REL 444/544 Week 8 Notes

Maura "Soshin" O'Halloran (1955-1982  ), A Rare and Unusual Zen Adept

1. Maura O'Halloran is a Western feminist woman, Irish American by background, who studies with a Japanese Zen Master. What are the specific gender-related challenges faced by O'Halloran in her cultural and religious contexts? What are the assumptions behind the model of selfhood at work in her Western feminist mindset as related to and contrasted with that of Go Roshi and the others at the temple? Can you relate the challenges they face and the assumptions behind their models of selfhood to earlier writings, both Medieval Japanese Buddhist sources and scholarly articles?
2. Maura O'Halloran undergoes a series of transformation in her first-person account as related through her journal entries, from an overly idealistic view of Japanese Zen monasteries to a more realistic view; from a highly intellectual and philosophical view of Zen to one that is more fully embodied and experiential; from feeling conflicted - between her love of her Zen master Go Roshi and her discomfort with what she perceives to be his male chauvinist views - to an experience of having her conflicts resolved and dissolved. What is the significance of these transformations? Are they more or less parallel or are they intetwined/closely related? What are some of the key turning points that indicate her path of self-transformation and her Zen path?

Guiding Questions: 

1. In what ways does O'Halloran’s Zen and her teacher's Zen (Go Roshi) serve as an extension of Dogen’s Zen?
2. In what ways does it represent a departure from Dogen’s Zen?
3. What is the relation between writing and Zen practice for O'Halloran?
4. What does O'Halloran realize as Zen freedom in completing her practice? Is Go Roshi truly awakened or is he male-biased to the end?
5. What are two or three of the most significant turning points in O'Halloran's journey?