Pure heart, enlightened mind : the Zen journal and letters of Maura "Soshin" O'Halloran

In 1979, 24-year-old Maura O'Halloran left her waitressing job in Boston and began her study of Zen in Japan. Today she is revered as a Buddhist saint, and a statue in her honor stands at the monastery where she lived. This is the story of her journey. The writings of Maura O'Halloran, "the first foreigner--and the first woman--ever admitted to Toshoji Temple, where she experienced one thousand days of rigors and hardships in her quest to become a dharma teacher."--Cover