Women of Other Faiths

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Using common values contained in their respective teachings, women of all religious traditions can work together and collaborate in many areas especially peace building and women’s empowerment. Collectively women of all faiths can learn from each other’s struggles and histories, while showing support for women’s religious leadership roles worldwide. Please contribute to this archive by suggesting women of all faiths to be featured through our recommendation form.

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Moshan Liaoran

Moshan does not reveal its pure summit,

but throughout all time the peak is before the eyes.


It’s said it has no male or female form,

but does distinguish the lotus amidst the fire.

A stanza honoring Moshan in the classic Zen text The Venerable Ancient Teachers

Known For: Zen abbess
Dates: Around 800 C.E.
Faith: Buddhism
Country: China

About

Moshan Liaoran was born and lived in China around 800 C.E., during its golden age of Zen Buddhism. A famous female teacher of the time, her first name translates in English to “summit mountain,” symbolizing the vast journey to enlightenment. She was the first female dharma heir to be documented in the official Zen transmission records. A collection of stories about Chinese masters called Record of the Transmission of the Lamp (1004 A.D.) dedicates a full chapter to her. According to Miriam Levering, who translated her records and teachings, Moshan also proved to be the first nun represented in Zen tests as engaging in formal training not customarily given to women. An abbess of a monastery, she instructed students rigorously, challenging their authentic devotion to the Buddha Dharma. This included promoting the irrelevance of gender in Zen practice, since all adherents seek to attain formlessness in liberation from suffering.

Sources

Loori, John Daido. “Moshan’s Nature of the Summit Mountain.” Women and Monasticism, Volume XXII, No. 2 (2004).

More Information

Schireson, Grace. Zen Women: Beyond Tea Ladies, Iron Maidens, and Macho Masters. Somerville: Wisdom Publications, 2009.


Tisdale, Sallie. Women of the Way: Discovering 2,500 Years of Buddhist Wisdom. New York: HarperOne, 2006.

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