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 taken by Rafe Martin
