Enkyō Pat O'Hara is a Soto priest and teacher in the

Harada-Yasutani is a lay Zen sect derived from both the Soto (Caodong) and the Rinzai ( Linji) traditions. It was renamed Sanbo-Zen International in 2014. The term ''Sanbo Kyodan'' has often been used to refer to the Harada-Yasutani zen lineage. However, a n ...

lineage of

Zen Zen ( zh, t=禪, p=Chán; ja, text= 禅, translit=zen; ko, text=선, translit=Seon; vi, text=Thiền) is a school of Mahayana Buddhism that originated in China during the Tang dynasty, known as the Chan School (''Chánzong'' 禪宗), and ...

Buddhism.

Biography

Growing up as a young white girl in

Tijuana, Mexico Tijuana ( ,"Tijuana"
(US) and < ...

while attending Catholic School in the United States, O’Hara was far too 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 literatures including poems by

Gary Snyder Gary Snyder (born May 8, 1930) is an American poet, essayist, lecturer, and environmental activist. His early poetry has been associated with the Beat Generation and the San Francisco Renaissance and he has been described as the "poet laureate of ...

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 John Daido Loori (June 14, 1931 – October 9, 2009) was a Zen Buddhist rōshi who served as the abbot of Zen Mountain Monastery and was the founder of the Mountains and Rivers Order and CEO of Dharma Communications. Daido Loori received shih ...

but differences with her teacher led her to begin studying with

Taizan Maezumi Hakuyū Taizan Maezumi ( Maezumi Hakuyū, February 24, 1931 – May 15, 1995) was a Japanese Zen Buddhist teacher and rōshi, and lineage holder in the Sōtō, Rinzai, and Sanbo Kyodan traditions of Zen. He combined the Rinzai use of ''kōan''s an ...

, who himself was Loori's teacher. 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. It was with him that she began to study the Soto and Rinzai traditions. O'Hara was ordained a Soto priest by Hakuyu Taizan Maezumi in 1995 and received shiho from Bernard Glassman in 1997. In June 2004 Glassman gave O'Hara inka. She is abbot and founder of the

Village Zendo __NOTOC__ Village Zendo is a combined Soto Zen, Soto and Rinzai Zen practice center in lower Manhattan. Originally located in the apartment of Enkyo Pat O'Hara, who founded the zendo in 1986, the Zen center took up the majority of space in O'Hara's ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. She serves as co-spiritual director of the

Zen Peacemaker Order The Zen Peacemakers is a diverse network of socially engaged Buddhists, currently including the formal structures of the Zen Peacemakers International, the Zen Peacemaker Order and the Zen Peacemaker Circles, many affiliated individuals and gro ...

along with

Tetsugen Bernard Glassman Bernie Glassman (January 18, 1939 – November 4, 2018) was an American Zen Buddhist roshi and founder of the Zen Peacemakers (previously the Zen Community of New York), an organization established in 1980. In 1996, he co-founded the Zen Peacem ...

. She is also a former professor of

interactive media Interactive media normally refers to products and services on digital computer-based systems which respond to the user's actions by presenting content such as text, moving image, animation, video and audio. Since its early conception, various fo ...

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, the ...

Tisch School of the Arts The New York University Tisch School of the Arts (commonly referred to as Tisch) is the performing, cinematic and media arts school of New York University. Founded on August 17, 1965, Tisch is a training ground for artists, scholars of the a ...

. She holds a doctorate in

Media ecology Media ecology theory is the study of media, technology, and communication and how they affect human environments. The theoretical concepts were proposed by Marshall McLuhan in 1964, while the term ''media ecology'' was first formally introduced b ...

. A socially engaged Buddhist, she is a member of the

White Plum Asanga White Plum Asanga, sometimes termed White Plum Sangha, is a Zen school in the Hakuyu Taizan Maezumi lineage, created by Hakuyu Taizan Maezumi. It consists of Maezumi's Dharma heirs and subsequent successors and students. A diverse organization ...

and manages the Buddhist AIDS Network.

Activism

Much of Enkyo's activism is in the world of

HIV/AIDS Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual ...

, 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, has articulated a Zen Buddhist approach to issues dealing with

sexuality Human sexuality is the way people experience and express themselves sexually. This involves biological, psychological, physical, erotic, emotional, social, or spiritual feelings and behaviors. Because it is a broad term, which has varied ...

race Race, RACE or "The Race" may refer to: * Race (biology), an informal taxonomic classification within a species, generally within a sub-species * Race (human categorization), classification of humans into groups based on physical traits, and/or s ...

class Class or The Class may refer to: Common uses not otherwise categorized * Class (biology), a taxonomic rank * Class (knowledge representation), a collection of individuals or objects * Class (philosophy), an analytical concept used differentl ...

, and

health Health, according to the World Health Organization, is "a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease and infirmity".World Health Organization. (2006)''Constitution of the World Health Organiza ...

Bibliography

Gallery

Image:Village Zendo sangha.jpg,

sangha Image:Enkyo Pat O'Hara.jpg Image:Pat_Enkyo_O'Hara_11.jpg Image:Pat Enkyo O'Hara 5.jpg Image:Pat Enkyo O'Hara 6.jpg Image:Pat Enkyo O'Hara 7.jpg Image:Enyo Pat O'Hara.JPG, with

Joan Halifax Joan Jiko Halifax (born July 30, 1942) is an American Zen Buddhist teacher, anthropologist, ecologist, civil rights activist, hospice caregiver, and the author of several books on Buddhism and spirituality. She currently serves as abbot and gu ...

References

External links