Late in December of 1961, Peggy Kennett, British organist and medieval ­music scholar, boarded a steamer headed for the Far East. Eight years later she returned to the West as one of the first Western women ever to be recognized as a Zen Master. These are her words, as transcribed from some of the more than one thousand tapes recorded of the lectures she gave until her death in 1996. In this first volume, Rev. Master Jiyu-Kennett speaks of the basic aspects of Soto Zen in her characteristic down-to-earth, practical, and good-humored way. For those who did not have the opportunity to meet her, this book gives some of the flavor of what it was like to study with this remarkable woman and Buddhist teacher. For those who did, it will add a new richness to their appreciation of her teaching.