Enkyo Pat O'Hara

Enkyō Pat O'Hara
TitleRoshi
Religious life
ReligionZen Buddhism
SchoolSōtō
Zen Peacemakers
LineageWhite Plum Asanga
Senior posting
Based inTisch School of the Arts
Village Zendo
PredecessorTetsugen Bernard Glassman
SuccessorBarbara Joshin O’Hara[1]
Jules Shuzen Harris[2]

Randall Ryotan Eiger
Sinclair Shinryu Thomson
Catherine Anraku Hondorp
Julie Myoko Terestman
Robert Kaku Gunn
Jeremy Manasia
Allan JoAn Tibbetts
Traven Fusho Rice
Websitewww.villagezendo.org

Enkyō Pat O'Hara is a Soto Zen priest and teacher in the White Plum order of Sōtō Zen Buddhism, founded by Roshi Taizan Maezumi.[3][4]

Biography

Growing up as a young white girl in Tijuana, Mexico while attending Catholic School in the United States, O’Hara was familiar with racism and prejudice. With one foot in each world, racial slurs and comments that were made to her left her feeling ostracized and insecure. However, it wasn’t until her high school years when she discovered and entered the Beat Generation and took to reading various literature including poems by Gary Snyder, who gave way to new ways of thought. It also in her high school years when she read R.H. Blyth’s translations of Haiku, Buddhist sutras, and writings of D.T. Suzuki that the door to Zen Buddhism opened, her attraction being Zen’s artistic expression.

O'Hara studied with John Daido Loori but differences with her teacher led her to begin studying with Taizan Maezumi, who himself was Loori's teacher.[5] However, it was when she began studying under Taizan Maezumi Roshi when she felt like she found her true teacher and main influencer. It was their shared love of freedom, new experiences, dharma, and love of empowering women that made O’Hara feel a strong connection, often referring to his teaching as feminine.

O'Hara was ordained a Soto priest by Hakuyu Taizan Maezumi in 1995 and received shiho from Bernard Glassman in 1997.[5][6] In June 2004 Glassman gave O'Hara inka.[6]

She is the abbot emerita and co-founder of the Village Zendo in New York City.[5][7][8][6][9] She served as co-spiritual director of the Zen Peacemaker Order along with Tetsugen Bernard Glassman.[10] She is also a former professor of interactive media at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts. She holds a doctorate in Media ecology. A socially engaged Buddhist, she is a member of the White Plum Asanga and was involved with the Buddhist AIDS Network.[11]

Activism

Much of Enkyo's activism has been in the world of HIV/AIDS, from teaching meditation to HIV-positive practitioners to working on prevention strategies among those at risk, and serving as Chairperson of the Board of the National AIDS Interfaith Network. Enkyo, who is a lesbian,[8] has articulated a Zen Buddhist approach to issues dealing with sexuality, race, class, and health.

Bibliography

  • O'Hara, Pat Enkyo (2014). Most Intimate: A Zen Approach to Life's Challenges. Shambhala Publications. ISBN 978-1590309742.
  • O'Hara, Pat Enkyo (2020). A Little Bit of Zen. Sterling Ethos. ISBN 978-1454940593.
  • O'Hara, Pat Enkyo (2011). A Winter Sesshin. Self-Published.

See also

References

  1. ^ "Barbara Joshin O'Hara". Village Zendo. Archived from the original on May 13, 2015. Retrieved April 26, 2015.
  2. ^ "Jules Shuzen Harris, Sensei". Village Zendo. Archived from the original on May 2, 2015. Retrieved April 26, 2015.
  3. ^ Skinner Keller, Rosemary; Rosemary Radford Ruether; Marie Cantlon (2006). The Encyclopedia of Women and Religion in North America. Indiana University Press. p. 1096. ISBN 0-253-34685-1. OCLC 61711172.
  4. ^ "Bernie's Training in Zen: The Early Years". Zen Peacemakers. Archived from the original on September 25, 2015. Retrieved October 8, 2024.
  5. ^ a b c Boyle, Richard P. (April 24, 2015). "You Yourself Are Oatmeal". Tricycle: The Buddhist Review. Retrieved April 26, 2015.
  6. ^ a b c "ZPO Founding Teachers-USA". Zen Peacemaker Order. Archived from the original on April 30, 2015. Retrieved April 26, 2015.
  7. ^ Gregory, Peter N. (2007). Women Practicing Buddhism: American Experiences. Wisdom Publications. p. 41. ISBN 978-0-86171-539-8.
  8. ^ a b Wilson, Jeff (2000). The Buddhist Guide to New York. Macmillan. pp. 102–103. ISBN 0-312-26715-0. OCLC 44089480.
  9. ^ "About Us". Village Zendo. Village Zendo. 22 March 2011. Archived from the original on October 1, 2024. Retrieved October 4, 2024.
  10. ^ "O'Hara, Pat Enkyo". Sweeping Zen. Archived from the original on October 30, 2015. Retrieved April 26, 2015.
  11. ^ "Pat Enkyo O'Hara". Richard Bryan McDaniel. 22 June 2023. Archived from the original on January 17, 2024. Retrieved October 5, 2024.