Part 1 - The Autobiography of Zen Master Hanshan

Recorded June 12, 2025Roshi 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 byUpasaka Richard CheungBooks by Roshi Rafe MartinTalks on YouTubeMore information at endlesspathzen.org