SO TO ZEN - Shasta Abbey

Introductionixthe cause of education for women, and he did not stop withschools for girls and nurses. He was willing to risk the censureof those who clung to the cultural norms of his country in orderto follow the teachings of Buddhism. ÒOne of the greatestteachings of Buddhism is its insistence upon the completeequality of the sexes.Ó *On her way to Japan Miss Kennett was ordained by Rev.Seck Kim Seng in the Chinese Rinzai tradition in Malaysia.Upon her arrival in Japan she was received by Koh‡ Zenji ashis personal disciple. He gave her the name H‡un Jiy‰, whichmeans Compassionate Friend within the Dharma Cloud. Rev.Jiyu-Kennett studied with Koh‡ Zenji in S‡ji-ji until his deathin 1967 (the story of her training is published by Shasta AbbeyPress in The Wild, White Goose, Vols. I and II) and then cameto America in 1969, where in 1970 she founded Shasta Abbeyin Koh‡ ZenjiÕs name. Out of gratitude for the great gift of theteaching, one would never found a monastery or temple inoneÕs own name, but in the name of oneÕs teacher from whomthe great gift of the Dharma was received. Shasta Abbey isa training seminary and monastery and has become theheadquarters of the Order of Buddhist Contemplatives. TheOrder also includes another seminary and monastery, Throssel* Great Master D‡gen, Shush‡gi (What is Truly Meant by Trainingand Enlightenment) in Zen is Eternal Life, 4th ed., by R‡shi P.T.N.H.Jiyu-Kennett (Mt. Shasta, California: Shasta Abbey Press, 1999), p. 99.