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 Chan Khong is an expatriate Vietnamese Buddhist nun, peace activist and principle disciple and assistant to Thich Nhat Hanh. While Hanh maybe the most internationally recognized Buddhist master, Chan Khong is an accomplished and well-respected Buddhist master in her own right. In 1964, she was instrumental in the founding the Van Han University, School for Youth and Social Service (SYSS) in Vietnam and in 1983, she helped establish the Plum Village Singha in France. Since 1969, Chan Khong has been Thich Nhat Hanh's principle disciple. In 2005, she accompanied Thich Nhat Hanh on their first visit to Vietnam in decades. Whilst there Chan Khong had an opportunity to do what she loves most, teach. "If we just worry about the big picture, we are powerless. So my secret is to start right away doing whatever little work I can do. I try to give joy to one person in the morning, and remove the suffering of one person in the afternoon. . . . That is the secret. Start right now." [4]Sister Chan Khong“My students are also my teachers. I learn so much from them. Sister Chan Khong (True Emptiness) is among the foremost of these. [She] has a great capacity for joy and happiness. That is what I appreciate most in her life. Her unwavering faith in the dharma is strengthened each day as she continues to enjoy the fruit of transformation and healing born from the practice. Her stability, joy, and happiness are wonderful supports for many of us in Plum Village and in the circle of the greater `sangha'. Working for social change and helping people are sources of joy for her. The love and concern that underlie her work are deep. True Emptiness is also true love. Her story is more than just the words. Her whole life is a dharma talk." Thich Nhat Hanh[6] |
Date of Birth: 02 Jan, 1938
Location: France
State: Dordogne
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Views: 150
Summary
Chan Khong was born in 1938 in Ben Tre, Vietnam. Her birth name was Cao Ngoc Phuong. She came from a wealth family, she was the eighth of nine kids and although they had money her father never let them forget the values of hard work and humility. In 1958, Khong went to study biology at the University of Saigon.[1][2] At school, she found herself drawn to campus politics and helping others. She became the student leader at the school and also spent much of her time in the slums of the big city, helping feed the poor and sick. The following year she met one of the most respected Buddhist masters in modern times, Thich Nhat Hanh. He became her spiritual teacher. In 1963, she traveled to Paris. The following year she was able to obtain her degree in biology. She then returned to Vietnam and helped Thich Nhat Hanh found the Van Han University and the School for Youth and Social Service (SYSS). The SYSS was essential in helping many people in Vietnam during the war. Chan Khong herself helped organize medical, educational, and agricultural facilities in rural Vietnam. During this time, Thich Nhat Hanh traveled back to the United States and Chan Khong was appointed as the head of the SYSS. [1][2] On February 5, 1966, Chan Khong was ordained as one of the first six members of the Order of Interbeing or the "Six Cedars". The order was founded by Thich Nhat Hanh. Immediately following the ceremony, she changed her name to Chan Khong, which means True Emptiness. In 1993, Khong wrote her autobiography, "Learning True Love: How I Learned & Practiced Social Change in Vietnam". In it she talks about her name; "In Buddhism, the word 'emptiness' is a translation of the Sanskrit sunyata. It means 'empty of a separate self.' It is not a negative or despairing term. It is a celebration of interconnectedness, of interbeing. It means nothing can exist by itself alone, that everything is inextricably interconnected with everything else. I know that I must always work to remember that I am empty of a separate self and full of the many wonders of this universe, including the generosity of my grandparents and parents, the many friends and teachers who have helped and supported me along the path, and you dear readers, without whom this book could not exist. We inter-are, and therefore we are empty of an identity that is separate from our interconnectedness."[1] In 1969, she went to Paris to help Thich Nhat Hanh organize the Buddhist Peace Delegation, an organization aimed to get peace in Vietnam. She stayed in Paris for three years, helping Hanh. In 1982, Nanh and Khong founded the Plum Village Sangha in southern France. In 2005, when Thich Nhat Hanh was finally allowed back into Vietnam, Khong travelled with him. During their three months trip, Thich Nhat Hanh gave Dharma talks to thousands of people from every strata of society. Kong also taught and conducted additional mindful practices. In February during the Tet (Vietnamese New Year) celebrations Khong gave the “oracle reading” for hundreds of Buddhist followers. [5] Today, Khong continues to accompany Thich Nhat Hanh in his teachings whilst conducting events and teaching at Plum Village.
References:
1. Chan Khong. (2005). Learning True Love: How I Learned Social Change in Vietnam. Autobiography. Berkeley, CA: Parallax Press. ISBN 0-938077-50-3.
2. Chan Khong, Learning True Love, Order of Interbeing – Website – http://www.iamhome.org/order_interbeing.htm
3. Sister Chan Khong, "Learning True Love"(2004) Fellowship of Reconciliation website http://www.forusa.org/interfaith/buddhism.html
4. Sister Chang Kong – Website - http://www.interbeing.org.uk/teachers/changkong.html
5. Chinvarakorn,Vasana "No trace left behind", The Buddhist Channel - websitehttp://www.buddhistchannel.tv/index.php?id=9,1195,0,0,1,0
6. Senauke, A and Moon, S (1994) "Walking in the Direction of Beauty--An Interview with Sister Chan Khong", The Turning Wheel http://www.sinc.sunysb.edu/clubs/buddhism/dailylife/khong.html
Related Links:
www.plumvillage.org/
www.pbase.com/nguyenlang/image/48331302
www.interbeing.org.uk/teachers/changkong.html
www.iamhome.org/order_interbeing.htm
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