Myokyo-ni

Myokyo-ni
School	Rinzai
Personal
Nationality	Austrian
Born	January 29, 1921(1921-01-29) Leitersdorf, Styria, Austria
Died	March 29, 2007(2007-03-29) (aged 86)
Senior posting
Title	Nun
Religious career
Teacher	Oda Sesso Sojun Kannon

Myokyo-ni (born Irmgard Schloegl; January 29, 1921 - March 29, 2007) was a Rinzai Zen Buddhist nun and head of the Zen Centre in London.^[1]

Raised in Leitersdorf, Styria, Austria, she obtained a Ph.D. degree in Natural Sciences from Graz University before joining the Zen Group at the Buddhist Society under Christmas Humphreys in 1950. In 1960 she went to Japan and trained at Daitoku-ji monastery for twelve years under Oda Sesso Rōshi and, after his death, under his successor Sojun Kannun Rōshi. In 1966, she returned to England for nine months, during which time she started a small zazen Group at the Buddhist Society which continued until she returned permanently in 1972. With the introduction of another Zazen class, and then a beginners' class, running alongside Humphreys' original Zen Class, the Zen Group grew in size until the Zen Centre was formally established in 1979. During this period she was living at Humphreys' residence (she was known to refer to him affectionately as 'Uncle' - Venerable Sōkō Rōshi was known as 'Father'), which was later bequeathed to the Zen Centre, eventually being inaugurated as Shobo-an, the main administrative location and training temple of the Zen Centre.

On July 22, 1984, she was ordained by Sōkō Morinaga Rōshi, who had been head monk at Daitoku-ji during her time there. The ordination took place at Chithurst Forest Monastery at the invitation of the Abbot Ajahn Sumedho, and the Sōkō Morinaga Rōshi gave her the name Myokyo-ni. Myokyo, meaning 'mirror of the subtle', had been the name the Rōshi had given her as a Zen student in Japan (ni meaning 'nun').

Ven.Myokyo-ni was the author of a number of books on Zen and Buddhism, including a translation of The Zen Teaching of Rinzai (Linji).

From 2002 until her death in 2007, Ven. Myokyoni lived at Fairlight (Luton), one of the Zen Centre's two training temples, where she received students and gave regular teisho (Zen talks). Both temples continue to run under her trainees, providing meditation classes, holding regular sesshins and offering residential facilities for Zen Centre members. Fairlight is now run by Ven. Sogen, and Shobo-an in St John's Wood, London is run by Venerable Sochu.

Ven. Myokyo-ni was given the posthumous title Daiyu Zenji. (Daiyu means 'Great Oak').

Bibliography

• The Record of Rinzai (1976) (under her pre-ordination name Irmgard Schloegl)
• The Zen Way (1977)
• Introducing Buddhism (1978)
• Gentling the Bull: The Ten Bull Pictures, a Spiritual Journey (1980)
• The Ceasing of Notions (1988) (with Sōkō Morinaga Rōshi and M. Bromley)
• Living Buddhism (2000)

Translation and editing

• Wisdom of the Zen Masters (1976) (under her pre-ordination name Irmgard Schloegl)
• The Bull and his Herdsman (1989) by Daizokutsu R Otsu (from the German 'Der Ochs und Sein Hirte by Tsujumura and Buchner)
• The discourse on The Inexhaustible Lamp of the Zen School (1989)(also translated by Yoko Okuda)

Other writings

• Introduction for Thomas Merton on Zen (1976). Sheldon Press.

See also

• Buddhism in Europe
• List of Rinzai Buddhists

References

1. ^ Blomfeld, Simon (31 April 2007), "The Venerable Myokyo-ni", The Guardian (London), http://www.guardian.co.uk/obituaries/story/0,,2063167,00.html 

External links

• "Official" portrait of Myokyo, drawn by Roberta Mansell
• Online copy of The Zen Teaching of Rinzai
• Reference to Venerable Myokyo-ni in article by David Chadwick
• Web site of The Buddhist Society

Persondata
Name	Myokyo-Ni, Venerable
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	January 29, 1921
Place of birth	Leitersdorf, Styria, Austria
Date of death	March 29, 2007
Place of death