Yoshitoshi - 100 Aspects of the Moon - 74

Mugai Nyodai ( ja, 無外如大, 1223–1298), was one of the first

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 ...

abbesses and the first female

Zen master Zen master is a somewhat vague English term that arose in the first half of the 20th century, sometimes used to refer to an individual who teaches Zen Buddhist meditation and practices, usually implying longtime study and subsequent authorizat ...

in Japan. A disciple of

Mugaku Sogen , also known as Bukko Kokushi (1226 – 1286) was a prominent Zen Buddhist monk of the 13th century in Japan, an emigre from Song dynasty China. He was adviser to Japan's most powerful ruler of the day, the regent of the ''shōgun'' (''Shikken'' ...

, she organized convents and spread the lessons of

Rinzai The Rinzai school ( ja, , Rinzai-shū, zh, t=臨濟宗, s=临济宗, p=Línjì zōng) is one of three sects of Zen in Japanese Buddhism (along with Sōtō and Ōbaku). The Chinese Linji school of Chan was first transmitted to Japan by Myōan E ...

Zen. The only surviving written accounts of her life date to more recent centuries, and so many details of her biography are unclear.

References

Further reading