Nationality Irish-American Occupation Zen Buddhist monk | Other names Soshin Other name Soshin | |
 | ||
Full Name Maura O'Halloran Born May 24, 1955 Boston, Massachusetts Died 22 October 1982, Chiang Mai, Thailand Books Pure heart, enlightened mind | ||
Maura "Soshin" O'Halloran (May 24, 1955 - October 22, 1982) was an Irish American Zen Buddhist monk. She is known for her book Pure Heart, Enlightened Mind, which was posthumously published, and for being the "first of few Western women allowed to practice in a traditional Japanese Zen monastery".
Biography
O'Halloran was born in Boston, Massachusetts in 1955 and her parents moved to Ireland when she was four years old. 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. 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. After a three-year period she was given the Buddhist name of "Soshin-san" on August 8, 1982, upon which point she decided to travel back to Ireland. O'Halloran died in a traffic accident in Chiang Mai, Thailand on October 22, 1982. 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.