Merle Kodo Boyd

Merle Kodo Boyd (December 23, 1944 – February 20, 2022) was an American Zen Buddhist nun. She was the first African-American woman to receive Dharma transmission in Zen Buddhism, as a Dharma heir of Wendy Egyoku Nakao in the White Plum Asanga. Receiving transmission in March 2006, she founded and led the Lincroft Zen Sangha in New Jersey that is currently part of the Zen Peacemaker Circle established by Tetsugen Bernard Glassman and his wife Sandra Jishu Holmes.

Early life and education Boyd was born in Prairie View, Texas on December 23, 1944, during the era of segregation. Growing up in Houston,

Boyd practiced in this way for a couple of years, reading books and practicing zazen in her bedroom. While she often contemplated going to a Zen center, she was also wary of potential racial tension she imagined she would face were she to do so. She commented, "I knew no black people practicing Zen. The thought of entering a zendo knowing nothing of the etiquette and ritual was frightening enough. Being the only black person there would, I felt, draw more attention than I could stand. But the pull of practice was strong and, finally, I ventured out."

In the 1980s, Boyd began sitting with a small group led by a teacher named Sr. Janet Richardson, a Dharma heir of Robert Jinsen Kennedy and Tetsugen Bernard Glassman. According to the Lincroft website, "She received Jukai in 1994 and Priest Ordination in 1996 from Roshi Sandra Jishu Holmes. After Roshi Jishu's death, Kodo continued her practice with Roshi Wendy Egyoku Nakao, from whom she received Preceptor Transmission in 2002 and Dharma Transmission in March 2006.

In 1994, Boyd and two other practitioners, Bill Nordahl and Peter Nyodo Ott, founded the Lincroft Zen Sangha in Lincroft, New Jersey. The sangha initially grew out of the Zen Mountain Monastery. She was survived by her husband, daughter, and community of friends.