The Wild, White Goose

Originally published in two volumes, this book is based on the diaries of the years in Japan of Roshi Jiyu-Kennett, one of the first Western women to become a Zen Master. In addition to telling the story of Roshi Jiyu-Kennett’s search for the Truth and how she found enlightenment in the midst of suffering, illness and hardship, it gives the reader a rare and illuminating insight into life in a large Zen training monastery. Above all this is a work of faith which demonstrates the perseverance, compassion and trust with which a person must enter the religious life if he or she wishes to understand its perfection. In Books One and Two (originally published as Volume One) Roshi Jiyu-Kennett describes her going to Japan and her life as a junior monk in one of the largest Zen monasteries of the country, including her first experience of enlightenment, her Transmission as heir in the Dharma to the Chief Abbot and her graduation as a full priest.