Pure Heart: Enlightened Mind : The Zen Journal and Letters of Maura "Soshin" O'Halloran

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Summary: Zen is eternal life!
Review: A marvelous book from beginning to end. The utter unpretentiousness of Maura O'Halloran's rich spiritual journuey is a miracle to encounter. It's so difficult, at book's end, to take leave of this shining young person, this quiet buddha , but she strengthens us for the inevitable by teaching so pure, so real, so necessary, that the natural world of our own lives is changed forever, charged with her abiding and beholden to her example. Others here have stated well the 'content' one finds in these pages; I wish only to say thank you to Maura's wise and devoted family for making the effort to provide us with these journals and family letters. Her mother's Introduction, with its simple and moving veneration of her daughter's life, sets a loving compass for the journey ahead; her sister Elizabeth's drawings are clearly pulled from her own heart, and her brother's afterword together give us an infinitely deep understanding of the means behind the meaning of this extraordinary young woman's life's journey. This is a book of great hope, abundant humor, and sure grace for anyone who reads it. Abundant recommendation without reserve; read it and walk anew the paths of love.

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Summary: zen with a heart
Review: this book is one of my favorite books in my library . this diary of an irish american searcher of zen cuts to the heart. ive read the book and have the abridged book on tape. though the tape is a shorter version of the book mare winningham brings the words alive with an irish charm. this book gives an insiders look at the heart zen as it is practiced in a japenese zen monastery. it is not only eyeopening it is enduring.

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Summary: An Irish voice
Review: What moves me very much is the lilting, playful, droll voice of Maura O'Halloran. You would imagine that the Irish character and the Buddhist tradition are poles apart. Maura's passion whirls them together in an instant.
This book is a good companion indeed.