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16 EASTERN HORIZON | FACE TO FACE

The Essence of

Zen Unveiled

By Vanessa Zuisei Goddard

This interview for Eastern Horizon was based on questions raised
by Benny Liow with Vanessa.

Vanessa Zuisei Goddard is a writer and Zen What really inspires me listening to your podcasts is
teacher based in New York City. She trained that even though you are a Zen teacher, you adopt a non-
full-time at Zen Mountain Monastery from sectarian approach by including both Theravāda and
1995 to 2014, fourteen of those years as Tibetan teachings in your talks. Could you tell us how you
a monastic. In 2018 she received dharma got interested in Buddhism, and your biggest take-aways as
transmission (authorization to teach) from a Zen nun for 14 years?
Geoffrey Shugen Arnold Roshi, abbot of
Zen Mountain Monastery and Head of the I was raised Catholic, but my mother had a very unorthodox
Mountains and Rivers Order. approach to religion. For her, a religious tradition wasn’t worth
much if it didn’t teach you how to live your life better and I agree
For the last ten years, Zuisei has been with her. During my teens I moved away from Christianity for
a time, and got interested first in zazen, then in learning more
leading retreats and workshops on a about Buddhism, which I studied a little in college. Then I found
wide range of teachings on Buddhism Zen Mountain Monastery in upstate New York, and moved in after
and meditation, all with special emphasis graduating. I never thought I would become a monastic. And once
on the power of stillness and silence to there, I never thought I would leave. Which just goes to show that
transform our lives. we really don’t know very much, and the more we get comfortable
with that, the better. I would say that’s the biggest takeaway: the
Zuisei is currently working on a book about acceptance of groundlessness or impermanence.
faith, belief, and contemplation. Her first
book, Still Running: The Art of Meditation What is the difference between a priest and monk/
in Motion, was published by Shambhala nun in Zen Buddhism? Does Zen monasticism includes
Publications in August of this year. Zuisei vegetarianism and celibacy?
can be found at vanessazuiseigoddard.org.
I’ll speak only for the Mountains and Rivers Order, where I did all
my training, since forms vary from lineage to lineage. Everyone
who gets ordained in our order becomes a monastic. We did away
with using the gendered terms monk and nun because historically
nuns have been second-class citizens in Buddhism. My first teacher,
John Daido Loori Roshi, wanted to stress the fact that women and
men undergo equal training in our order. One is no higher than
the other in terms of hierarchy. In our order, a priest differs from a
monastic in that the first is empowered to do priestly functions like