Yvonne Rand
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Yvonne Rand | |
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Information | |
Place of birth: | San Francisco, California, United States |
Nationality: | American |
Religion: | Soto Theravada Vajrayana |
Title(s): | Meditation teacher Soto priest |
Workplace: | Goat-in-the-Road |
Predecessor(s): | Dainin Katagiri |
Website | |
Website: | http://www.goatintheroad.org/ |
Yvonne Rand is a "lay householder" Soto Zen priest and guiding teacher of Goat-in-the-Road 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."[1] For many years Rand led meditation retreats at Redwood Creek Dharma Center, which was located on Mount Tamalpais in Northern California.[1] 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."[1] 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 the late Dainin Katagiri,[2] 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."[3] The late Philip Whalen has commented on her time at the San Francisco Zen Center by writing, "She was one of the big bosses."[4] Yvonne had been "Zen Center secretary in the '60s, President in the '70s, and Chair of the Board in the '80s."[2] Rand continues to return to San Francisco Zen Center facilities occasionally to hold retreats or give talks.[2]
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[edit] Notes
[edit] References
- Banks Findly, Ellison (2000). Women's Buddhism, Buddhism's Women: Tradition, Revision, Renewal. Wisdom Publications. ISBN 0861711653.
- Meltzer, David (2001). San Francisco Beat: Talking with the Poets. City Lights Books. ISBN 0872863794.
- Smith, Huston; Novak, Philip (2004). Buddhism: A Concise Introduction. HarperCollins. ISBN 0060730676.
- Wenger, Michael (2001). Wind Bell: Teachings from the San Francisco Zen Center (1968-2001). North Atlantic Books. ISBN 1556433816.
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