Peggy Kennett was born in Hastings, Sussex, England on January 1, 1924. During World War II, Kennett served in the Royal Navy. She also studied medieval music (playing organ). She began studying Theravada Buddhism at the London Buddhist Society. In 1960 she met a Soto Zen priest by the name of Keido Chisan at the London Buddhist Society, abbot of Soji-ji (one of the two had temples of the Japanese Soto-shu).
She traveled to Malaysia and was ordained a bhikkuni by Sek Kim Seng, then moving to Japan and studying under Keido Chisan roshi. Kennett received Dharma transmission from the roshi in 1963 and later received inka from him, giving her authority to teach on her own. Kennett was the first Western woman to ever practice at Soji-ji and her presence there, coupled with Chisan’s transmission to her, was the source of great controversy. Following the death of Keido Chisan roshi, Kennett grew more uncomfortable in her living arrangements in Japan.
In 1969 she moved to San Francisco, California and soon after found the Zen Mission Society (today known as the Order of Buddhist Contemplatives). This early group of practitioners purchased some land near Mount Shasta in 1971 and Shasta Abbey (Chisan-ji) was established thereafter. Shasta Abbey was a unisex monastery which housed as many as fifty monks and nuns at any given time.
Jiyu Kennett died from diabetes related complications on November 6, 1966. She was seventy-two years old.
In 1975 Jiyu Kennett fell ill and was told by a physician that death would result if her condition continued to worsen. At this time one of her senior disciples left the sangha and a healer told her that her way of living was causing her illness. Kennett was under much stress and pressure at this time.
During her illness Jiyu Kennett began a series of meditations in which she examined her current life and also, she claimed, her past lives. These meditations were accompanied by visions which Kennett roshi would see and experience.
The practices of the Order of Buddhist Contemplatives, as set forward by Jiyu Kennett roshi, are unique and unparalleled elsewhere in Western manifestations of Soto Zen Buddhism. The daily liturgy had an overtly Gregorian feel to it. Members of the OBC wear a unisex garb and are treated as equals, which was very important to Jiyu Kennett roshi.
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Houn Jiyu Kennett on Amazon.com
|Wild White Goose: The Diary of a Female Zen Priest
|Zen is Eternal Life
Zen is Eternal Life is a practical and inspirational manual for all who wish to practice Zen. Roshi P.T.N.H. Jiyu-Kennett, the founder and former abbess of Shasta Abbey, expertly combines an introduction to the basic tenets of Buddhism with original translations of the teachings of Zen Masters Dogen and Keizan.
Translated works include: Shushogi (Training and Enlightenment), Eihei-Shingi (Rules for Junior priests), Gakudo-yojinshu (Aspects of Zazen), Shobogenzo (The Treasure-eye of the True Teaching), Kyojukaimon (Giving and Receiving the Teaching of the Precepts) by Dogen Zenji, and Denkoroku (Transmission of the Light) by Keizan Zenji.
|How to Grow a Lotus Blossom or How a Zen Buddhist Prepares for Death
The first part of this book recounts the religious experiences of Rev. Master Jiyu-Kennett when she was gravely ill and near death in 1976. When a doctor told her she had three months to live, she began an intensive meditation retreat to prepare for death. How to Grow a Lotus Blossom is a diary, verbal and pictorial, of her spiritual experiences over the following ten months. It describes, in very personal terms, what in Zen is called the third kensho; it is invaluable in clarifying both the nature of kensho experience and the purpose of Zen training in the broadest sense.
At first glance the immensity of the experiences described here may leave a new meditator wondering what benefit there could be in studying them—they seem so removed from one’s own experience but, when we look more closely, we begin to see parallels in our own practice and realize that, although there are many levels of religious experience, the fundamental process of growth is always the same, repeating itself in cycles. It is at this point that How to Grow a Lotus Blossom becomes a useful tool for all trainees regardless of their level of development.
The crucial difference between the first and third kensho is that the first reveals one’s true spiritual nature while the latter is the complete acceptance of that nature as one’s own. To realize Truth in one moment of time is one thing—to purify every aspect of oneself to such a degree that the spiritual vision becomes our normal everyday mind is quite another. Rev. Jiyu-Kennett has done Zen Buddhism a service in demystifying the kensho experience and clarifying the true purpose of religious training.
The second part of this revised edition includes additional visions, with commentaries, that have occurred since the events of 1976.
How to Grow a Lotus Blossom is handsomely covered with a durable plastic jacket with gold embossed lettering.
|Serene Reflection Meditation
This collection of short articles is our best introduction to the actual practice of sitting meditation in the Serene Reflection tradition. Some of the topics covered include how to sit, physical postures for meditation, obstacles in meditation practice, applying meditation to everyday life, the practice of mindfulness, the Buddhist Precepts, and children and meditation. The articles are written by Rev Master P.T.N.H. Jiyu-Kennett and members (monks and lay ministers) of the Order of Buddhist Contemplatives. This illustrated book of seventeen articles is especially recommended for beginners.
|Roar of the Tigress: The Oral Teachings of Rev. Master Jiyu-Kennett, Western Woman and Zen Master, Vol. 1
Rev. Master Jiyu-Kennett was one of the first Western women ever to be recognized as a Zen Master. These are her words, as transcribed from the lectures she gave during her life.
In this first volume, Rev. Master Jiyu-Kennett speaks of the basic aspects of Soto Zen in her down-to-earth, practical, and good-humored way. For those who did not have the opportunity to meet her, the book gives some of the flavor of what it was like to study with this remarkable Buddhist teacher. For those who did, it will add a new richness to their appreciation of her teaching.
|Roar of the Tigress Volume II : Zen for Spiritual Adults
The oral teachings of Rev. Master Jiyu-Kennett, Western woman and Zen master.