Table Of ContentMEMOIR / EASTERN RELIGION
“A fascinating portrait of an apprentice sage...It unfolds as a grand adventure.” — New York Times Book Review
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Absolutely absorbing from start to finish, Pure Heart, Enlightened Maura O’Halloran
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Mind is a true story you might truly fall in love with. u
Maura O’Halloran’s classic memoir has already inspired popular r
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musicians, artists, a documentary film—and countless readers. This
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expanded edition includes never-before-seen entries and poems, the
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author’s unfinished novel, and an afterword that discusses the book’s H
cultural impact. a
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At only 24, Maura O’Halloran left her Irish-American family stateside
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and traveled to Japan, where she began studying under an inscru- n
table Zen master. She would herself become recognized as a Zen
master—in an uncommonly brief amount of time. Pure Heart, Enlight-
ened Mind is Maura’s beautifully-written account of her journey. These THE LIFE & LETTERS OF AN IRISH ZEN SAINT
journal entries and letters home reveal astonishing, wise-beyond-her-
years humor, compassion, wisdom, and commitment.
“A remarkable record of a life fully lived. A unique and inspiring
and even heartbreaking book. As a writer, Maura O’Halloran
can’t help but communicate.”— Commonweal
“Many have gone to the East in search of enlightenment but none
has told the story as vividly and honestly as Maura O’Halloran.
Her legacy to us is this marvelous book.”
—Melvin McLeod, Editor-in-Chief of Shambhala Sun
THE
LIFE &
ABOUT THE AUTHOR In 1982, when she was 27 years old, Maura LETTERS
O’Halloran was recognized as a Zen master and given authorization OF AN
IRISH
to teach Zen. Only six months later, her life was tragically claimed
Z E N
in a motor accident. In the time since, she has come to be appreci-
SAINT
ated as a sort of saint in Japan—and unofficially so in the Christian
milieu as well.
ISBN-13: 978-0-8617-1283-0
ISBN: 0-86171-283-8 US $17.95
Wisdom Publications • Boston
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WISDOM
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Pure Heart, Enlightened Mind
Acquired at wisdompubs.org
Acquired at wisdompubs.org
Pure Hea rt,
En ligh ten ed Min d
the life and letters of an irish zen saint
Maura Soshin O’Halloran
e x p a n d e d w i s d o m e d i t i o n
IntroductionbyRuthO’Halloran
IllustrationsbyBethO’Halloran
Wisdom Publications • Boston
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WisdomPublications
199ElmStreet
Somerville,MA02144USA
www.wisdompubs.org
©2007KatherineO’HalloranandElizabethO’Halloran
Allrightsreserved.
Nopartof thisbookmaybereproducedinanyformorbyanymeans,electronicor
mechanical, including photography, recording, or by any information storage and
retrievalsystemortechnologiesnowknownorlaterdeveloped,withoutpermissionin
writingfromthepublisher.
LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData
O'Halloran,Maura,1955-1982.
Pureheart,enlightenedmind:thelifeandlettersofanIrishZensaint/byMauraSoshin
O'halloran ; introduction by Ruth O'halloran ; illustrations by Beth O'halloran.—
ExpandedWisdomed.
p.cm.
ISBN0-86171-283-8(pbk.:alk.paper)
ISBN 9 78-0-86171-752-1( ebook (
1. O'Halloran,Maura,1955-1982.2. Spirituallife—ZenBuddhism.3. Spiritualbiogra-
phy—Ireland.4. Spiritualbiography—UnitedStates. I.Title.
BQ976.H35A32007
294.3’927092—dc22
[B]
2007005979
ISBN0-86171-283-8
11 10 09 08 07
5 4 3 2 1
WisdomPublications’booksareprintedonacid-freepaperandmeettheguidelinesfor
permanenceanddurabilitysetbytheCouncilofLibraryResources.
CoverdesignbyElizabethLawrence.InteriordesignbyGopa&Ted2,Inc
Lyricsto“Soshin”reprintedbypermissionoftheartist.Thesongcanbeheardonlineat:
www.lukabloom.com
PrintedintheUnitedStatesofAmerica
h
Thisbookwasproducedwithenvironmentalmindfulness.Wehaveelectedtoprint
this title on 50% PCW recycled paper.As a result,we have saved the following
resources:44trees,31millionBTUsofenergy,3,885lbs.ofgreenhousegases,16,127gal-
lonsofwater,and2,071lbs.ofsolidwaste.Formoreinformation,pleasevisitourwebsite,
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Con ten ts
PrefacetotheOriginalEdition 7
IntroductionbyRuthO’Halloran 9
Prelude 15
PartI:Arrival 19
PartII:Takuhatsu(Begging) 29
PartIII:Tokyo 37
PartIV:Korea 63
PartV:Spring 73
PartVI:Resuming 99
PartVII:NewResolve 133
PartVIII:Mum’sVisit 167
PartIX:Completion 181
Appendix
I.Poetry 213
II.Hermother’srecollectionofMaura’schildhoodandyouth 223
III.Canada 233
IV.LatinAmerica 247
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V.Maura’sBostonyear 255
VI.Maine 257
VII.Maura’sunfinishednovel,1982 261
Epilogue
StatementbyMaura’sbrotherScott 291
LetterofcondolencefromTetsugyuBan
totheO’Halloranfamily 293
InscriptiononastatuededicatedtoMauraatKannonjiTemple 294
AccountofMaura’slastdaysinaletterofcondolence
fromtheDevahastinfamily,Thaifriends 295
Maura’s“MachuPicchu”letter 297
Publisher’sAfterword:Maura’sinfluencesincethefirstedition 301
Glossary 305
Publisher’sAcknowledgement 315
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Preface
totheOriginalEdition
Increatingthisbook,wehavestruggledtodeterminehowbesttopres-
enttheselettersandjournalsofMauraSoshinO’Halloran.Journalsare
inherentlyincompletethings,forthemostfundamentalissuesof alife
oranexperienceareunderstoodbythewriterandareoftenunwritten.
Because of this,Maura’s journals present us with many questions that
remainunanswered—whydidshewanttostudyZen,whydidshegoto
Japan,whatelementsofherCatholicupbringingledhertoBuddhism?
We asked Maura’s family and the people with whom she studied and,
ultimately,theonlyanswersarehereinthesepagesbeforeyou.Maura
neverintendedthismaterialtobepublished.Whateverquestionswemay
haveafterreadingthese,hermostpersonalthoughts,arenotquestions
thatweremostimportanttoMaura.Whatwasimportanttoherwasthat
shebecomeaZenmonkandbeabletohelpotherpeopleinsomeway.
Thisiswhatmatteredtoher.
Japanesewordsareusedthroughoutthetext.ThefirsttimeaJapan-
ese word appears it will be printed in italics with an explanation and
placedintheglossary.Itwillberomanizedthereafter.
WewishtoacknowledgeRuthO’Halloran’sdedicationintranscrib-
ing her daughter’s writings for publication. She was helped by Kate,
Jane,Scott,andBethO’Halloran.IwishtothankTetsugyuBan,Tessai-
san,andShiroTachibanaforwelcomingmetoKannonjiTempleand
transmittingtometheirloveforMaura-san.IamalsogratefultoPaul
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8 (cid:2) pure heart,enlightened mind
Silverman, Lorette Zirker, and Dai-en Bennage for their insight and
editorialguidance.
ThisbookisdedicatedtoMauraSoshinO’Halloran.
—MichaelKerber
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