13 Facts About Yvonne Rand

Yvonne Rand, a member of the first generation of American Zen teachers, was a lay householder priest in the Soto Zen Buddhist tradition, active from 1972 until her death in 2020.

Yvonne Rand became a close student of Shunryu Suzuki Roshi in 1966, served as his secretary and personal assistant and, with his wife Mitsu Suzuki, cared for him through his dying and death in 1971.

Yvonne Rand was an early, important member of the San Francisco Zen Center, was ordained as a priest there, served on the board of directors for many years, and continued to practice and teach there for many years, primarily at Green Gulch Farm Zen Center.

Yvonne Rand had been Zen Center secretary in the '60s, President in the '70s, and Chair of the Board in the '80s.

Yvonne Rand formed and studied an extensive collection of Tibetan Buddhist art, as well as taking instruction over many years in Noh chanting and Japanese tea ceremony with Yaeko Nakamura Sensei.

Yvonne Rand was part of the original advisory group that gave birth to the Zen Hospice Project.

Yvonne Rand taught and counseled extensively both professional and volunteer caregivers working with the terminally ill.

Yvonne Rand brought a Buddhist perspective to reproductive issues by defending a woman's right to choose while teaching that abortion's moral gravity makes it an option of last resort.

Yvonne Rand was instrumental in developing a ceremony of remembrance in the West called the Jizo Ceremony for children, born and unborn, who have died.

For many years, beginning in 1970, Yvonne Rand studied with Harry Kellett Roberts, a widely recognized California native plant specialist trained in the Native American tradition of the Yurok People, who lived with Yvonne Rand's family in the last several years of his life.

An environmental activist and leader, Yvonne Rand served on the early board of The Trust for Public Land from 1974 to 1984, the last five years as board chair, working closely with environmentalist Huey Johnson, the Trust's founder.

Yvonne Rand's activism extended through both the natural world and the world of environmental concerns.

Yvonne Rand was open about her progressive condition and was able to continue teaching; not despite the illness, but taking it into account.