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Women in Korean Zen: Lives and Practices (Women and Gender in Religion) Hardcover – March 9, 2006
by Martine Batchelor (Author), Women in Korean Zen Son'gyong Sunim (Author)
4.2 out of 5 stars 5 ratings
In this engagingly written account, Martine Batchelor relays the challenges a new ordinand faces in adapting to Buddhist monastic life: the spicy food, the rigorous daily schedule, the distinctive clothes and undergarments, and the cultural misunderstandings inevitable between a French woman and her Korean colleagues. She reveals as well the genuine pleasures that derive from solitude, meditative training, and communion with the deeply religiouswhom the Buddhists call "good friends."
Batchelor has also recorded the oral history/autobiography of her teacher, the eminent nun Son'gyong Sunim, leader of the Zen meditation hall at Naewonsa. It is a profoundly moving, often light-hearted story that offers insight into the challenges facing a woman on the path to enlightenment at the beginning of the twentieth century. Original English translations of eleven of Son'gyong Sunim's poems on Buddhist themes make a graceful and thought-provoking coda to the two women's narratives.
Western readers only familiar with Buddhist ideas of female inferiority will be surprised by the degree of spiritual equality and authority enjoyed by nuns in Korea. While American writings on Buddhism increasingly emphasize the therapeutic, self-help, and comforting aspects of Buddhist thought, Batchelor's text offers a bracing and timely reminder of the strict discipline required in traditional Buddhism.
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Editorial Reviews
About the Author
Martine Batchelor is the author of several books, including The Path of Compassion, Meditation for Life, and Principles of Zen. She lives in France.
Review
"Martine Batchelor's account of her ten years of study in various monastic institutions throughout Korea, many of them served under the most eminent teachers of her day, makes for fascinating reading.... A splendid spiritual memoir."
Product details
Series: Women and Gender in Religion
Hardcover: 144 pages
Martine Batchelor
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Dhamma
5.0 out of 5 stars A brief glimpse into the lives of 2 korean nunsReviewed in the United States on February 6, 2010
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I enjoyed this book, however brief. I liked Martine's emphasis on her particular cultural struggles within the confines of monastic life. A free spirit sometimes at odds with the constrained disciplinary demands of Korean zen. She paints quite a different picture than I would have imagined.
The second half of the book, written by revered nun Son'gyong Sunim in fact reveals a rather devastating story of a Korean woman also trying to fit in within the confines of monastic life.
Both of these stories open a window into monastic life, revealing that the practice of Zen Buddhism seems a far cry from the actual teachings of the Buddha himself.
A good read for anyone who has considered Buddhist monastic life to be an ideal way to practice Buddhism.
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Henry Bemis
4.0 out of 5 stars Great Book on Korean BuddhismReviewed in the United States on January 18, 2010
The book provides a great glimpse into the life of Korean Buddhist nuns. Book is entertaining and insightful as you learn about Zen nunneries and Korean Buddhism through the eyes of a French woman. Book is even more interesting as you are also given the life story of an older nun, giving the reader a view of developments in Korean Buddhist nunneries throughout the 20th century.
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