Inspired by the 3000-mile pilgrimage across China made by Great Master Xu Yun in 1883, Bhikshu (Buddhist monk) Heng Ju decided to embark on his own three steps, one bow pilgrimage from San Francisco to Seattle. With the help of his close friend, Bhikshu Heng Yo, Heng Ju completed the 1100-mile journey in ten months, from August 1973 to October 1974. After every three steps, he bowed in full prostration on the ground, praying for world peace and seeking spiritual awakening. This book is based on the original journal entries made by the two monks during the pilgrimage. The book is a detailed account of the progress of their journey, relating internal and external hardships, revealing their realizations and awakenings, and details of their communications and interactions with their teacher, Tripitaka Master Hsuan Hua and the many members of the Buddhist community who provided support to them, and the various people they met along the way. The book shows Buddhism in its true form: a practice to transform the mind, and thereby the world in which we live. This 40th anniversary edition comes with a preface written by Jeanette Testu, daughter of the former Heng Ju who had returned to lay life. Bhikshu Heng Ju (Tim Testu) was among the first monastics ordained on Western soil in the lineage of Venerable Hsuan Hua, and the first to embark upon a three steps, one bow pilgrimage in the United States. Heng Ju was a mischievous adolescent and imaginative daydreamer, always challenging accepted norms and often getting into trouble. He joined the U.S. Navy and served on a submarine that operated in the Pacific Ocean. So, choosing to bow up the Pacific Coast in Tang Dynasty robes was not out of character. His purpose for the pilgrimage was not only prayer and demonstration of support for world peace, but an attempt to master the six perfections of an enlightened being: giving, morality, patience, vigor, concentration, and wisdom within oneself. Heng Yo was a rebellious child growing up in New England. When he flunked out of college after his freshman year, he began to question his purpose in life. A friend gave him a book on Daoism, which led him to academic success, Buddhism, and Master Hua in San Francisco Chinatown. In 1972, along with Heng Ju, he was fully ordained as a Buddhist monk. When Heng Ju decided to make the bowing pilgrimage to Seattle, Heng Yo eagerly offered to accompany and support him on the journey, believing that the path of cultivation is open to all who choose to follow it.