Marion Derby (later Marian Wisberg and also known as Marion Mountain) (March 12, 1923 - May 15, 2013) was an author, artist, and

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 ...

student of

Shunryū Suzuki Shunryu Suzuki (鈴木俊隆 ''Suzuki Shunryū'', dharma name ''Shōgaku Shunryū'' 祥岳俊隆, often called Suzuki Roshi; May 18, 1904 – December 4, 1971) was a Sōtō Zen monk and teacher who helped popularize Zen Buddhism in the Unite ...

. Derby was a puppeteer at one point, working with

Frank Oz Frank Oz (born Frank Richard Oznowicz; May 25, 1944) is an American actor, puppeteer, and filmmaker. He began his career as a puppeteer, performing the Muppet characters of Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear, Animal, and Sam Eagle in ''The Muppet Show ...

at the Children's Fairyland Puppet Fair hosted by the San Francisco Puppeteers Guild of America. Derby was the head of the Los Altos Zen group (which later evolved into the Kannon Do Zen Meditation Center) where Shunryū Suzuki often taught. Derby was responsible for putting together the first draft of Shunryū Suzuki's ''

Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind ''Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind'' is a book of teachings by Shunryu Suzuki, a compilation of talks given to his satellite Zen center in Los Altos, California. Published in 1970 by Weatherhill, the book is not academic, but contains frank and direct ...

''. Derby's father was driving Suzuki from Los Altos to San Francisco and he inquired about Suzuki's ambition wherein Suzuki replied "I'd like to write a book." After hearing about this conversation from her father, Derby approached Suzuki about taping his lectures and transcribing them. Suzuki later suggested she give the manuscript to Richard Baker who then further refined it with the help of Trudy Dixon. Under the name Marian Mountain, Derby authored her own book on Zen entitled ''The Zen Environment: The Impact of Zen Meditation.'' She was working on a follow up book entitled ''Snail Zen'' when she died.

References

External links

Marian (Derby, Mountain) Wisberg (rip)
at David Chadwick's website {{DEFAULTSORT:Derby, Marian American spiritual writers Zen Buddhism writers San Francisco Zen Center American Zen Buddhists 1923 births 2013 deaths 20th-century American women writers 20th-century American non-fiction writers Pseudonymous women writers American women non-fiction writers 20th-century pseudonymous writers 21st-century American women