Zen Teachings of Maurine Stuart
Session by John Pulleyn
November 8, 2023
41 minutes
Introduction
Welcome to the first day of our October-November 2023 seven-day sesshin.
Today, I'm reading from Subtle Sound: Zen Teachings of Maurine Stuart, edited by Roko Sherry Chayat, who currently teaches at Dai Bosatsu Zendo, following Eido Roshi.
Before getting into her teachings, I want to share a bit about Maurine Stuart’s life.
Early Life
Maurine was born on March 3, 1922. (If she were alive today, she'd be 101.)
Her maternal grandfather, Sam Haight, had a huge impact on her. He ran a 640-acre farm in Saskatchewan, treating every living and non-living thing with great respect—rejecting the platitudes of organized religion and leaning toward pacifism and socialism.
Maurine grew up in Keeler, Saskatchewan. Her father ran a bank; her mother kept a proper household, making sure her children were exposed to culture—especially music.
Piano became her early refuge and source of transcendence.
Equally important were her solitary wanderings into the prairie, sitting still for hours, feeling a deep connection with everything around her.
Schooling and Music Career
At 11, Maurine was sent to boarding school in Winnipeg, Manitoba. She felt terribly lonely but found solace again through music.
She taught piano from the age of 12, later studying with eminent pianists in France.
While living in France, she stumbled upon a book, The Story of Oriental Philosophy by L. Adams Beck. A reference to Zen meditation in the final chapter immediately captured her:
"I knew right away that this was it."
Returning to the U.S., she searched for Zen, but opportunities were few.
One day, while cleaning her apartment in New York, she turned on the television and saw a small man with bushy eyebrows: D.T. Suzuki, talking about Zen.
Later, she wandered past the Zen Studies Society at West 81st Street, rang the bell, and was handed a sitting schedule by a young monk—Eido Roshi.
Another day in Riverside Park, she saw a thin, shaved-headed man in black robes—Hakuun Yasutani Roshi.
First Sesshin: A Rough Start
Maurine signed up for a weeklong sesshin at Pumpkin Hollow Retreat Center with Yasutani Roshi.
It was rough:
Constant flies
Little guidance on rituals
Physical pain from an old injury
Shouting, commands, keisaku whacks, intense atmosphere
Midway through, she called her husband ready to quit.
He encouraged her to stay just one more day.
She did—and by the fifth day, she was hooked:
“I knew I would go to every single sesshin from then on.”
Maurine appreciated Yasutani’s fierce compassion and relentless commitment to awakening his students.
Finding a True Teacher
In 1968, she met Soen Nakagawa Roshi at New York Zendo and felt an instant, profound connection.
Unlike Yasutani’s fiery style, Soen Roshi’s teaching was poetic, musical, subtle.
In 1982, back at Dai Bosatsu Zendo, Soen Roshi quietly transmitted Dharma to her:
“Tell your students to call you Roshi.”
No ceremony, no lineage papers—purely intimate and direct.
Maurine simply told her students,
“Please, just call me Maurine.”
Facing Death
Diagnosed with cancer in 1987, Maurine never showed self-pity or fear.
Her intensity increased. She didn't slow down her busy life of teaching, playing piano, or practicing.
Toward the end, she chose a spot under the birch trees for her ashes.
She emphasized that life and death are both dreams, quoting the Zen poet Takuan Soho:
"Life is a dream. Death is a dream. Heaven and Earth—all a dream."
Teachings from Subtle Sound
Maurine’s approach to Zen was clear, heartfelt, and practical:
Buddhism is deeply respectful of all traditions. It teaches that fundamentally, we are one.
No dogma required: Take nothing on authority. Test everything yourself, as Buddha advised.
Practice is daily, living work: Mindfulness in every act—walking, sitting, sweeping, working.
Original perfection: Unlike "original sin," Buddhism teaches that all beings are inherently Buddha from the start.
Books and talks are inspiring, but living practice is essential.
Compassion grows from silence: Sitting quietly allows true empathy for others to arise naturally.
Practice and work are inseparable: Whatever you are doing is practice.
Drop the 'I': Whether shooting an arrow, working, or sitting—let go of the self-centered mind.
We aren't punished for our sins, but by them: Selfishness brings its own suffering.
Closing Reflection
John shared a personal note:
Even now in sesshin, tension and resistance can arise. Our instinct is to push it away. But if we stay with it—look at it, feel it—it often softens, opens, and flows.
Maurine’s teachings remind us:
Life is impermanent.
Every step is practice.
Selflessness opens the heart to the whole universe.
End of Talk
Four Vows were recited.
Quick Bullet Summary
Maurine Stuart found Zen intuitively after early experiences of prairie stillness and music.
Her first sesshin was physically painful and chaotic but transformative.
Her Zen was rooted in compassion, living practice, and rejecting rigid dogma.
Death, for her, was just another dream within the dream of life.
Essential teachings: original perfection, unity of life, practice integrated with daily work.
