Myokyo-ni

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Venerable Myokyo-ni (born Irmgard Schloegl on January 29, 1921) is a Rinzai Zen Buddhist nun and head of the Zen Centre in London.

Raised in Leitersdorf, Styria, Austria, she obtained a PhD in Natural Sciences from Graz University before joining the Zen Group at the Buddhist Society under Christmas Humphreys in 1950. In 1960 she went to Japan and trained at Daitoku-ji monastery for twelve years under Sesso Roshi and, after his death, under his successor Sojun Kannun Roshi. In 1966 she returned to England for nine months, during which time she started a small Zazen Group at the Buddhist Society which continued until she returned permanently in 1972. With the introduction of another Zazen class, and then a beginners' class, running alongside Humphreys' original Zen Class, the Zen Group grew in size until the Zen Centre was formally established in 1979. During this period she was living at Humphreys' residence (she was known to refer to him affectionately as 'Father'), which was later bequeathed to the Zen Centre, eventually being inaugurated as Shobo-an, the main administrative location and training temple of the Zen Centre.

On 22 July 1984, she was ordained by Soko Morinaga Roshi, who had been head monk at Daitoku-ji during her time there. The ordination took place at Chithurst Forest Monastery at the invitation of the Abbot Ajahn Sumedho, and the Soko Morinaga Roshi gave her the name Myokyo-ni. Myokyo, meaning 'mirror of the subtle', had been the name the Roshi had given her as a Zen student in Japan (ni meaning 'nun').

She is the author of a number of books on Zen and Buddhism, including a translation of The Zen Teaching of Rinzai (Linji).

Now of advanced age and wheelchair-bound, she is permanently resident at Fairlight, one of the Zen Centre's two training temples, in Luton.

The main training temple, Shobo-an in St John's Wood, London is now run by Venerable Sochu.