Roshi Ilia Shinko Perez is the Abbess of Maitreya Abbey in Berthoud, Colorado and co-director of Great Mountain Zen Center. She received Dharma Transmission in the White Plum Lineage from Roshi Gerry Shishin Wick in 2004 and the Seal of Approval (Inka) in 2015 from Roshi Wendy Egyoku Nakao Abbot Emeritus of Zen Center of Los Angeles. She has led numerous retreats in both the United States and in Spain and has guided many students in their Zen studies. Roshi Shinko pursued her Zen training while raising two sons and running her family import business. She holds a Master's Degree in archeology from the Universidad Autonoma of Madrid, Spain, where she grew up. She was a professor of Spanish Literature at Caribbean University College, Puerto Rico, for seven years, has taught Zen Buddhism at Naropa University, Boulder, Colorado, and is co-author of The Great Heart Way: How To Heal Your Life and Find Self-Fulfillment. A devoted animal lover and horse rider, Roshi Shinko is also an artist, a writer, a gardener, an environmental activist and an animal rescuer. Her art works including her visions of the Sacred Goddess illustrate this book.