Pure Heart Enlightened Mind                       

The Zen Journal and Letters of Maura “Soshin” O’Halloran

by Maura O’Halloran ,           Introduction by Ruth O’Halloran P. 311

           Maura O’Halloran was born in Boston, US., daughter of an Irish father and an American mother. When her father died suddenly in an accident, the family moved back to Ireland. In school she distinguished herself in mathematics and linguistics but from a tender age she showed interest in meditation. As an adult she ordained spontaneous poverty on herself. She had considered doing Ph.D., but her trip to Japan delayed it and she finally decided that she would complete her studies after her return from Japan. She joined a Zen monastery in Japan and stayed there for three years. This book is based on her letters she wrote to her family from Japan, and the journal she maintained while living there. It is an interesting compilation of her emotions and perceptions as she lived in a foreign land.

             In the Zen monastery she was given a Japanese name Soshin that means ‘great enlightenment’ or ‘simple mind.'  She lived in Kannonji and Toshiji temples and received instruction from her teacher Go Roshi who encouraged her to follow Japanese traditions.  Some of these traditions were bizarre for her as she indicates in one of her letters, “I’ve never done so much bowing in my life” (P. 24). We find a reference to Christmas and later New Year celebration by monks that they did for Maura. Although the celebration was unconventional Maura recognized that her fellow monks were fun loving and had a sense of humor. These celebrations also made her recognize that now all her friends were monks (p. 27).

              Maura also appeared on Japanese television and newspaper. Despite such recognition, she was humble enough not to give credit to herself. She felt this attention was coming to her because she was a female and a foreigner. However, in the monastery she was treated as any other devotee and was given different chores. She was assigned to work as a cook with her fellow monks. Maura says “At first he [Go Roshi] thought we were trying to kill him, hard rice and the dinner that smelled like medicine” (P 53). Probably, her cooking [dis]abilities made Go Roshi take an advertisement in the local newspaper for a new cook, but he could not find a suitable one. Meanwhile Maura’s and Jiko-san’s cooking improved. Later we find no mention of a cook being hired. The description of kitchen life is intermingled with minor kitchen tussles with Jiko-san. Soon other chores fell in her lap, like being an altar boy!

              She also went to Korea, which was an eventful and interesting journey. She got many favors from fellow travelers, and at times was treated lavishly. She was delighted and suggested that “With robes and a shaved head is the only way to travel.” We find interesting description about the way Christian world looked at her while she was in Korea and her reaction towards them. She narrates, “On Palm Sunday morning they (friends) invited me to a full gospel service with the largest congregation in the world. I’d never been to one, so I was game. Didn’t the people ever stare! But the service was frightening. Thousands of people swaying, sighing. It made me think of a Paisley or Hitler performance. The sermon was interesting, making the promise best suited to an oppressed people, the promise of future rewards.”  She further says, “Downstairs in the coffee bar, the pastor who had been most stirring was surrounded by buzzing followers. She had risen at the end to exhort the congregation into a frenzied praise of the Lord. Catching sight of me, she knifed through the crowd around her. “Buddha, Buddha, Buddhist devil,” she shrieked. “Out, devil, out!” banging me on the head, the back, the chest. Laughing, I assured her I was no devil.” It is noteworthy that Maura was not perturbed by this incident and her friends escorted her out safely from the congregation.

          Her Zen guru Go Roshi was considered the best teacher of Zen in Japan. Maura suggests through many instances how a Zen teacher too has to undergo the trials and tribulations of life. His extended family was well educated but could not appreciate Zen despite having a world reknowned teacher in the house. Maura describes this through some incidents that she observed. In recognition of the teacher, the monastery arranged to celebrate his son’s birthday but somehow the son failed to show up. At another time Go Roshi was concerned about the status of the temple after he was gone. He suggested his daughter to marry a monk and get the temple in dowry! Interestingly, his daughter did not like the proposed monk and refused to marry. Then Go Roshi came up with a brilliant idea that Maura should marry a good monk and get temple in dowry. Later her children would inherit the temple. By then she had completed one and half year in monastery and in three years she would be a Zen teacher herself, and then this monastery could become an international Zen center. Go Roshi made this offer because he was convinced that in Japan there was a scarcity of sincere Zen teachers. Maura had no plans of being married to a monk so she did not accept the offer too.

            The book unfolds and gives an interesting narrative of different monks and lay people who were in and out of monastery while Maura was there. We find mention of Tetsuro-san, who was  to become an abbot and therefore was anxious, but some monks found his behavior neurotic. She gave a vivid description of their personality and how their presence affected her in the search of egolessness and her longing for Satori. She understood simple truths about life while doing day-to-day chores. She started paying attention to simple but profound truths. Once while sweeping the floor she thought and later jotted down in her journal, “Someone said that we should take care of things simply because they exist” (P 100).  Maura’s compassion increased with her meditation. We find definite change in her attitude as she continued her practice. In the beginning she finds monastery work a drudgery and stupid but later nothing could deter her. Even in most trying circumstances she would not get perturbed but feel everything will be fine.

          She was meditating on koan ‘Mu,' at the same time she was troubled with many unanswered questions, ‘What is emptiness?’ ‘What is Buddha nature?’ ‘What is man before he is born?’ She was doing serious zazan, sometimes meditation continued all night for four nights. As it is well-known monastery life is not easy. On top of it to live without central heating and light makes things even worse. It seemed she was living in 13th century Japan as Maura humorously mentioned in a letter to her mother. The tradition of begging was also practiced. Winter was particularly tough because snow would cover all paths. On the days of begging old religious ladies would feed lavish lunch to monks. When monks accepted their invitations the ladies felt gratitude towards them. Maura appreciated their simple nature and reflected in her journal, “I realize how easily people are fooled in spiritual affairs. They want to believe [these] people have attained depths and [want] to feel associated with the extraordinary” (P 159).

          At one point she compared Japanese sensibility with western ideas. She said, “I wonder if the Japanese have a higher incidence of paranoia than westerners. People are so reluctant to say something offensive that it helps me understand better why Tetsuro-san was convinced everyone was talking about him behind his back. On the other hand, it’s refreshing to be allowed to be naive, to expect the best and see good. Our culture sponsors a cynicism even in its humor” (P 207-208).

          She completed 1000 days of training with unfettered devotion . This training is based on an ancient tradition which has continued from the time of Dogen, in Soto Zen. She completed her koan training and graduated with a celebration. During her stay in Japan her mother and brother visited her on different occasions. Maura completed rigorous training of monastic life in three years and though Go Roshi did not want her to leave, she decided finally to go back to Ireland. Maura with her brother decided to tour Southeast Asia for two months. They planned to reach Ireland in time to celebrate Christmas with the family. They went to Bangkok, Hong Kong, Macao. The next stop was Chiang Mai in Thailand. This was a bus journey and Maura was the last one to board the bus, so she sat in front next to the driver. Unfortunately, the driver fell asleep near dawn, and bus met an accident. Maura with the driver and two other passengers were killed in the crash. Her mangled body was identified by a ticket stub which authorities found in one of the pockets of the monk’s robe.

          Kannonji Temple dedicated a statue of Maura in the temple. The inscription says, “She  is given the posthumous name of ‘Great Enlightened lady, of the same heart and mind as the great teacher Buddha.’ Miss Maura has been a real incarnation of Kannon Bosatu to  be loved and respected for ever.’

          I found this book interesting, because I particularly enjoyed the description of monastery life. Maura’s dedication towards the practice is enamoring, later her untimely death shocked me. At the same time it encouraged me to read this book a second time, making me reflect all over again about life and its transactions. This time the meaning of the book from the very first page seemed entirely different. In the first reading the book seemed a narration of travel experiences, and what life meant in a different culture. Such personal anecdotes are usually fun to read for these give another person’s perspective about eastern culture. But her sudden death changed the whole meaning of the book. The real essence of her three year stay in monastery hit home. It made me comprehend Maura’s calling, purpose and what she was able to  achieve in her short life. She showed tremendous dedication by studying Zen for three years in Japan. As I have mentioned earlier also, this book is based on Maura’s letters she wrote to her family and the journals she maintained all through her stay in Japan. These journal entries are not complete in themselves. She wrote depending on her schedule, how busy she was on a given day. Therefore on certain days entries are short and on other days they are much longer. She always gave tremendous importance to temple work. The letters written to her family and journal entries together create a narrative that has continuous flow. These were compiled together after Maura’s death by her mother and are published by her. The illustration in this book is done by her sister Elizabeth. In Maura’s journal she does mention about working on a novel, which she was planning to be published once she came back to Ireland. In this respect the publication of her letters and journal entries is an apt tribute that her family gave to her. Certainly a book for everyone to read and reflect about the meaning of life!

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