Maura O'Halloran

Maura "Soshin" O'Halloran (May 24, 1955 - October 22, 1982) was an Irish Zen Buddhist monk.[1] She is known for her book Pure Heart, Enlightened Mind, which was posthumously published, and for being one of the "first of few Western women allowed to practice in a traditional Japanese Zen monastery".[2]

Maura "Soshin" O'Halloran
Born
Maura O'Halloran

May 24, 1955
Boston, Massachusetts
DiedOctober 22, 1982(1982-10-22) (aged 27)
Chiang Mai, Thailand
NationalityIrish
Other namesSoshin
Alma materTrinity College Dublin
OccupationZen Buddhist monk

Biography

O'Halloran was born in Boston, Massachusetts in 1955 and her parents moved back to Ireland when she was four years old.[3] There she was educated in a convent school in County Dublin and later attended Trinity College Dublin, where she graduated with a joint degree in mathematical economics/statistics and sociology.[3] Shortly after her graduation O'Halloran traveled to northern Japan, where she studied to become a Zen monk at Toshoji in Tokyo and at Kannonji in the Iwate Prefecture.[3]

On November 18, 1979, O'Halloran contacted and went to the Toshoji Temple where she met the master at the time, Tetsugyu Soin Ban, who she respected with the honorific title "Go-Roshi."[4] On November 23, 1979, she was given the Buddhist name of "Soshin", meaning something like "Genuine Heart/Mind".[5] After a three-year period, on August 8, 1982, she decided to travel back to Ireland.[3] O'Halloran died in a traffic accident in Chiang Mai, Thailand on October 22, 1982.[6] After her death she was titled "Great Enlightened Lady, of the same heart and mind as the Great Teacher Buddha" and a statue was dedicated to her at the temple she studied at in Iwate Prefecture.[3]

Bibliography
  • Pure Heart, Enlightened Mind: The Zen Journal and Letters of Maura "Soshin" O'Halloran. Charles E. Tuttle Company, Boston, 1994. ISBN 9780804819770.[7][8][9][10]

References
  1. Reynolds (editor), David K. (1993). Plunging Through the Clouds. State Univ of New York Press. p. 221. ISBN 0791413136.CS1 maint: extra text: authors list (link)
  2. Woodhouse, Mark (1 October 1999). "PAINTED CAKES: BUILDING A PATH TO BUDDHISM". Library Journal. 124 (16): 57. Archived from the original on 24 December 2013.
  3. Bourke, Angela (2002). The Field Day Anthology of Irish Writing - Volume 4. NYU Press. pp. 603, 617–619, 621–622. ISBN 081479906X.
  4. O'Halloran, Maura (1994). Pure Heart, Enlightened Mind: The Zen Journal and Letters of Maura "Soshin" O'Halloran. Boston: Charles E. Tuttle Company. p. 15. ISBN 9780804819770.
  5. O'Halloran, Maura (1994). Pure Heart, Enlightened Mind: The Zen Journal and Letters of Maura "Soshin" O'Halloran. Boston: Charles E. Tuttle Company. p. 17. ISBN 9780804819770.
  6. O'Faolain, Nuala (2011). A Radiant Life: The Selected Journalism of Nuala O'Faolain. Harry N. Abrams. pp. 76–79. ISBN 978-0810998063.
  7. Besserman, Perle (2007). A New Zen for Women. Palgrave Macmillan. p. 114. ISBN 978-1403972149.
  8. "Pure Heart Enlightened Mind (Review)". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved 23 December 2013.
  9. Elie, Paul (4 November 1994). "Title:Pure Heart, Enlightening Mind: The Zen Journals of Maura "Soshin" O'Halloran". Commonweal. 121 (2): 30. Retrieved 23 December 2013.
  10. Maughan, Shannon (23 June 1997). "Turning up the volume: led by an invigorated Audio Publishers Association, the audiobook industry made a strong showing". Publishers Weekly. 244 (25): 63.
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