Maura O'Halloran

Maura O'Halloran (1955-October 22, 1982) was an Irish American Zen Buddhist monk.

At the age of 24, Maura O'Halloran left her waitress job in Boston to go to Japan. Once there, she entered Toshoji temple in Tokyo, then eventually was sent to Kannonji Temple in Morioka, Northern Japan. She was ordained as a Zen nun and took on the extremely intense Zen practice of the mostly Japanese male temple. Her ordination name was Soshin (Pure Heart, Enlightened Mind.) After the three-years of formal Zen training with her teacher, O'Halloran had an enlightenment experience and passed her koans. She received the Dharma transmission of her teacher, Tetsugyu Ban Roshi. Officially a Zen master, she decided she would teach in her homeland of Ireland. But first she would take a trip. Just a week later, in Thailand, she was killed in a road accident on a bus. She was 27.

A collection of her journals and letters home were published as the book Pure Heart, Enlightened Mind. It is now a classic spiritual memoir.

A statue stands at the temple where she practiced, venerating O'Halloran as a Zen Saint.

A film by Noah Buschel, based on Maura's memoirs, is in development.

References

External links

• Pure heart, enlightened mind: the Zen journal & letters of Maura "Soshin" O'Halloran WorldCat
• O'Halloran, Maura Soshin (2007). Pure Heart, Enlightened Mind: The Life and Letters of an Irish Zen Saint. Wisdom Publications. ISBN 9780861712830. 

Persondata
Name	Ohalloran, Maura
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	1955
Place of birth
Date of death	1982
Place of death