Teresa de Ahumada y Cepeda was born on March 28, 1515, in Ávila, Spain, to her father, Alonso Sánchez de Cepeda, and her mother, Beatriz Davila y Ahumada. She was the youngest of 12, with 9 boys and 3 girls. Her older two siblings were her half-siblings from her father's previous marriage to Cataline del Peso who died in 1507. At the age of 13, her mother passed away during childbirth, which affected her deeply. This would cause her sister, Maria, to take over as Teresa's mother figure, but in 1531, Maria got married and moved a couple towns over. Without a mother figure, she began to rebel, which was too much for her father. At the same time, she had been reading romantic novels, which had caused her to care about her appearance. This caused her father to send her to the Augustinian Convent of Our Lady of Grace at the age of 15. While there, she gained the habit of praying regularly but did not have the passion of becoming a nun yet. But, she was only at the convent for a year and a half because she had to live due to an illness. After a few months, her father took her to visit her sister Maria, and on the way there, they stopped by to visit her uncle. While there, her uncle read her some devotional texts where Teresa discovered the truth. As a result of learning the truth and believing she would die from her sickness, she decided to become a nun. She slowly recovered from her illness but still had fainting spells, and at the age of 20, she entered the Carmelite Convent of Incarnation in Avila even though she did not have her father's blessing. While there, she became a novice and made her general confession, but in 1538, she became seriously ill, and her father was forced to take her out of the convent to take her to a healer. The healer could not heal her as they did not have the necessary herbs, so her father took her to see her uncle. There, her uncle gave her The Third Spiritual Alphabet by Franciscan friar Francisco de Osuna. which changed her spirituality. On July 1539, her father took her back to Ávila to await her death. On August 1539, she fell into a four-day coma where her father thought she had died, so he began to prepare for her funeral when she suddenly woke up but was paralyzed. In 1540, she went back to the convent, where she gradually got better, and after two years, she regained her ability to walk. Still, she would have bouts of paralysis in her left arm along with migraines, fevers, colds, fatigue, and odd pains in her major organs for the remainder of her life. In 1543, she was by her father's side as he passed away.
Ikkyū Sōjun was born on February 1, 1394, in Kyoto, Japan. His father was the emperor Go-Komatsu, and his mother, known as the Lady of Iyo, was the daughter of a high-ranking nobleman and later became a consort to the emperor. The emperor was interested in her, eventually leading to her pregnancy with Ikkyū. This put the two in danger as the empress was jealous of the relationship, which resulted in his mother's banishment, and was sent to live in a small village where she gave birth to Ikkyū. Yet, there is debate about whether the information about Ikkyū's parents is true. Yet Ikkyū did show that he believed this through his poetry. He grew up in Saga, and at the age of five, he was sent to his first monastery, the Ankoku-Ji temple. He was taught Chinese literature, Buddhist scriptures, meditation practices, calligraphy, and poetry there. In 1399, he became a novice at the temple and studied under his first master, Jogai Shukan, a Zen master. At the age of 13/14, he studied under a different master, Botetsu Ryuhan, who was a scholar monk, where he studied the laws of Chinese competition. While studying, he had shown exceptional talent in calligraphy and poetry. He wrote many poems about his thoughts and feelings growing up. At 17, he left the temple to study with Kneo'o Soi, a humble teacher, instead of going to a big city. This was abnormal as many students would go and study under well-known teachers in the big cities. In 1414, Keno'o Soi died, which caused Ikkyū to spiral down and contemplate suicide, but he was stopped when he received a letter from his mother. This information is also debated whether this information is true or not. Later, in 1427, his father, the emperor, summoned Ikkyū to develop a relationship with him as he handed over the thrown to Ikkyū's younger half-brother.
These two mystics had very different lives as they lived during different times and in different countries. Ikkyū studied Buddhism while Teresa studied Catholicism, leading to different interests and lives. Ikkyū's parents were alive throughout his childhood but were absent as he was sent to study Buddhism from a young age. Teresa was able to bond with her parents, but she did lose both of them early in her life. Even though they have some differences, they also share some similarities. Both of them were sent off to study in religious places where they learned about the religion and even continued on with their studies. They were both close to their mothers, and their absence affected them as they missed them. They both also had a love of literature as Teresa read books growing up, and Ikkyū created poems from a young age. They both led different lives, but their devotion to their beliefs led them to eventually find enlightenment.
Sources:
Eire, C. (2019). The Life of Saint Teresa of Avila: A Biography. Princeton University Press.https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctv941r7h
Steiner, E. (2014). Zen-life : ikkyū and beyond. Cambridge Scholars Publishing. February 14, 2024,
Teresa, Lewis, D., & Zimmerman, B. (1997). The autobiography of st. teresa of avila : the life of st. teresa of jesus : including the relations or manifestations of her spiritual state which st. teresa submitted to her confessors. Tan Books and.
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