In Shodo Harada Roshi’s teaching, Zen is presented as nothing other than the living heart of Buddhism itself. Zen is not treated as a separate religion or an alternative path, but as the direct, practice-based expression of what the historical Buddha realized under the Bodhi tree. The emphasis falls on awakening to one’s true nature and then embodying that realization in every aspect of life. In this sense, Zen is Buddhism concentrated: the essence of the Buddha’s path without excess conceptual elaboration.

Harada Roshi consistently roots Zen in the life and realization of Shakyamuni Buddha. The sutras, precepts, and traditional Buddhist doctrines are honored as authentic expressions of that realization, yet they are always subordinated to the demand for direct experience. Rather than allowing Buddhism to remain at the level of belief or philosophy, he presents Zen as the means by which the core Buddhist truths are verified in one’s own mind and body. Zen thus functions as Buddhism made real in posture, breath, awareness, and conduct.

Within this framework, practice stands at the center. Zazen, intensive retreats, koan work, chanting, bowing, and adherence to the precepts are all upheld as concrete forms through which the Buddha’s way is transmitted and actualized. These practices are not merely ritual; they are the crucible in which the teachings on impermanence, non-self, interdependence, and liberation from suffering are directly encountered. Zen, in Harada Roshi’s presentation, cuts through reliance on scripture or intellectual understanding alone and demands an experiential realization of Buddha-nature.

From this perspective, the relationship between Zen and Buddhism is one of essence to expression. Buddhism provides the broad framework—the historical Buddha, the traditional teachings, the ethical and philosophical context—while Zen is the most direct, uncompromising enactment of that framework in lived experience. Zen preserves Buddhism’s fundamental purpose: complete awakening and the end of suffering, realized not as an abstract ideal but as an immediate, transformative insight.