P'arang Geri Larkin, born Geraldine Kapp Willis, is founder and former head teacher of Still Point Zen Buddhist Temple

Still Point Zen Buddhist Temple

Still Point Zen Buddhist Temple is located at 4347 Trumbull in Detroit, Michigan. The community of Zen Buddhists welcomes people from all walks of life and faiths to Sunday meetings, retreats and workshops. The temple was founded by P'arang Geri Larkin. Her ordination on July 2, 1995 followed three...

, a Korea

Korea

Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...

n Chogye

Chogye

Chogye may refer to*Jogye Order, a Korean Buddhist order*Hapcheon, a county in South Gyeongsang province, South Korea...

 center in Detroit, Michigan

Detroit, Michigan

Detroit is the major city among the primary cultural, financial, and transportation centers in the Metro Detroit area, a region of 5.2 million people. As the seat of Wayne County, the city of Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and serves as a major port on the Detroit River...

. The name Geri Larkin is a pen name

Pen name

A pen name, nom de plume, or literary double, is a pseudonym adopted by an author. A pen name may be used to make the author's name more distinctive, to disguise his or her gender, to distance an author from some or all of his or her works, to protect the author from retribution for his or her...

. She graduated from Barnard College

Barnard College

Barnard College is a private women's liberal arts college and a member of the Seven Sisters. Founded in 1889, Barnard has been affiliated with Columbia University since 1900. The campus stretches along Broadway between 116th and 120th Streets in the Morningside Heights neighborhood in the borough...

 in 1973. Larkin, daughter of a wealthy IBM

IBM

International Business Machines Corporation or IBM is an American multinational technology and consulting corporation headquartered in Armonk, New York, United States. IBM manufactures and sells computer hardware and software, and it offers infrastructure, hosting and consulting services in areas...

 executive, left her successful business life as a management consultant to enter a Buddhist seminary

Seminary

A seminary, theological college, or divinity school is an institution of secondary or post-secondary education for educating students in theology, generally to prepare them for ordination as clergy or for other ministry...

 for 3 years, where she was ordained. When she left she sold her material possessions and bought a brick duplex

Duplex (building)

The term duplex can be used to describe several different dwelling unit configurations:A duplex house is defined as a dwelling having apartments with separate entrances for two families. This includes two-story houses having a complete apartment on each floor and also side-by-side apartments on a...

 in downtown Detroit which, with the help of local residents she cleaned up and turned into Still Point.

She currently resides in Eugene, Oregon

Eugene, Oregon

Eugene is the second largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon and the seat of Lane County. It is located at the south end of the Willamette Valley, at the confluence of the McKenzie and Willamette rivers, about east of the Oregon Coast.As of the 2010 U.S...

.

Books

• Stumbling Toward Enlightenment ISBN 1587613298
• Building a Business the Buddhist Way ISBN 0890878889
• Tap Dancing in Zen ISBN 0890878897
• First You Shave Your Head ISBN 1587610094
• The Still Point Dhammapada: Living the Buddha's Essential Teachings ISBN 0060513705
• The Chocolate Cake Sutra ISBN 0060836954
• Plant Seed, Pull Weed ISBN 0061349046