Pure Heart, Enlightened Mind: The Life and Letters of an Irish Zen Saint by Maura O’Halloran

Pure Heart, Enlightened Mind gathers Maura O’Halloran’s journals and letters from her years of Zen study in Japan. Her writing follows the demands of temple life and the changes she experienced through sustained practice.

Personal observations, humor and reflections on awakening make this an intimate account of Buddhist training. The emphasis is on lived experience rather than a systematic beginner’s meditation course.