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LIFESTYLE | PHILOSOPHY | BUDDHISM
The process of dying is most pleasant
(two life stories about living with the end in mind)
It has been 25 years since I published an annotated translation (in Dutch) of The Zen Way (1977), a delightful little book containing a general introduction to Buddhist philosophy, followed by a detailed description of daily life and practices in a Zen nunnery. Het Pad van Zen has turned out the best-selling translation-and-annotation work I have ever done, outshining even my renderings of books by the 14th Dalai Lama. The original had been a bestseller too, by Myokyo-ni, a Rinzai nun and incumbent at The Zen Centre, London.
Myokyo-ni’s birth name was Irmgard Schloegl. She was an Austrian geologist (University of Graz) and had joined the London Buddhist Society with Christmas Humphreys in 1950. Later, she studied at the Chithurst Forest Monastery (Cittaviveka), where she received ordination at the invitation of Ajahn Sumedho. After this, in 1960, she moved to the Daitokuji monastery (Ryūhōzan) in Kyōto, and received inka from Kannun Sojun Roshi (1972).
During my work on her book, I traveled to London several times to meet her and spend time in her company. She came across as very serious and a bit stern at first. It took some time for us to get used to one…
