In this talk Martine examines the different aspects of practice.
She speeaks of her own experience in Korea where she was ordained as a Buddhist nun in 1975. She studied Zen Buddhism under the guidance of the late Master Kusan at Songgwang Sa monastery until 1985.
This talk by Martine Batchelor is from a recent retreat at Gaia House entitled "Meditation and study".
Gaia House is a Silent Meditation Retreat Centre – a sanctuary of contemplative calm set amongst the gentle hills and quiet woodlands of South Devon.
The original Gaia House was a former vicarage in Denbury, purchased in 1983. Maurice Ash simultaneously offered to host a Buddhist community in Sharpham House. At that point, Stephen and Martine Batchelor, returning from Korea, came to be part of the community. In time, they became part of the Gaia House teaching team.
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 Kusan Sunim's interpreter and accompanied him on lecture tours throughout the United States and Europe. She translated his book 'The Way of Korean Zen' and has written an unpublished manuscript about the life of Korean Zen nuns.
She returned to Europe with her husband, Stephen, in 1985. 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.
With her husband she co-leads meditation retreats worldwide. They now live in France.
This is the second of our new series of monthly talks that we are having at the West Wight Sangha. 
