Patricia Masters, a longtime friend of Pacific Buddhist Academy and Buddhists around the world, was honored at an event hosted by PBA last weekend for her book, Searching for Mary Foster.

Mary Foster was a 19th-century Native Hawaiian Buddhist, philanthropist, and social activist whose history intertwines with that of Honpa Hongwanji Mission in Hawai’i (HHMH).

About 80 attendees including HHMH Bishop Eric Matsumoto, former Bishop Rev. Yoshiaki Fujitani, and Maya Kasandra Soetoro-Ng, President Barack Obama’s sister, joined Pat for a book signing that also featured a discussion about Pat’s interest in Mary Foster and a Q&A for the audience.

Pat Masters earned her Master’s degree in Asian Religions from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), and a PhD in Political Theory and Philosophy at the University of Hawaiʻi.

Pat taught Buddhist Studies in India and Japan for 20 years. She was ordained as a Buddhist nun in India in Bodh Gaya in the Burmese tradition and her sangha is based in Kathmandu, Nepal, Sagaing Hills and Rangoon, Burma. She also created a Buddhist Studies program in Kyoto, Japan.

Pat’s many achievements include serving as President of the Hawaii Association of International Buddhists; teacher of meditation for Vipassana Hawaii and Bodhi Tree Meditation Center; and Associate Director of Student Equity, Excellence, and Diversity at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. She has over 40 years of meditation experience in Vipassana, Zen, and Tantric forms of Buddhism.

Searching for Mary Foster was published by the American Buddhist Study Center in New York in partnership with the Buddhist Study Center in Honolulu. It is available for purchase by writing Pua888@yahoo.com.

– Rüdiger Rückmann, Pacific Buddhist Academy Director of Advancement