Our Teacher
MARTINE BATCHELOR was born in France in 1953. She was ordained as a Buddhist nun in Korea in 1975. She studied Zen Buddhism under the guidance of the late Master Kusan at Songgwang-sa monastery until 1985. Her Zen training also took her to nunneries in Taiwan and Japan. From 1981 she served as Master Kusan’s interpreter and accompanied him on lecture tours throughout the United States and Europe. She translated his book ‘The Way of Korean Zen’.
She disrobed in 1985 and married Stephen Batchelor, together they returned to Europe. She was a member of the Sharpham North Community in Devon, England for six years. She worked as a lecturer and spiritual counsellor both at Gaia House and elsewhere in Britain. She has also been involved in interfaith dialogue. Until recently she was a Trustee of the International Sacred Literature Trust.
Published books:
1985 – Kusan Sunim: The Way of Korean Zen (2008 – republished)
1992 – Buddhism and Ecology
1996 – Walking on Lotus Flower (2002 – republished as Women on the Buddhist Path)
1999 – Principles of Zen
2001 – Way of Zen
2001 – Meditation For Life
2004 – The Path of Compassion
2006 – Women in Korean Zen
2007 – Let Go: A Buddhist Guide to Breaking Free of Habits
Today, she lives in France with her husband and leads meditation retreats worldwide. She speaks French, English and Korean and can read Chinese characters. She has translated from the Korean, with reference to the original Chinese, the Brahmajala Sutra (The Bodhisattva Precepts). She has written various articles for magazines on the Korean way of tea, Buddhism and women, Buddhism and ecology, and Zen cooking. She is interested in meditation in daily life, Buddhism and social action, religion and women’s issues, Zen and its history, factual and legendary.
