Empty Hand Zen Center

Photo by Chuck Peters

Deb Mushin Wood was born in New Hampshire and raised in Connecticut.  Early in her career as an occupational therapist she lived and worked in Brazil before settling in Westchester.  In 1981 Deb began her practice with Susan Ji-on at Wainwright House, also joining with Susan at the Zen Community of New York in the mid-‘80s where Susan was an active student. It was at this time that Deb attended retreats and sesshin with Glassman Roshi.  After the sitting group at Wainwright House was ended Susan was offered the key to the Quaker Meeting House in Rye where Deb and others continued to be active members.  When Susan began her study with Maurine Stuart in 1987, Deb had the opportunity to benefit from Maurine's teaching in her own visit to Cambridge as well as in Maurine's visits to the Meeting House.

After nearly thirty years of practice with Susan, in the priest ordination ceremony of Shuke Tokudo on March 28th, 2010 Deb was bestowed with the koromo, rakusu, okesa, zagu and the oryoki bowls of a priest.  Deb has spent the last year sewing her own rakusu, zagu and okesa after attending a sewing sesshin with Blanche Hartman at the San Francisco Zen Center.  Her new dharma name is Myomyaku, meaning “subtle life vein” in honor of her strong and continuous practice, naturally reaching to the support of others as quietly as the flow of life in the vein.

In Dogen’s day, Deb would also have received a willow twig for cleaning her teeth – these would have been all the personal possessions needed for monastic life.  But her toothbrush is in a jar beside her partner of twenty five years, Carolyn Hoffman, who along with Jean DeVeaux assisted in the cutting of Deb's final lock of hair, the shura.

Susan Ji-on Postal is cutting Deb's shura, directly behind her is Jean DeVeaux, and to the right stands Carolyn Hoffman.  Photo by Chuck Peters.

Deb Mushin Myomyaku Wood's name has now been written on her copy of the lineage chart of our bloodline from the Buddha through all the ancestors from those ancient days to Suzuki Roshi, to his son Hoitsu Suzuki, to Sojun Mel Weitsamn, to Dairyu Michael Wenger, to Surei Darlene Cohen, and then here to Susan Ji-on Postal.  She will treasure this document, keeping it safely throughout her life.  In the words of Zen Master Honghzi:

A patched-robed monk's authentic task is to

Practice the essence, in each minute event

Carefully discerning the shining source

Radiant without discrimination, one color unstained.

Photo by Chuck Peters