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Why Jane Hirshfield Began Practicing Zen

What does it mean to lead a human life?

Sep 28, 2026
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Jane Hirshfield’s first poem was published in The Nation in 1973, shortly after graduating from Princeton University as part of its first class to include freshman women. She then put aside her writing for nearly eight years to study at San Francisco Zen Center, included three years as a monastic at Tassajara Zen Mountain Center, the oldest Buddhist Sot…

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