465: Sister Chua Xua: Enjoy Your Free Life
Deer Park Dharmacast
Sister Chua Xua was a social worker and left a long-term relationship to become ordained as a nun at Bát Nhã, a Plum Village monastery that closed due to harassment from the Vietnamese government. "I also have a dream. I have a wish that I can support the young Western people to take the monastic life. The life that when you open your eyes, you see the moon and the star over your window. You feel very free. You light the candle with the hot cup of tea, the warm one, and you enjoy tea in the early morning. You look through the windows, you enjoy the moon and the star, and you enjoy your free...
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464: Brother Phap Hoi: Lucky for Me
Deer Park Dharmacast
Brother Phap Hoi is a Vietnamese refugee and the most senior Brother at Deer Park Monastery. "Because the Sangha embrace all of the people, even you are high level or low level of good background or not. You all have the chance in the Sangha if you go in the right direction of practice." 3:16 Meeting Thay 8:20 Arriving at Plum Village 11:30 Visa Trouble, First Stint at Deer Park 17:12 Bat Nha Monastery 26:25 Plum Village Thailand 32:00 Gratitude for Thay and the Path You can support this podcast by leaving a comment or review in your podcast application and by sharing it with friends....
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463: Sister Phu Nghiem: We Are a Buddhist Family
Deer Park Dharmacast
Sister Phu Nghiem is one of three nuns in her immediate blood family and is passionate about bringing mindfulness to children. "So I focus a lot more on my steps. On how I choose the food when I come to a meal. I learn to enjoy the meal and enjoy my siblings. And that has supported me a whole lot now that I'm here at Deer Park. I'm learning how to do that. And I notice my relationship with my sibling is more honest. But I think the most important thing is that my relationship with myself is a lot more honest. So that made me very happy." 2:07 - Introduction to Spiritual Life 7:49 -...
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462: Brother Phap Luu: American Awakening (Meet the Monastics)
Deer Park Dharmacast
Brother Phap Luu, the eldest non-Vietnamese American monk in the Plum Village tradition, graduated from Dartmouth College and started meditating after going through a depression. "What is more satisfying in life than helping people to transform their suffering? I mean, who cares about money and all this other stuff? The biggest happiness I get is if I can help myself, first of all, but others to transform suffering in a real way. My goodness, if we can do that with only a few people in our life, that's already worth a lifetime, right?" 2:16 Experiments in Community and Meditation 10:37...
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461: Sister Le Nghiem: Put Your Heart into the Practice (Meet the Monastics)
Deer Park Dharmacast
Sister Le Nghiem came to the practice after the death of her brother, and typically does solo retreat at the monastery for a few weeks a year. "So the practice gives me the greatest happiness. And this practice gives me being with others. Being with friends on retreat. Being with my siblings. Spending time each other. So when I practice it gives me happiness. And when my practice is deep, my happiness gets deeper. So it's all to do with the practice, nothing else." 2:17 Death of Brother and Discovering Thay's Teachings 9:25 Meeting the Monastic Sangha, Deciding to Become a Nun 17:00 Spending...
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460: Sister Trung Chinh: The Whole Universe Embraces Us
Deer Park Dharmacast
Sister Sr. Trung Chinh left Vietnam as a refugee and has been a nun for over fifty years. "The aspiration of a monk or a nun is that we have to arrive to the most peaceful place, the happiest place in ourselves. And there's only the daily practice. The daily practice only helps us to arrive to that place, that aspiration. It's the daily practice of each person. If each one of us do our best and lessen our hate, our love, our attachment, our anger, we let go of them day by day, then we can see we can love everybody." 2:44 Discovering Spirituality and Ordination 7:35 Dreaming of the Buddha and...
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459: Brother Minh Nhan: See For Yourself
Deer Park Dharmacast
Brother Minh Nhan, one of the only monastics in the Plum Village tradition of Mexican descent, is a monk of many interests: music, mushrooms, math, and more. "To join a community that maybe looks different, maybe don't see others like myself in it, let's say. Yeah, I mean, that's one way to look at it, but look at it as also, you're the one entering that. And you needn't be the last one either." 1:54 Introduction to Spirituality 14:38 Dropping Out of College 20:33 Arriving at Deer Park 22:11 Depression 31:09 Practice, Study, Play, and Rest 36:32 Being a Mexican Buddhist Monk 40:14 Advice...
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458: Sister Boi Nghiem: The Hard Work Has Been Done
Deer Park Dharmacast
Sister Boi Nghiem studied nursing before being ordained, and works regularly as a nun with the BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, and teen communities. "I think I have a very healthy relationship with myself. Very healthy mental dialogue with myself. There were times I comforted myself. There were times I'm very firm with myself, tell myself to stop thinking that way. And they help. This is why I kept on sharing the importance of self-love. Because by the end of the day, it is the self-love that helped me, that saved me, that keeps me going. Because if I continue to criticize myself or have excessive negative...
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457: Brother Phap Dung: Now You Get to Choose
Deer Park Dharmacast
It's Meet the Monastics! Brother Phap Dung is a Vietnamese refugee who worked as an architect in Los Angeles before finding the practice, healing his relationship with his father, and changing the course of his life. "Now you get to choose, and it's deliberate. That is a monk. I choose to be in this intimate way with the community, with this path. I choose not to be in a romantic relationship. I choose to have real relationships with people I come across with. It's always a constant choice." 2:35 Meeting Thay and the Sangha 9:51 Joining the Buddhist "Enterprise" 14:40 Signs 19:28...
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456: Brother Minh Luong: Building a Practice Space Within
Deer Park Dharmacast
Brother Minh Luong was raised in Laguna Beach, California, and went to NYU, where he read a book that changed his life. "I realized recently that there really is no separation between the practice and everything we do in our daily life. Either we're creating conditions for a practice space, like an internal practice space, or we're taking conditions away. And so if I can live in a calm and peaceful and serene way and do things that contribute to mindfulness and peace in my daily life, then I'll have a lot of success in my spiritual practice." 2:03 Introduction to Buddhism 5:58 Moving...
info_outlineSister Kinh Nghiem, one of the funniest and most stylish nuns in the world, was ordained when she was only 14.
"Get rid of all of your ideas of what monastic practice is. You know, you come here, I mean, the practice is wonderful. And it's for you to come and see for yourself. But if you start getting ideas of what you expect monastic life to be like, you'll have a hard time. Because there's two sides to the coin, if you want to say it, you know? Sometimes the sisters have some expectation, and then you and yourself have some expectation. "Oh, I thought this was a Buddhist community. I think we're supposed to practice loving kindness and compassion and help, and everybody's so mean." You know, I mean, honestly, if you let go of the ideas and just focus on your bodhichitta, focus on what you want. And those other things of how people say things to you, which is sort of like, be a minor, it's not important."
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AI Summary
This podcast episode from Deer Park Monastery's Meet the Monastics features Brother Minh An interviewing Sister Kinh Nghiem, a long-time monastic who was ordained at the age of 14. The episode highlights Sister Kinh Nghiem’s journey to monastic life, sharing stories from her childhood, growing up with a deeply Buddhist mother and a non-practicing Catholic father. Sister Kinh Nghiem’s mother was a devoted follower of Thich Nhat Hanh, influencing Sister Kinh Nghiem’s early exposure to Buddhism, despite her initial disinterest.
At 14, Sister Kinh Nghiem attended a retreat led by Thich Nhat Hanh, and though she had no deep understanding of Buddhism or meditation at the time, his teachings resonated with her, especially on impermanence, suffering, and happiness. She experienced a personal awakening, realizing that she wanted to share these teachings with her peers and help others navigate life's challenges.
Sister Kinh Nghiem reflects on her decision to become a monastic, noting how it wasn't initially about finding peace within herself but about helping her friends. She also shares how her parents reacted to her decision, with her mother ultimately allowing her to make the choice herself. Within weeks of attending the retreat, Sister Kinh Nghiem traveled to Plum Village in France, where she was ordained.
Throughout the episode, she emphasizes the importance of letting go of preconceived ideas about monastic life. She explains that the path of a monastic is not about conforming to rigid expectations, but about staying true to one's intentions and practice, regardless of external challenges or judgments. For her, it was essential to maintain her individuality while also harmonizing with the monastic community.
The episode closes with advice to those considering monastic life: approach it with an open mind, free from expectations, and be ready to face the personal responsibility it entails.