Our Founding Mothers
Dr. Paula Arai, Honorary
Pamela Nenzen Brown
Emily Eshu Bording
Carolyn Jikai Dille
Judy Ekudo Reyes
Mariko Sōkyō Braswell
Monica Darsana Reede
About the VOWZ Logo
The VOWZ logo derives from an ideograph by Wang Xianzhi (王献之). His father was Xizhi, arguably the most famous calligrapher in China.
The ideograph, nyo 如, is translated as “thus, as it is, seems, just as, like, and Thusness. It is the nyo of nyorai, thus come”.
Expressing the essential unspeakable Reality experience (as formulated in the highly patriarchal Buddhist culture), this ideograph is formed from 女,woman, and 口, mouth; the expression from a woman’s mouth is Thus.
VOWZ was originally imagined by Pamela Nenzen Brown as she observed her responses to hearing the Dharma expressed through the voices of women. After encouraging conversations with Dharma sisters and brothers, this seed has blossomed through a joyous collaboration with the Founding Mothers.