At the age of 24, Maura O'Halloran travelled to Japan, where she began to study Zen, first in an old temple tucked away in the back streets of Tokyo, then in a remote temple in Northern Japan. One thousand days later she received her dharma transmission. Planning to establish a Zen centre in Ireland, she was travelling back when she was tragically killed in a road accident. She was 27 years old. She is now venerated as a Buddhist saint. This collection of letters and journals, with its lively, sharp and amusing observations, eloquently brings to life the rigours, hardships and ultimate joy of the life of a Zen Buddhist.