Yvonne Rand
| Yvonne Rand | |
|---|---|
| Religion |
Sōtō Theravada Vajrayana |
| Personal | |
| Nationality | American |
| Born | San Francisco, California, United States |
| Senior posting | |
| Based in | Goat-in-the-Road |
| Title |
Meditation teacher Soto priest |
| Predecessor | Dainin Katagiri |
| Religious career | |
| Website | http://www.goatintheroad.org/ |
Yvonne Rand is a "lay householder"[1] Soto Zen priest and guiding teacher of Goat-in-the-Road[2] located in Anderson Valley, Mendocino County, California. A meditation center which practices predominantly Soto Zen but also incorporates elements of Theravada and Vajrayana Buddhism, the "name Goat-in-the-Road recalls Yvonne's early rescue of young goats from a local Spring barbecue auction, and the goats tendencies to escape out onto Highway 1 in Muir Beach." For many years Rand led meditation retreats at Redwood Creek Dharma Center, which was located on Mount Tamalpais in Northern California.[3] Deeply interested in ecology and environmentalism, according to Rand, "[f]or a number of years a small group of us went out for a weekend once a month, year-round, criss-crossing the coast range from San Francisco to the Oregon border, studying plants and geology and all manner of things having to do with where we live."[3] The Redwood Creek Dharma Center was filled with gardens of various plants and flowers, and was also home to much wildlife.
Rand, a Dharma heir of Dainin Katagiri,[4] began practicing with Shunryu Suzuki at the San Francisco Zen Center in 1966 and became "a central figure in Zen Center's rise to prominence. She brings a pro-choice, anti-abortion Buddhist perspective to reproductive issues by defending a woman's right to choose while teaching that abortion's moral gravity makes it at best an option of last resort."[5] Philip Whalen has commented on her time at the San Francisco Zen Center by writing, "She was one of the big bosses."[6] Yvonne had been "Zen Center secretary in the '60s, President in the '70s, and Chair of the Board in the '80s."[4] Rand continues to return to San Francisco Zen Center facilities occasionally to hold retreats or give talks.[1]
See also
Notes
- 1 2 "Yvonne Rand". San Francisco Zen Center.
- ↑ "Yvonne Rand". Goat-in-the-Road.
- 1 2 Banks Findly, 385-389
- 1 2 Wenger, 71
- ↑ Smith, 158-159
- ↑ Meltzer, 330
References
- Banks Findly, Ellison (2000). Women's Buddhism, Buddhism's Women: Tradition, Revision, Renewal. Wisdom Publications. ISBN 0-86171-165-3.
- Meltzer, David (2001). San Francisco Beat: Talking with the Poets. City Lights Books. ISBN 0-87286-379-4.
- Smith, Huston; Novak, Philip (2004). Buddhism: A Concise Introduction. HarperCollins. ISBN 0-06-073067-6.
- Wenger, Michael (2001). Wind Bell: Teachings from the San Francisco Zen Center (1968-2001). North Atlantic Books. ISBN 1-55643-381-6.