What is the Dharma King's Dharma?

Recorded 4/19/2025Setting out on literal pilgrimage can help us establish faith in the Buddha Way, which began 2,500 years ago when the Awakened Buddha Shakyamuni stood up from his Great Awakening beneath the Bodhi Tree, and set off along the duty roads of his native land to teach. Pilgrimage to the sites of the historic Buddha’s life has been a traditional practice ever since. But while Zen teachers enthusiastically encourage it, they also remind us that our real pilgrimage is the journey to realization of our Original Mind. And while this Mind is never at all distant, waking to its reality will require effort. If we mean to realize Original Buddha Nature we’ll have to sit down, steady our jumpy minds, and search into the nature of this very self. The Buddha Shakyamuni’s own complete Awakening was the foundation of his teaching. That same realization, which to one degree or another is accessible to each of us because it already is who we are, remains the core of the Buddha Way for Zen practitioners today.Photo of Buddha at Lung-Men Cave Grottos, China -- by Rafe MartinBooks -- "New and Selected Poems" Mary OliverBooks by Roshi Rafe MartinTalks on YouTubeMore information at endlesspathzen.org