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

• Books by Roshi Rafe Martin
• Talks on YouTube
• More information at endlesspathzen.org