Elevating Women's Voices

San Francisco Zen Center Dharma Talks

04/10/2024, Jisan Tova Green, dharma talk at City Center. In this talk, given at Beginner's Mind Temple, Jisan Tova Green speaks of her recent visit to Montana de Silencio, a Suzuki Roshi lineage Zen Center in Medellin, Colombia, where the late Blanche Hartman's name is mentioned daily as "our first woman ancestor in America." Tova's presence as a woman teacher was encouraging to women in the sangha, as there are few women Zen teachers in South America. Tova also draws from “The Gathering” — a novel by Professor Sasson about the ways in which the first Buddhist women came together and persevered in their requests for ordination. She refers to Dr. Paula Arai's “Women Living Zen” which illustrates the strengths of Japanese women who pursued a monastic lifestyle. Tova ends with her reflections on challenges for contemporary women practicing in Soto Zen centers, including San Francisco Zen Center.