Meet the Monastics

Sister Chua Xua: Enjoy Your Free Life

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

Brother Phap Hoi: Lucky for Me

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 l

Sister Phu Nghiem: We Are a Buddhist Family

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 ho

Brother Phap Luu: American Awakening

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 dep

Sister Le Nghiem: Put Your Heart into the Practice

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

Sister Trung Chinh: The Whole Universe Embraces Us

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 peace

Brother Minh Nhan: See For Yourself

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

Sister Boi Nghiem: The Hard Work Has Been Done

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 rel

Brother Phap Dung: Now You Get to Choose

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 th

Sister Kinh Nghiem: Run Away Now

Sister 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 i

Building a Practice Space Within

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 sep

Meet the Monastics Teaser

From Deer Park Monastery, it's Meet the Monastics. As monastics, the most common question asked of us is, you guessed it, why did you become a monastic? I'm Brother Minh-