” 

Bodhidharma said, “Then I have completely put it to rest for you.”

The koan of Bodhidharma and his heir, Huike, plunges us into the heart of it: we are not at peace. How can we find peace? Huike’s request for help is to the point. The Buddha’s teaching, has not lost its relevance. At some point, we all come to recognize the difficulties and challenges of this life and are troubled. All we need do is, as Bodhidharma says to Huike, is bring forth our troubled mind so it can be pacified. That shouldn’t be too hard to do, should it? Ha!


Books — “The Three Pillars of Zen” — Philip Kapleau


Photo — Bodhidharma Altar, Oct 2026, Endless Path Zendo



Zen Failure and Creativity26 Sep 202600:47:25

Recorded 9/26/2026.

In this lively, enjoyable teisho, Roshi Martin edits on the fly from the final two short chapters of his book, A Zen Life of Bodhisattvas — “Zen Failure” and “Painting of a Rice Cake: Creative Imagination and the Way of the Bodhisattva.”

From “Zen Failure:” “Quantum theory suggests that each moment arises out of a field of endless possibility and has, in turn, endless lines of possibility extending from it. All such possible lines collapse into the one line we call “reality.” Ordinary reality then, is the perfect expression of Zen Master Wu-men’s (Mumon’s) statement —“The failure is wonderful indeed!” The red of the apple, the taste of this tea, the blue of the sky, the smile of a child — the failure IS wonderful indeed!”

From “Painting of a Rice Cake:” “We create our real lives out of the imagination, something that athletes may know better than scholars. If you want to swim better, visualize yourself in the pool, the water flowing smoothly past, the chiming, churning sound of that flow, the kick of your legs, the perfect effortless stroke. Get in the pool afterward and — you swim better! What happens in the imagination makes us who we are. . .”

Web article:
https://sweetcakeenso.blogspot.com/2010/09/rafe-martin-on-gabyo-zen-master-dogens.html

Teeny Tiny Tower: archival print by Ariya Martin (the artist Ariya Aladjem Wolf)



Are Trees Bodhisattvas?12 Sep 202600:51:48

Recorded September 12, 2026.

In this latest teisho (Zen talk) Roshi Martin, reads, comments on, and edits on the fly Chapter 11 —“The Bodhisattva Saves the Realm as the Consciousness of a Tree” from his book, “A Zen Life of Bodhisattvas” (Sumeru, 2023).

“You and the tree in your backyard come from a common ancestor. A billion and a half years ago, the two of you parted ways. But even now, after an immense journey in separate directions, that tree and you still share a quarter of your genes.” Richard Powers, quoting Canadian botanist Suzanne Simard in “The Overstory: A Novel”

“In the assemblies of the enlightened ones there have been many cases of mastering the Way bringing forth the hearts of plants and trees; this is what awakening the mind for enlightenment is like.” Zen Master Dogen

Through root systems, leaves, and fungal webs every tree is woven into a planetary web of life that enfolds the body of the Earth, as well as endlessly up into the light of sun, moon, and stars. So, where does a tree’s body and consciousness end?

How might a tree use its expansive consciousness to fulfill the three general resolutions of bodhisattvas to — “do good, avoid evil, and save the many beings”?

Listen to this unique teisho and find out!

Referenced: "The Overstory: A Novel," Richard Powers


Painting: "Trees at Night, West Branch St. Regis River" by Rafe Martin



Fugen, Tree Bodhisattvas, Creativity and Zen08 Aug 202600:54:33

Recorded on August 8, 2026.

This teisho is a potpourri made up of 3 shorter sections from "A Zen Life of Bodhisattvas" — namely a folktale of Fugen Bosatsu, a jataka tale of the Buddha in a past life when he was the consciousness of a tree, and a short piece on Zen, Creativity, and imagination all read aloud and commented on by their author, Roshi Rafe Jnan Martin. 

Tree painting by Rafe Martin 


Read Roshi Rafe Martin's latest book:  Finding Your Buddha Smile: Coming Home To What Zen is Really All About.  Available from Amazon , Sumeru Books, and Barnes & Noble Online.



The Buddha Makes a Mistake01 Aug 202600:54:11

Recorded 08/01/2026.

What does it mean to be human? Does the form of having two feet, legs, eyes, and ears, a nose, brain, and heart sum it up? If so there are billions of us. But if by “human” we mean someone wise and compassionate, not driven by greed, anger, ignorance, or fear; someone who can be counted on when the going gets rough, then that number may be rather small. What does it take to be or become such a genuinely human, human being? 

The Buddha in a distant past life was on the path of becoming fully human — that is, he was on the Way of the Bodhisattva — when a wrong choice led to an unexpected life. What did he do? How did he resolve it? What did he learn and how does knowing any of this help us? Give a listen and you’ll see why the image of a whale accompanies this teisho.

Books:

  • A Zen Life of Bodhisattvas -- Rafe Martin
  • Carnivore Minds -- G.A. Bradshaw
  • The Three Pillars of Zen -- Philip Kapleau
  • The Poetry and Prose of William Blake -- David Erdman, ed. 

Photo of John Perry sperm whale sculpture by Rafe Martin



A Dream Within A Dream25 Jul 202600:53:41

Recorded July 25, 2026.

Case no. 25, Gateless Barrier: “Yang-shan’s Sermon From the Third Seat” is as follows:

Yang-shan dreamed he went to Maitreya’s realm and was led to the third seat. A senior monk struck the stand with a gavel and announced, “Today the monk in the third seat will preach.”

Yang-shan rose, struck the stand with the gavel, and said, “The Dharma of the Mahayana is beyond the Four Propositions and transcends the Hundred Negations. Listen, listen.”


Why does Master Wu-men, creator of the Gateless Barrier, use a story of an old teacher’s dream as a koan? Koans present actual words and doings. But this is just a dream. What value could it have?

Roshi Kapleau used to say that enlightenment is a dream. After all, enlightenment is simply the realization of our own Mind, the selfless Mind that’s been ours from the beginning. What are we going to get with enlightenment that we don't already have? The problem is that we don't know it. So, while lost in dreams, we should not discount the dream’s value. Bob Dylan says “I’ll let you be in my dream if I can be in yours.” (“Talking World War III Blues.” Dreams within dreams. Within a dream.

Roshi Kapleau used to relate how, not long after he’d arrived at Hosshinji Monastery a monk asked him, “Kapleau-san. Do you believe in dreams?” He told us that it took many years of Zen practice before he grasped what that monk was getting at. Do you believe in dreams? Who is it that believes in dreams? There is a dream dreaming dreams. Is it wrong that our life is a dream? With this dream scenario, Yang-shan and Wu-men have found a way to pull the wool not over, but off our eyes. This is a pretty good trick, wouldn’t you say?

Book: Zen Life of Bodhisattvas by Rafe Martin

Photo of Hotei at Endless Path Zendo by Rafe Martin



Bodhisattva of Great Compassion11 Jul 202600:34:56

Recorded on July 11, 2026.

Asked to write something about the Bodhisattva of Great Compassion, Hakuin penned: “Even if the rivers and seas all receded and became dry land,/ Her vow to save all sentient beings still would never cease.” In other words even if the world turns upside down and seas become mountains and mountains seas, (which has actually happened), even if what is beyond imagining occurs, even, then, the Bodhisattva of Great Compassion will not fall into thinking only of her self but will remain dedicated to the welfare of All — so deep and fundamental is her Great Vow. 

Zen practice doesn’t care who we know or what our salary or social standing might be. It’s an iron mountain or, as Western fairy tales have it, a glass hill. We try, we fail, we try again. Through trying, failing, getting back up and trying again, Zen practice becomes genuine and we ourselves, authentic, authentically ourselves. Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva’s own great Vow matured through such heart-felt failure — which is rather hopeful indeed. 

Books —

  • Complete Poison Blossoms from a Thicket of Thorn — Norman Waddell
  • A Zen Life of Bodhisattvas — Rafe Martin


Photo — detail: Avalokitesvara thangka at Endless Path Zendo by Rafe Martin



The Zen Buddhist Precepts and Living Our Zen06 Jun 202600:51:32

Recorded June 6, 2026.

In preparation for the Jukai (receiving the precepts) on 6/20/2026, before leaving for the American Zen Teachers Association gathering, Roshi Martin read and commented on Aitken Roshi’s opening chapter of “The Mind of Clover: Essays in Zen Buddhist Ethics” — “The Nature of the Precepts.” Here’s that teisho, as presented at Endless Path Zendo on 6/06/2026. 

Books -- "The Mind of Clover" by Robert Aitken


Photo of Aitken Roshi at Palolo Zen Center, Honolulu, HI. 



Manjusri Fails!30 May 202600:42:40

Recorded 5/30/2026.

Wu-men’s commentary to Case 42 of The Gateless Barrier, “Manjusri and the Young Woman in Samadhi” says

“The comedy Old Shakya puts on the stage here is a great hodgepodge. Just tell me now; Manjusri is the teacher of the Seven Buddhas – why couldn’t he get the young woman out of her samadhi, when the Bodhisattva of Delusive Wisdom, a beginner, could? If you can firmly grasp this point, then for you this busy life of ignorance and discrimination will be the life of the Dragon Samadhi.”

His verse to the case:
One can awaken her, the other cannot;
Both of them are free.
A god mask, a devil mask
The failure is wonderful indeed.

Hmm. One can, one can’t. Isn’t that unfair? Shakespeare was an immediate success, but Melville never received a single positive review on his masterwork, Moby Dick. Picasso never failed to receive worshipful accolades, yet Van Gogh never sold a painting and William Blake died in poverty. One can awaken her, the other cannot. Astoundingly, Wu-men asserts that both are free. If so, how is Manjusri free, and how is the Bodhisattva of Delusive Wisdom also free? How is Einstein free and how Walt Disney? And what about us? How are we free, Dragon
Samadhi or no?

Let’s take a look!

Photo of Manjusri on Lion at Endless Path by Rafe Martin

Books referenced: 



Meeting Manjusri Bodhisattva of Wisdom Face-to Face16 May 202600:44:34

Recorded May 16, 2026.


Roshi Rafe Martin reads and comments on Chapter 3 of "A Zen Life of Bodhisattvas." 

“Manjushri’s Threes by Threes” — Case # 35 of the Blue Cliff Record — 

Manjusri asked Wu Cho, “Where have you just come from?”
Wu Cho replied, “The south.”
Manjusri said, “ How is southern Buddhism faring?”
Wu Cho answered, “The monks of the latter days of the Law have little regard for the precepts.”
Manjusri said, “Are there many or few?”
Wu Cho said, “Here about 300, there around 500.”
Wu Cho then asked Manjusri, “How does Buddhism fare in this part of the world?”
Manjusri said, “The worldly and the holy dwell together; dragons and snakes intermingle.”
Wu Cho asked, “Are there few or many?”
Manjusri said, “In front, three by three; in back, three by three.”

What’s going on? Does Manjusri, Bodhisattva of Wisdom, deliver — or obfuscate? What kind of wisdom is this? Wise folks may speak in riddles but can hide behind gibberish. Con-men have played that field. Have we been taken in? What is Manjusri’s profound wisdom and how will it help us live lives of actual meaning here and now? Let’s take a look!

Books 

  • A Zen Life of Bodhisattvas — Rafe Martin
  • Haiku, Vol. 1: Eastern Culture — R.H. Blyth
  • Moby Dick — Herman Melville
  • The Adolescent — Fyodor Dostoevsky


Photo of Manjusri and Buddha at Endless Path Zendo by Rafe Martin



Manjusri -- Bodhisattva of Wisdom09 May 202600:53:07

Recorded May 9, 2026.

Roshi Rafe Martin reads and comments on Chapter 2 of "A Zen Life of Bodhisattvas." 

In Japan, the Buddha sits in the Buddha Hall, but Manjusri, Bodhisattva of Wisdom, presides over the zendo where he’s often shown seated on a noble and courageous lion -- symbol of our own enlightened Original Nature. Holding a scroll of prajna wisdom or a lotus in one hand and a sword in the other, he may have the shaved head of a monk—showing himself free of all attachments and concerns—or may be a prince with long hair, flowing robes and jewelry, royally engaged with life. “Forgetting the self,” through attention to the practice is Manjusri’s realm. This is not a matter of avoiding our emotions or of side-stepping or suppressing our individuality. Rather, it is like seeing a golden sunrise or a star-filled night and, awed, momentarily forgetting ourselves. It is like coming home. Clinging to thoughts of me, myself, and I never seem to bring us the joy or security we long for. Aren’t our best moments those in which we’ve forgotten ourselves? A glorious sunset stretches across the twilight, a mountain peak emerges from the clouds, the taste of tea awakens our tongue and we are momentarily ... gone. Zen’s wisdom is to help us live such a self-forgotten, ordinary life. Manjusri’s sword cuts in One, not two. But who is Manjusri, really? Let’s take a look! 

Books: 

  • “Complete Poison Blossoms From a Thicket of Thorn: The Zen Records of Hakuin Zenji” - Norman Waddell 
  • "A Zen Life of Bodhisattvas" — Rafe Martin 

Photo of Manjusri at Endless Path Zendo by Rafe Martin



Actualizing Our Gestural Imagination: Telling Stories that Live! 07 May 202601:03:45

Recorded May 7, 2026


Actualizing Our Gestural Imagination: Telling Stories that Live! A teaching session withaward-winning author and storyteller, Rafe Martin 5/7/2026

Boulder Valley Spell Binders of Boulder, CO.


Photo of Rafe Martin, storytelling 1984 -- by Lawson Sachter.



Roshi Philip Kapleau Memorial 02 May 202600:50:56

Recorded May 2, 2026.

Twenty-two years ago on March 6th , (it has gone by in the blink of an eye) 2004 my old Zen teacher, Roshi Philip Kapleau ,passed from this life to the next. I had just flown back home to Rochester from where I'd been speaking at a literary conference in Reno, Nevada and was picked up at the airport by an old Dharma friend who told me that Roshi had just died. We drove to where he was still seated in his wheelchair beneath a tree in the backyard of the Zen Center, surrounded by old Zen friends, where we all said our goodbyes. We had so much to be grateful to him for.

At Endless Path Zendo we hold a memorial half-day zazenkai each year in Roshi Kapleau's honor. This teisho includes remembrances of Roshi Kapleau by both Rose and myself, plus a reading of the memorial piece on his life that “Buddhadharma” asked me to write shortly after his passing. Additionally, I shared an unusual anecdote from one of the times that when Rose and I were his guests in Florida once he’d retired from active teaching. If you want to know his story give a listen. It’s an interesting tale — Roshi Philip Kapleau had been the chief court reporter for both the Nuremberg and Tokyo War Crimes trials — which eventually led him directly to Zen and to a central -- and essential — role in the transmission of actual Zen practice to the West.

 - Roshi Rafe Martin

Photo of Roshi Kapleau by Casey Frank



Are Bodhisattvas Real? 25 Apr 202600:57:30

Recorded April 25, 2026.

In this first series of teishos from his book, “A Zen Life of Bodhisattvas,” Roshi Martin explores the nature of Bodhisattvas — the “wisdom beings” so central to the wise and compassionate vision of Mahayana Buddhism, which includes Zen. He also makes it clear that, in Zen tradition, to know who or what bodhisattvas are, we need to know who or what we ourselves truly are. Then again, are bodhisattvas — beings like Manjsuri and Avalokitesvara, Maitreya and Samantbhadra with the transformative power to truly help all suffering beings — really real? Towards the end of this teisho he relates two mysterious true incidents from his own life that led him to believe that such beings really do exist.

Books —

  • “A Zen Life of Bodhisattvas” by Rafe Martin
  • “Foundations of Tibetan Mysticism - Lama Govinda
  • “Complete Poison Blossoms From a Thicket of Thorn: The Zen Records of Hakuin Zenji” - Norman Waddell
  • “Eight Beliefs in Buddhism” — Hakuun Yasutani
  • “Further Zen Conversations” - Rick McDaniel


Photo of Hotei at Endless Path Zendo, by Rafe Martin


Read Roshi Rafe Martin's latest book:  Finding Your Buddha Smile: Coming Home To What Zen is Really All About.  Available from Amazon , Sumeru Books, and Barnes & Noble Online.



Impossible Situations: A Buffalo Passes Through the Window18 Apr 202600:58:13

Recorded April 18, 2026.


Today’s teisho is on "Gateless Barrier" Case 38 — “A Buffalo Passes Through the Window.”

Wu-tsu said, “It is like a buffalo that passes through a window. Its head, horns, and four legs all pass through. Why can’t its tail pass through as well?”

Hakuin comments:
"Hard for even the most clear-
sighted Zen monks to crack,
A Buffalo Passing Through the
Window trips them all up. "

In this life we'll all face situations, places, events, times that seem . . . beyond us, even impossible. What shall we make of Wu-tsu’s impossible buffalo? The scenario is ridiculous! Impossible. And yet we’re called upon by the koan to personally reveal and present its deep, living meaning.

Is logic the be-all and end-all? Can even the most technically precise and clear scientific description of, let’s say, vision, give us our vividly personal experience of red flowers, blue skies, green grass, the joy we find upon seeing a child’s smile? Can a description give us the actual taste of a cup of first flush Darjeeling tea? By what wisdom do I know it personally, intimately? Let’s see if we can find out. Give a listen to this lively — and rather humorous — teisho!

Referenced:

  • "The Gateless Barrier: Th Wu-men Kuan (Mumonkan)" Robert Aitken


Painting by Zen Master Hakuin -- Buffalo looking at a window.



Finding Your Buddha Smile (Final Chapter) - Part 11: A Springtime Stroll11 Apr 202600:34:24

Recorded April 11, 2026

Hooray! Spring has come. Ice cracks and melts and rivers once again run free. Green grass and buds on trees magically appear. Blue Cliff Record case 36 presents it like this:

One day Ch’ang-sha went for a walk in the hills. When he returned to the gate of the monastery the head monk said, “Master, where have you been?”
Ch’ang-sha said, “I have come from strolling about in the hills.”
The head monk said, “Where did you go?”
“First I went pursuing the fragrant grasses, then I returned following the falling flowers.”
The head monk said, “You are full of the spring, aren’t you?” 
Ch’ang-sha said, “It is even better than the autumn dew falling on the lotus flowers.”
Hsueh-tou comments, “I’m grateful for that answer.”

Aitken Roshi writes —
“Let us all be grateful ... because Ch’ang-sha is our teacher of Zen in this age of grave danger to the earth and its music, art, animals, and everything else.”

Now, with a smile on our lips we, too, will head out and see what there is for heads, hands, and hearts to do. Zen practice brings us into the fullness of life. It’s not about sitting forever facing a wall.


Read Roshi Rafe Martin's latest book:  Finding Your Buddha Smile: Coming Home To What Zen is Really All About.  Available from Amazon , Sumeru Books, and Barnes & Noble Online.


Photo of Smiling Buddha, Lung-men Caves, China, by Rafe Martin 2006



The Birth of The Buddha -- What's it all about?04 Apr 202600:54:01

Recorded April 4, 2026.

What does the birth of a Buddha really mean? What bearing does it have on our own lives? Is it just ancient history? Is it simply literal — or what? Plus, what are we to make of the rather astonishing legend that, at birth, the newborn baby Buddha raised one hand toward the heavens and pointed the other down to the earth and proclaimed “Above the Heavens, below the heavens, I Alone the Honored One”? What is this getting at? Is myth just a form of untruth? Or is it something more? How does this stunning statement relate to our own life, yours and mine, and to our own practice of Zen? 

Why not give a listen to this vivid teisho bringing alive The Birth of the Buddha and see how it might all connect!

Books cited:

  • "A Zen Life of Buddha" by Rafe Martin
  • "Centuries, Poems, and Thanksgivings, Vol. 1: Introductions and Centuries." Thomas Traherne


Read Roshi Rafe Martin's latest book:  Finding Your Buddha Smile: Coming Home To What Zen is Really All About.  Available from Amazon , Sumeru Books, and Barnes & Noble Online.


Photo of Baby Buddha, Endless Path Zendo



Finding Your Buddha Smile- Part 10: Beautiful Snowflakes!28 Mar 202600:40:29

Recorded 3/28/2026.

The greatest journeys find completion in ordinary things. The teacup, the comfortable old slippers, the wool jacket on the hook by the door. To quote Dorothy, there’s no place like home, where we’re so at ease, a glance at a morning star, a late-night chat with a friend, or a walk in the snow can open ... the Timeless. So — Blue Cliff Record case 42, “Layman P’ang’s Beautiful Snowflakes,” in which Layman P’ang takes a walk in the snow and says, “Beautiful snowflakes. They fall nowhere.” Let’s see what then happens!

But first — a note: “emptiness” that Buddhist bugaboo, simply means empty of our own unconscious, habitual, self-centeredness. Self-forgotten, the world of 10,000 uniquely distinct things, living and non-living, steps in and realizes itself as the Self. Less self-conscious, less self-driven practice follows. A Zen saying says, “The way up the mountain is not all that hard, but the way down is endless.” P’ang who is “nothing himself, beholds/ Nothing that is not there and the nothing that is.” (Wallace Stevens, “The Snow Man”) And so, as to all those lovely snowflakes falling — how will you present them?


Read Roshi Rafe Martin's latest book:  Finding Your Buddha Smile: Coming Home To What Zen is Really All About.  Available from Amazon , Sumeru Books, and Barnes & Noble Online.

Photo of Smiling Buddha, Lung-men Caves, China, by Rafe Martin 2006



Finding Your Buddha Smile - Part 9: What is the True Me?21 Mar 202600:32:58

Recorded March 21, 2026.

Zen master Wu-tsu used a popular ghost tale, like a popular movie or novel of his time, to explore the intimate question of Identity: “Who am I?” We move through our days like leaves blown about by an un-known wind. But who is it happening to? Who is doing it? Who is the victim? Who’s in the driver’s seat? Shouldn’t we know? What could be more essential—or practical—than being able to say who we are? Who hears sounds with the ears, sees colors with the eyes, eats and sleeps, grieves and worries, suffers aging and its manifold indignities? Maybe peace—at least a greater degree of it—lies in looking into this. Who or what are we talking about when we say or think, “I” or “me”? And how is it that we don’t know? Isn’t that rather astonishing that we don’t know who we are? How can that possibly be? Really where and what is this “I” I’m so concerned about, anyway?

Let’s see how this one goes!


Read Roshi Rafe Martin's latest book:  Finding Your Buddha Smile: Coming Home To What Zen is Really All About.  Available from Amazon , Sumeru Books, and Barnes & Noble Online.

Photo of Smiling Buddha, Lung-men Caves, China, by Rafe Martin 2006



Finding Your Buddha Smile - Part 8: How Do I Find Peace of Mind? 07 Mar 202600:51:42

Recorded March 7, 2026.

This teisho opens with a brief recounting of the legend of the Bodhisattva of Great Compassion and issues of failure, despair, and compassion in our own times. Then Roshi Martin moves on to the essence of Zen — realizing peace of mind. In the koan of “Bodhidharma and Peace of Mind,” (Gateless Barrier #41) Hui-k’o, climbs up to Bodhidharma’s cave on the mountain seeking peace of mind. Bodhidharma doesn’t make it easy, but insists on making it real. “Bring forth your troubled mind and I’ll pacify it for you,” he says. Simple, right? But there’s a hitch. And how does that hitch itself resolve the problem? But what IS peace of mind anyway?

Like John Lewis in our own time, these two old-worthies together made “good trouble,” revealing the Buddha Way to be intimate and open to all, rather than philosophical, far off, or reserved for a special few. At some point we all wake to life’s difficulties. It is our start. To then find peace of mind all we need do, as Bodhidharma insisted, is bring forth our troubled mind so it can be set to rest. Which shouldn’t be too hard to do, should it? Ha! 

This dramatic teisho shows how it goes. Why not give a listen and see?


Read Roshi Rafe Martin's latest book:  Finding Your Buddha Smile: Coming Home To What Zen is Really All About.  Available from Amazon , Sumeru Books, and Barnes & Noble Online.

Photo of Smiling Buddha, Lung-men Caves, China, by Rafe Martin 2006



Finding Your Buddha Smile - Part 7: The Highest Teaching is the Oak Tree in my Front Garden?28 Feb 202600:40:47

Recorded February 28, 2026

Wisdom, which helps us make reasonably good life choices, enabling us to live reasonably good lives, can’t be secret or esoteric. It must reside in what is common and ordinary; otherwise, what hope would any of us have of living well? It would be beyond us— special, hidden away, reserved for the few. No. The last word can’t be far off. And, indeed, Zen teachers in ancient China used folk songs, stories, and colloquial language, taking up whatever was handy, to open the Way and reveal our common inheritance, our true birthright of enlightenment.

Chao-chou (J. Joshu; 778–897), asked for the highest teaching of the Buddhadharma, answered, "The oak tree in the front garden.” What did he mean? What was he getting at?

Let’s take a look!


Referenced:


Photo of Smiling Buddha, Lung-men Caves, China, by Rafe Martin 2006



Finding Your Buddha Smile - Part 6: Te-shan Carries His Lunch Bowls: The Last Word21 Feb 202600:34:47

Recorded February 21, 2026


     When you realize the first word
     You understand the last word;
     The first word or the last word—
     “It” is not a word.

If it’s not a word, what is it? If it is a word, how might you say it?

Sequenced in their proper chronological order, the three Te-shan koans give us a nutshell view of Zen as a journey from brash immaturity to subtle maturity. But what is maturity? And what is this wise last word that changes everything and makes even someone as gifted as that person of genius, Yen t’ou, get up and laugh and clap his hands for joy? What is it really all about?

Referenced:


Photo -- Buddha at Lung-Men Cave Grottoes, China by Rafe Martin



The Buddha’s Parinirvana: Teisho by Roshi Rafe Martin14 Feb 202600:56:47

Recorded February 14, 2026.

William Blake once signed a guest book with a drawing of a human figure stretched reclining — or flying. Surrounding it were the words, “William Blake who is very much delighted in being in good company. Born 28 Nov. 1757 in London and has died several times since.” Zen Master Hakuin, in Japan in 1749, wrote as a way honoring a student who had recently died: “Turning my head a soaring Mount Fuji capped with snow,/ Its lower half flushed in the crimson glow of the rising sun.” Hakuin’s heir, Torei, commented, “These are lines whose point is grasped after you have died two or three times.” 

Actually we are dying all the time. To quote The Rolling Stones’ “Ruby Tuesday” —“ Dying all the time. Lose your dreams and you will lose your mind. Ain’t life unkind.” Ha! We call this ongoing daily minute-by-minute entrustment to reality, our life. For the Buddha death was the activity of his complete entrance into nirvana or parinirvana, a total entrustment. In “Dharma Nature,” section #23 of his Shobogenzo, Eye of the Treasury of the True Dharma Zen master Dogen writes:
Grass, trees, and forests are impermanent; they are buddha nature. Humans, things, body, and mind are impermanent; they are buddha nature. Land, mountains, and rivers are impermanent, as they are buddha nature. Unsurpassable, complete enlightenment is impermanent, as it is buddha nature. Great parinirvana is buddha nature, as it is impermanence.” 

How does the Buddha’s Parinirvana inform our own life and practice? Let’s take a look.

Referenced: 

Photo -- Parinirvana Altar, Endless Path Zendo, 2/14/2026


Read Roshi Rafe Martin's latest book:  Finding Your Buddha Smile: Coming Home To What Zen is Really All About.  Available from Amazon , Sumeru Books, and Barnes & Noble Online.



Finding Your Buddha Smile - Part 5: Te-shan Carries His Bundle07 Feb 202600:37:31

Recorded February 7, 2025.

Te-shan, a noted scholar of the Diamond Sutra, set out to wipe out those nasty “Zen devils” in the South. But, falling into Master Lung-t’an’s Dragon Pond, he found his Face before his parents were born and out at last beyond the pages of his beloved notes and commentaries on the diamonds Sutra, he awoke to the real diamond. Filled with joy, he burned his precious writings and set off, confident as ever, into a bright and shining new world. But is it really so simple?

This dramatic opening of Te-shan’s Zen, presents an archetype. Clearly, whatever we may fantasize about “enlightenment,” even a deep experience is not the endpoint. Rather, it’s a new beginning. Te-shan was on the road home, but not yet there. The road goes on, and on. As his story shows. 

Let’s see how it actually goes.

Photo of Smiling Buddha, Lung-men Caves, China, by Rafe Martin 2006

Read Roshi Rafe Martin's latest book:  Finding Your Buddha Smile: Coming Home To What Zen is Really All About.  Available from Amazon , Sumeru Books, and Barnes & Noble Online.



Finding Your Buddha Smile - Part 4: Te-shan Carries His Backpack24 Jan 202600:45:12

Recorded January 24, 2026.

In this teisho, we move on from the Buddha himself, to see how Zen tradition views the ordinary person’s journey from ignorance to maturity. To show this, Roshi Martin arranges three koans, each drawn from the life of the Chinese Zen master, Te-shan (J. Tokusan, 780–865), in their chronological order—which is not how we find them in our actual koan curriculum. In actual practice we face these koans totally out of sequence. His purpose with this chronological reorganization is to show the underlying story these koans actually reveal.

To start us off — he begins with a note about koans in general by quoting Pulitzer Prize-winning poet, environmentalist, Zen elder, and cultural icon, Gary Snyder, who in 2008, in an interview with the Poetry Foundation, Gary Snyder, spoke about koans. Let’s see what he had to say.


Photo of Smiling Buddha, Lung-men Caves, China, by Rafe Martin 2006

Read Roshi Rafe Martin's latest book:  Finding Your Buddha Smile: Coming Home To What Zen is Really All About.  Available from Amazon , Sumeru Books, and Barnes & Noble Online.





Finding Your Buddha Smile - Part 3: The World Honored One Ascends the Teaching Seat17 Jan 202600:32:46

Recorded January 17, 2026.

In this teisho Roshi Martin reads and comments on Chapter 2 of his latest book, “Finding Your Buddha Smile: Coming Home (To What Zen is Really All About).”

The legendary-mythic jataka tales, reveal the Buddha’s past life efforts, challenges, triumphs, and mistakes. Let’s look at him now as the fully “Awakened One,” the finished product of that many lifetime effort, and see how he taught others to realize the Ancient Way of fulfillment he himself had fully found.

To do this we'll take a look at koan case 92 of the "Blue Cliff Record" in which the Buddha’s cosmic Realization, born of the rarified air of India, is transformed by the Zen Eye of China into ­something direct and down-to-earth. In this koan, the Buddha is the consummate storyteller, who with the aid of Manjusri, Bodhisattva of Wisdom, opens the Way with the storyteller's most trusted device -- "show, don't tell!"


Photo of Smiling Buddha, Lung-men Caves, China, by Rafe Martin 2006

Read Roshi Rafe Martin's latest book:  Finding Your Buddha Smile: Coming Home To What Zen is Really All About.  Available from Amazon , Sumeru Books, and Barnes & Noble Online.



Finding Your Buddha Smile - Part 2: The Buddha Shows the Path10 Jan 202600:51:23

Teisho by Roshi Rafe Jnan Martin Endless Path Zendo, 01/10/2026

This teisho opens with a brief talk on the terrible dangers of our present time and the challenging, profoundly helpful path that Zen offers — not of philosophizing, but of tending an ox. Roshi Martin then resumes reading and commenting from his latest book —“Finding Your Buddha Smile: Coming Home (To What Zen is Really All About).” In this next chapter, we look at the Buddha, not as the smiling, perfectly realized finished product, poised and at ease in full-lotus posture, but the Buddha as he appears in a very odd, indeed, almost science fiction-y, jataka or past life story. In that story he is a god-like king who seeks only personal satisfaction. But eventually discovers a deeper, truer path when that self-centered quest comes to its painful end.


Photo of Smiling Buddha, Lung-men Caves, China, by Rafe Martin 2006

Read Roshi Rafe Martin's latest book:  Finding Your Buddha Smile: Coming Home To What Zen is Really All About.  Available from Amazon , Sumeru Books, and Barnes & Noble Online.



Finding Your Buddha Smile - Part 1: Introduction03 Jan 202600:51:23

Recorded January 3, 2026.

Roshi Martin reads the Opening, Thanks, and Introduction of his new book -- "Finding Your Buddha Smile: Coming Home (to What Zen is Really All About)."

From the Intro: There are lots of ways to be happy, some selfish, some naive, some fleeting, some more lasting. The kind I have in mind is of the more lasting sort, the kind that can only come after troubles, after experiencing and suffering the fundamental difficulties of an ordinary human life. . . . What, leads to real happiness? According to legend the historic Buddha, 2,500 years ago, ran into this fundamental problem at the age of twenty-nine. His great enlightenment (of which there are endless degrees and which koans help us start opening) was transformative. The previously traumatized ex-prince, Siddhartha Gautama, through deepest realization, found the essence of happiness. And his face blossomed—into a smile.

Photo of Smiling Buddha, Lung-men Caves, China, by Rafe Martin 2006

Read Roshi Rafe Martin's latest book:  Finding Your Buddha Smile: Coming Home To What Zen is Really All About.  Available from Amazon , Sumeru Books, and Barnes & Noble Online.



On the Precepts (in preparation for New Year's Eve Jukai)20 Dec 202500:52:12

Recorded 12/20/2025.

Roshi Martin reads Chapter 10 of Aitken Roshi's "Taking the Path of Zen" -- "The Ten Grave Precepts" and comments in preparation for Jukai. Jukai is a way of taking our practice seriously, of saying — of vowing that “It’s not simply what I do in the zendo or dokusan room that matters – it’s what I do in and how I live my actual daily life.” We take Jukai many times. Each time we find greater understanding and a deepening life path. With each Jukai we take another step forward.

Roshi Kapleau used to say that Zen is not above morality, morality not below Zen. Anyone who thinks that Zen’s “Emptiness” means “anything goes” and throws decent ethical behavior out the window is making a grave mistake. Emptiness means love. Love means attention to our behavior. This is where we become responsible to ourselves, to others, and to the practice. As Dogen says, “The teisho of the actual body is the harbor and the weir. This is the most important thing in the world. Its virtue finds its home in the ocean of essential nature. It is beyond explanation. We just accept it with respect and gratitude.”

Book cited -- Robert Aitken "Taking the Path of Zen."

Photo: Manjusri, Bodhisattva of Wisdom, with students - at Endless Path Zendo



The Buddha's Great Enlightenment06 Dec 202500:47:25

Recorded December 6, 2025.

December 8th is the traditional date on the Mahayana (Zen Buddhist) calendar of the Buddha's profound Enlightenment. Sitting beneath the Bodhi Tree after a long night of zazen that capped 6 years of ferocious effort, the previously sheltered ex-prince, Siddhartha Gautama, so deeply troubled by his head-on collision with impermanence, the sheer injustice of it -- finally got to the bottom of it all. After touching the Earth, he glanced up at the Morning Star and fully, completely Awoke. A Morning Star now sat beneath the Bodhi Tree. "Wonder of wonders," he exclaimed, stunned by his realization. "All living beings are Buddhas, fully endowed with wisdom and virtue. Only their ancient, unconscious habit of self-centered thinking prevents their realization of this!" The Path had been re-opened. Homage to Shakyamuni!

In today's teisho at Endless Path Zendo, Roshi Martin tells the story of the Buddha’s great enlightenment, and comments on it from a very natural perspective, as well as looking into what it means for us today. 

Awake! Rejoice!

Photo: Buddha's Enlightenment Altar, Endless Path Zendo, Rohatsu 2025.

Referenced:

__________________

JUST RELEASED: Finding Your Buddha Smile: Coming Home (To What Zen Is Really All About) by Rafe Martin (Sumeru Books, 2025)




Old Ghosts and Living a Life of Grace -- teisho on the Fox Koan25 Oct 202500:39:54

Recorded October 25, 2025.

Thoughts, actions, understandings, perceptions, realizations that had once seemed good enough, may in time, no longer be sufficient. We outgrow them. Then ghostlike, they can return and haunt us. But maybe they return, not to block our way, but to give us another chance. If so, their appearance may not be reason for disappointment, but our opportunity to mature further. So let’s look again at “Master Pai-Chang and the Fox," koan case 2 of The Gatelesss Barrier. Seen in a our current upcoming Halloween light, it becomes a shape-shifting encounter of there and back again. But — the journey has a point. Wu-men’s commentary on the case concludes — “If you have the single eye of realization, you will appreciate how the former head of the monastery enjoyed 500 lives of grace as a fox.” 

What is it to enjoy a life of grace? What is a life of grace? And how can daily Zen practice help us find this out for ourselves?

Calligraphy -- Fox and Lives of Grace by Rafe Jnan Martin

Books mentioned:



No Kings, Vows -- Zen and the U.S.A. -- and the conclusion to Hanshan's Autobiography18 Oct 202500:44:46

Recorded October 18, 2025

Roshi Martin opens with comments on No Kings and its relationship to our vows.  Then, in this 9th and final teisho on the life of Ming Dynasty Zen Teacher Hanshan, Roshi Martin resumes reading and commenting on Hanshan's autobiography which takes us to Hanshan's death in 1623.

Referenced: 



2025 Jataka Sesshin: The Monkey King15 Oct 202500:33:30

Recorded October 14, 2025.

This teisho was given by Roshi Martin on the fourth day of the 15th annual Jataka Sesshin held at the Vermont Zen Center.

______________________________

The Monkey King jataka is also explored in Endless Path: Awakening Within the Buddhist Imagination: Jataka Tales, Zen Practice, and DailyLife by Rafe Martin





2025 Jataka Sesshin: The Tigress14 Oct 202500:33:11

Recorded October 13, 2025.

This teisho was given by Roshi Martin on the third day of the 15th annual Jataka Sesshin held at the Vermont Zen Center.

_______

The Tigress jataka is also explored in Endless Path: Awakening Within the Buddhist Imagination: Jataka Tales, Zen Practice, and DailyLife by Rafe Martin.  Additionally, it appears in The Hungry Tigress: Buddhist Myths, Legends and Jataka Tales (Completely Revised and Expanded Edition) by Rafe Martin.




2025 Jataka Sesshin: Give It All You've Got12 Oct 202500:51:41

Recorded October 12, 2025.

This teisho was given by Roshi Martin on the second day of the 15th annual Jataka Sesshin held at the Vermont Zen Center.

__________________________

The jataka, Give It All You've Got, is also explored in Endless Path: Awakening Within the Buddhist Imagination: Jataka Tales, Zen Practice, and DailyLife by Rafe Martin.




2025 Jataka Sesshin: The Black Hound Jataka11 Oct 202500:55:54

Recorded October 11, 2025

This teisho was given by Roshi Martin on the first day of the 15th annual Jataka Sesshin held at the Vermont Zen Center.

_______

The Black Hound jataka is also explored in Endless Path: Awakening Within the Buddhist Imagination: Jataka Tales, Zen Practice, and DailyLife by Rafe Martin







Bodhidharma Day and The Oak Tree in the Front Garden04 Oct 202500:38:14

Recorded October 4, 2025.

In honor of Bodhidharma, the founder of what we now call Zen Buddhism, Roshi Martin comments on the koan of the "Oak Tree in the Front Garden" and talks about a conversation with Robert Aitken Roshi and the relationship of Zen practice to actual happiness.

More on this koan will be found in Roshi Martin's upcoming book " Finding your Buddha Smile: Coming h\Home to What Zen is Really About."

Referenced:



Part 8 - The Autobiography of Zen Master Hanshan - Starting with his 70th Year!27 Sep 202500:50:33

Recorded September 27, 2025.

In this 8th teisho on the life of Ming Dynasty Zen Teacher Hanshan, Roshi Martin opens with a brief talk on the essence of Zen practice and the mystery at the core of our own lives. He then takes up reading and commenting on Hanshan's autobiography as it unfolds into his 70th year.

Referenced: 



Part 7 - The Autobiography of Zen Master Hanshan06 Sep 202500:44:43

Recorded Saturday, September 6, 2025.

Roshi Martin reads and comments on the extraordinary (lively, funny and moving) autobiography of Hanshan Te-Ching, ( Crazy Mountain, Virtuous Clarity", c. 1546–1623), the noted Ming Dynasty Zen teacher (not to be confused with Han-shan — Cold Mountain — noted Zen poet/eccentric of the T’ang era.) 

Known as one of the four great masters of the Wanli Era Ming Dynasty, Hanshan has remained an influential figure in Chinese Chan Buddhism down to the twentieth century, his teachings promoted by the great teacher Hsu Yun (Empty Cloud 1840?-1959), and his disciple Charles Luk (1898–1978).

Hanshan saw Chan (Zen) as a way to Awaken to realization of One Mind in this very life.

Referenced: 




Part 6 - The Autobiography of Zen Master Hanshan26 Jul 202500:47:06

Recorded Sunday July 26, 2025

Roshi Martin reads and comments on the extraordinary (lively, funny and moving) autobiography of Hanshan Te-Ching, ( Crazy Mountain, Virtuous Clarity", c. 1546–1623), the noted Ming Dynasty Zen teacher (not to be confused with Han-shan — Cold Mountain — noted Zen poet/eccentric of the T’ang era.) 

Known as one of the four great masters of the Wanli Era Ming Dynasty, Hanshan has remained an influential figure in Chinese Chan Buddhism down to the twentieth century, his teachings promoted by the great teacher Hsu Yun (Empty Cloud 1840?-1959), and his disciple Charles Luk (1898–1978).

Hanshan saw Chan (Zen) as a way to Awaken to realization of One Mind in this very life.

Referenced: The Autobiography and Maxims of Master Han Shan, translated by
Upasaka Richard Cheung



Part 5 - The Autobiography of Zen Master Hanshan28 Jun 202500:52:58

Recorded June 28, 2025.

Roshi Martin reads and comments on the extraordinary (lively, funny and moving) autobiography of Hanshan Te-Ching, ( Crazy Mountain, Virtuous Clarity", c. 1546–1623), the noted Ming Dynasty Zen teacher (not to be confused with Han-shan — Cold Mountain — noted Zen poet/eccentric of the T’ang era.) 

Known as one of the four great masters of the Wanli Era Ming Dynasty, Hanshan has remained an influential figure in Chinese Chan Buddhism down to the twentieth century, his teachings promoted by the great teacher Hsu Yun (Empty Cloud 1840?-1959), and his disciple Charles Luk (1898–1978).

Hanshan saw Chan (Zen) as a way to Awaken to realization of One Mind in this very life.

Referenced: The Autobiography and Maxims of Master Han Shan, translated by
Upasaka Richard Cheung



Part 4 - The Autobiography of Zen Master Hanshan15 Jun 202500:47:02

Recorded June 15, 2025. 

Roshi Martin continues to read and comment on the extraordinary (and quite lively and funny and also truly moving!!) autobiography of Han-shan Te-Ching, a great Ming Dynasty teacher (not to be confused with Hanshan (Cold Mountain) poet of the T’ang era. 

Hanshan, an important Ming Dynasty Zen teacher, writes in such a lively, straightforward manner that is moving, funny, profound and deeply human. Hearing from him about the details of his extraordinary life, we get a real sense of what Zen -- and Zen culture -- is truly about. Enjoy.

Referenced: The Autobiography and Maxims of Master Han Shan, translated by
Upasaka Richard Cheung



Part 3 - The Autobiography of Zen Master Hanshan14 Jun 202500:46:04

Recorded June 14, 2025.

Roshi Martin reads and comments on the extraordinary (and quite lively and funny and also truly moving!!) autobiography of Hanshan Te-Ching, a great Ming Dynasty teacher (not to be confused with Hanshan (Cold Mountain) poet of the T’ang era. Some snippet’s from Wikipedia on Hanshan:

Hanshan Deqing (Hanshan Te-Ch’ing, "Crazy Mountain, Virtuous Clarity", c. 1546–1623), was a leading Buddhist monk and poet of the late Ming dynasty China. (Posthumously named Hongjue Chanshi.) He is known as one of the four great masters of the Wanli Era Ming Dynasty. Hanshan has remained an influential figure in Chinese Chan Buddhism down to the twentieth century. His works are widely printed and published in various editions. His teachings were most recently promoted by modern figures like Hsu Yun (1840?-1959) and his disciple Charles Luk (1898–1978).

Hanshan saw the truth of Chan as not being different from the teachings on Mind found in the Mahayana scriptures. Hanshan saw the fundamental method of Chan as "only to understand and realize your own Mind." Hanshan describes the enlightenment experience as follows: "suddenly you will find that the Lotus-mind beams with a bright light, illuminating the ten directions of the universe.” Hanshan saw the Chan method as a way to awaken to the one pure Mind in this very life.


Referenced: The Autobiography and Maxims of Master Han Shan, translated by
Upasaka Richard Cheung



Part 2 - The Autobiography of Zen Master Hanshan 13 Jun 202500:46:21

Recorded June 13, 2025.

Roshi Martin reads and comments on the extraordinary (and quite lively and funny and also truly moving!!) autobiography of Hanshan Te-Ching, a great Ming Dynasty teacher (not to be confused with Hanshan (Cold Mountain) poet of the T’ang era. Some snippet’s from Wikipedia on Hanshan:

Hanshan Deqing (Hanshan Te-Ch’ing, "Crazy Mountain, Virtuous Clarity", c. 1546–1623), was a leading Buddhist monk and poet of the late Ming dynasty China. (Posthumously named Hongjue Chanshi.) He is known as one of the four great masters of the Wanli Era Ming Dynasty. Hanshan has remained an influential figure in Chinese Chan Buddhism down to the twentieth century. His works are widely printed and published in various editions. His teachings were most recently promoted by modern figures like Hsu Yun (1840?-1959) and his disciple Charles Luk (1898–1978).

Hanshan saw the truth of Chan as not being different from the teachings on Mind found in the Mahayana scriptures. Hanshan saw the fundamental method of Chan as "only to understand and realize your own Mind." Hanshan describes the enlightenment experience as follows: "suddenly you will find that the Lotus-mind beams with a bright light, illuminating the ten directions of the universe.” Hanshan saw the Chan method as a way to awaken to the one pure Mind in this very life.


Referenced: The Autobiography and Maxims of Master Han Shan, translated by
Upasaka Richard Cheung



Part 1 - The Autobiography of Zen Master Hanshan12 Jun 202500:46:13

Recorded June 12, 2025

Roshi Martin reads and comments on the extraordinary (and quite lively and funny and also truly moving!!) autobiography of Hanshan Te-Ching, a great Ming Dynasty teacher (not to be confused with Hanshan (Cold Mountain) poet of the T’ang era. Some snippet’s from Wikipedia on Hanshan:

Hanshan Deqing (Hanshan Te-Ch’ing, "Crazy Mountain, Virtuous Clarity", c. 1546–1623), was a leading Buddhist monk and poet of the late Ming dynasty China. (Posthumously named Hongjue Chanshi.) He is known as one of the four great masters of the Wanli Era Ming Dynasty. Hanshan has remained an influential figure in Chinese Chan Buddhism down to the twentieth century. His works are widely printed and published in various editions. His teachings were most recently promoted by modern figures like Hsu Yun (1840?-1959) and his disciple Charles Luk (1898–1978).

Hanshan saw the truth of Chan as not being different from the teachings on Mind found in the Mahayana scriptures. Hanshan saw the fundamental method of Chan as "only to understand and realize your own Mind." Hanshan describes the enlightenment experience as follows: "suddenly you will find that the Lotus-mind beams with a bright light, illuminating the ten directions of the universe.” Hanshan saw the Chan method as a way to awaken to the one pure Mind in this very life.

Referenced: The Autobiography and Maxims of Master Han Shan, translated by
Upasaka Richard Cheung



Who am I? 07 Jun 202500:40:37

Recorded June 7, 2025.

There are no monks, nuns, Zen teachers, students, Buddhas, or Bodhisattvas in the case, no sign of Buddhism at all. Instead, a father insists that his daughter marry the man he chooses and, naturally enough, she rebels in order to follow the promptings of her own heart. But this all-too-sadly familiar mess, which tears the young woman in two, quickly opens into something even more fundamental.

Zen master Wu-tsu, using a popular ghost tale of his time, (like a popular movie or novel today), guides us to something truly intimate, getting us to really ask, “Which is the true me?” He is turning us toward the fundamental question of Identity: who or what am I? And how is it even possible that we don’t know?!

Here Roshi Martin looks again at Case 35 of the "Gateless Barrier" “Which is the True Ch’ien?” deepening and enriching his own earlier teisho on the case. Fairy tales, poetry, and the quest for Identity re-align!

Photo -- The Priest Baozhi (J., Hoshi), Saio-ji Temple, Kyoto



Zen and Social Responsibility31 May 202500:39:27

Recorded May 31, 2025

Roshi Martin reads and comment on the chapter “Responsibility and Social Action” in the book Awakening to Zen by Roshi Philip Kapleau, a book he edited. The chapter opens with: “In Zen Buddhism, responsibility means responsiveness. To respond fully to every situation that comes your way, from a call for help of one kind or another to just talking with someone, and to give all of yourself to it — this is responsibility.”

Roshi Martin adds:

“We must speak up and act for what is good. I resolve to do good. I resolve to avoid evil. I resolve to save the many beings. These three so-called Three General Resolutions are the core of Zen Buddhist life. Our life is practice. Practice is not an escape from or evasion of all that’s on our plate as and in this very life. I practice as a human being, and as a citizen. Which means I cannot ignore what’s happening in my country, or my world, on my planet. Practice means responding not hiding out. We aim to be genuine human beings, fully human beings, whole human beings.”

Photo: Philip Kapleau and Rafe Martin, when Roshi Kapleau was living in semi-retirement in Hollywood, Florida, circa 1991.



Peace of Mind? 17 May 202500:48:45

May 17, 2025.

Trouble in mind is a rather standard blues trope, but peace of mind — what is that? We know that the big bad wolf comes to every door — and blows the house down. Well, almost every house. What is the secret of that last little pig’s house, the one made of brick? What is about that house that offers security, solidity, true peace of mind? Does it lie in the literal heft of brick, or is that a shibboleth? Yet if peace of mind is what we aim for, there’s a step beyond even that, more fundamental, less karmic.

Ironically, a quest for peace begins with the personally honest recognition of un-peace. In which case it might be time to explore the story of Bodhidharma's meeting with Hui k’o, a man with a deeply troubled mind to whom he eventually transmitted his Dharma. This is Case 41 of The Gateless Barrier — “Bodhidharma and Peace of Mind.”

Referenced: Mary Oliver: New and Selected Poems

Photo credit: Bodhidharma at Endless Path Zendo by Rafe Martin




Philip Kapleau and The History of Zen in the West10 May 202501:09:22

Recorded on May 10, 2025.

Rick McDaniel, who has written a fine series of books on the transmission of Zen Buddhism to the West, as well as books of interviews with contemporary Zen teachers (full disclosure: I wrote the Foreword for his "Further Conversations: On the scope, practice, and future of North American Zen," a book in which I also appear), and is now working on a book about the pioneering men and women who brought Zen to the West. 

Here is his “take” on Roshi Philip Kapleau, former Chief Court Reporter of both the Nuremberg and Tokyo War Crimes Tribunals. Roshi Kapleau remains an important, controversial, pioneering figure in the transmission of Zen to the West. I appear in this piece as well, talking about my close personal relationship with Kapleau Roshi, and some of the complexities of the 70s — and later. Details abound! Is it gossip — or history? Give a listen!

Photo: Philip Kapleau's ordination as a Zen priest by Yasutani Roshi



© My Podcast Data · Independent project · Data from Apple & Spotify
AboutMethodologyContactSupport mePrivacy PolicyLegal Notice