| Mary Farkas | |
| Birth Date: | 1911 |
| Birth Place: | United States |
| Death Date: | June 7, 1992 (aged 81) |
| Death Place: | New York, New York |
| Nationality: | American |
| Religion: | Zen Buddhism |
| School: | Rinzai |
| Director | |
| Location: | First Zen Institute of America |
| Teacher: | Sokei-an |
| Website: | www.firstzen.org |
Mary Farkas (1911 – June 7, 1992) was the director of the First Zen Institute of America (FZIA), running the center's administrative functions for many years following the death of her teacher (Sokei-an) in 1945.[1] Though she was not a teacher of Zen Buddhism in any traditional sense of the word, she did help to carry on the lineage of Sokei-an and also was editor of the FZIA's journal, Zen Notes, starting with Volume 1 in 1954.[2] Additionally, she also edited books about Sokei-an, i.e. "The Zen Eye" and "Zen Pivots." Through her transcriptions of his talks, the institute was able to continue on the lineage without having a formal teacher (Sokei-an left no Dharma heir).[3]