Bonnie Myotai Treace


Bonnie Myotai Treace is a Zen priest, the founder and teacher of Hermitage Heart, and was the abbot of the Zen Center of NYC; she leads training in Black Mountain, North Carolina. She is particularly known for her work in women's spirituality, poetry, and the nexus of mind and environment. Myotai Sensei was the first Dharma successor of John Daido Loori, Roshi, in the Mountains and Rivers Order, having received shiho, dharma transmission, from him in 1996. Serving and training for over two decades eventually as vice-abbot of Zen Mountain Monastery, she was the establishing teacher and first abbess of the Zen Center of New York City. At the Monastery she was the Vice Abbot, the first director of Dharma Communications, editor of Mountain Record, and in charge of the affiliates of the Mountains and Rivers Order.
Treace holds an advanced degree in literature, was a lobbyist for women's issues, and an analyst with the Potomac Research Institute specializing in hydromechanics.
In 2016 Myotai gave shiho or dharma transmission to Phil Sengetsu Kolman, Sensei, and named John Kyoman Weiczorek as Dharma Steward of Hermitage Heart.
Treace is the author of several books, among them: "Winter Moon: A Season of Zen," and "Empty Branches." She's also had chapters in "Water: Its Spiritual Significance", The Art of Just Sitting: Essential Writings on the Zen Practice of Shikantaza, and "Lotus Moon: The Poetry of Rengetsu", along with many other writings. Myotai's teachings have appeared in various Buddhist publications, including Buddhadharma: The Practitioner's Quarterly, The Mountain Record and in several editions of The Best Buddhist Writing. She is a member of the American Zen Teachers Association.