Description
Zen has become popular in the West – so popular that there is a temptation to forget that it is a school of Buddhism. Venerable Myokyo-ni ‘s book sets out the basic Buddhist teachings based on the example of the Buddha’s life and traces the fundamentals of the Zen Way through a detailed account of life in a traditional Zen monastery. From her own experience of twelve years’ training in a Rinzai monastery, the author explains the patterns of its life: the harsh introduction that the novice endures, the daily routine of chanting, work and meditation and the seasonal festivals and retreats.
She shows that the Zen Way leads to a genuine insight into the Buddhist teachings, indicates what it is necessary for its development and points out that this insight is not merely a mental exercise but a genuine restructuring and making whole. Practical suggestions are given for setting this process in motion.
The Venerable Myokyo-ni (Mirror of the Subtle Nun) was born Irmgard Schloegl in 1921 in Leitersdorf, Austria. She was awarded her PhD in Geology by Graz University, and arrived in England in 1950 to take up a lectureship at Imperial College London. Having joined Christmas Humphreys’ Zen class at the Buddhist Society, she left for Kyoto in 1960 to train under Oda Sesso Roshi and Sojun Kannun Roshi. Returning to London in 1972, she established the Zen Centre in London where she taught, translated and wrote about Zen. In 1984 she was ordained as a Zen nun and teacher by Soko Morinaga Roshi, and continued to teach and write until her death in 2007. Her posthumous name is Master Daiyu (Great Oak)
