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Tonen's teachings

Sanshin is happy to make available ongoing dharma teachings from Tonen O'Connor.  In addition to her longtime leadership of the Milwaukee Zen Center and the Milwaukee Repertory Theatre, she's served on Sanshin's board of directors and its development committee, as well as offering in-person and online workshops and discussions for our community.  On this page we've collected her publications, audio and video, and be sure to keep up with her blog, Thinking about dharma.
about tonen
Tonen O’Connor was ordained by Tozen Akiyama in 1994 and received dharma transmission in 1999, performing zuise at Eiheiji and Sojiji in 2000. She holds the rank of ittokyoshi within the Sotoshu system as well as currently serving as kokusaifukyoshi.  She is a supervising kyoshi within Soto Zen North America.

She has led the Milwaukee Zen Center's prison program since 1998 and served as resident priest 2001-2011. She's practiced at Shogoji, Hosshinji and Hokyoji in Japan and attended numerous American sesshins, including 9 summers as co-leader of the Great Sky Sesshin.  A past president of the Soto Zen Buddhist Association, she's a member of the Wisconsin Department of Corrections Religious Practices Advisory Committee.

Her numerous books, articles, interviews and videos are linked below.

Discussion series for Sanshin
​
Coming in July:
Freedom Within the Roles We Play (tentative)
The Zen Practice of Being Old:  three part discussion series for practitioners 70+

Dharma audio and video
The Fullness of Emptiness for Sotoshu's Facebook page
Talks for the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Door County
Talks for the Milwaukee Zen Center
Can we reconcile self and no-birth? for Ancient Dragon Zen Gate

Other videos
65th Anniversary Stories for Milwaukee Repertory Theatre

Dharma writings
Thinking about dharma: Tonen's blog at Sanshin Source
Realizing the self without relationship to others ​which includes everything for Sanshin Source
Taking delight in the dharma for Midwest Zen
Coming and going in Indra's net for Midwest Zen
Articles for Ancient Way
Four Words for the Prairie Wind newsletter

Other writings
​John Dillon: A Mild-Mannered Man With the Soul of an Adventurer for American Theatre

Profiles and interviews
A Life Filled with Life: profile in the Swarthmore College Bulletin
Oral history for Gathering Places
Better Angels: Tonen O'Connor seeks to generate compassion in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
'Inside/Out' Exhibit Features Work By Incarcerated Artist for WUWM 89.7

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On Buddhism and Theatre:
I may be straining the analogy, but there are some things about the teachings of the Buddha, basic tenets of Buddhism, that seem very easy for me because of my life in the theatre. The Buddha taught impermanence. If you’ve ever created an entire world and whipped it down on closing night only to put up another world, you know something about impermanence. You also know a lot because people in the field have to be on the move all the time.  There’s impermanence; there’s interdependence.  

​Nothing happens without a reason. We don’t always know the reason, but everything comes from a cause, everything has an effect. What that means is that you can’t get out of the world. You are never singular. You’re impermanent, interdependent, governed by cause and effect, and as a result of that, you have no self, and that means no permanent self. You have a shifting, mobile, useful, constantly changing self, but you don’t have a permanent self you’ve got to protect.

Certainly, in the theatre a fine actor’s ability to empathize, project, act and be many people is in some ways related to the fact that we’re all many people. We’re all reincarnating every second. I don’t want to strain the analogy, but there are reasons that made it perfectly simple that I might move on into this different life.

Books and chapters
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  • Home
    • practice vision diagram
  • zazen
    • Understanding Sanshin style sesshin
    • Sanshin Solo
  • work
    • bodhi leader >
      • board members
      • practice leaders >
        • tenzo
        • ino >
          • liturgy and chants
      • novices >
        • steps to ordination
        • sotoshu essentials
        • core competencies
        • personal vows
        • roles and training
        • preparing senmon sodo
        • family and ordination
        • religious education
        • shuso >
          • shuso tasks
          • determine theme
          • tips for talks
          • four corners
          • material and inspiration
    • nyoho
  • study
    • Buddhist essentials
    • Tonen's teachings
    • fuji
    • menju
    • bussho
    • shusho itto
    • uji
    • ippo gujin
    • jinshin inga
    • igisoku buppo
    • dotoku
    • shikantaza
  • ritual
    • origin of kinhin
    • ceremonies
    • manners and customs
  • Sangha and Society
    • Environment
    • Ethics >
      • precepts
    • Human relationships >
      • practicing in community
      • spiritual health
    • Creativity
  • Sanshin Zen Community