In celebration of Women’s History Month and International Women’s Day, we are delighted to share with you a selection of articles from our archives by treasured Dharma teachers who are women in the International Plum Village tradition:

Sister Chân Không

Sister Chân Không is the first fully-ordained monastic disciple of Zen Master Thích Nhất Hạnh, and the director of his humanitarian projects since the 1960’s. She has devoted her life to the development and practice of nonviolence grounded in the Buddhist precepts of non-killing and compassionate action. Read her books and read more about her on the Plum Village website.

• Rejuvenation in Vietnam, issue 14 Autumn 1995
• Prison Moment, Wonderful Moment, issue 15 Winter 1995-96
• I Am Not Different From You: A portrait of Sister Chan Khong, by Dharma teacher Eveline Beumkes, issue 61 Autumn 2012

Sister Chân Đức (Sister Annabel Laity, True Virtue)

Sister Chân Đức was the editor of The Mindfulness Bell for almost twenty years, and became the first Western European woman to be ordained as a nun by Thầy in 1988 in India. To read more about her, including Dharma talks, books, and more of her articles, click here.

• Renewing Buddhism, issue 17 Summer 1996
• Breathe!, issue 25 Winter 2000
• Making up Songs, issue 34 Autumn 2003
• Twenty-Three Years as a Nun, issue 57 Summer 2011
• A Letter to Thầy, issue 89 2022

Sister Dang Nghiem (Sister D)

Sister Dang Nghiem, MD, was born in Vietnam during the Tet Offensive, lost her mother at the age of twelve, immigrated to the United States at the age of seventeen, earned a medical degree from the University of California San Francisco, and ordained a nun in 2000. For more about Sister Dang Nghiem, including her books, visit Parallax Press.

• Inner Eyes, issue 31 Summer 2002
• Fragrance of Tea Flowers, issue 42 Summer 2006
• Cleaning the Sponge, issue 47 Winter/Spring 2008
• Scorpion Nature, issue 64 Autumn 2013
• Healing the Healer, issue 90 2022

Kaira Jewel Lingo

After growing up internationally in a residential spiritual community Kaira Jewel Lingo began practicing mindfulness in 1997, ordained as a nun in 1999 and was in robes for fifteen years. She is now a lay Dharma teacher, leading retreats in the US and internationally, offering mindfulness programs for families, educators and youth in schools, artists, activists, People of Color, as well as individual spiritual mentoring. Visit kairajewel.com to learn more.

• Deep Relaxation for Children, issue 45 Summer 2007
• Touching the Earth for Young People, issue 46 Autumn 2007
• A Ten Minute Lesson on Self-forgiveness in San Quentin, issue 59 Winter/Spring 2012
• The Burning Pit of Climate Change, issue 67 Autumn 2014
• Reflections on Thầy, issue 89 2022

Valerie Brown

Valerie Brown, True Sangha Power, ordained in 2018 and transformed her twenty-year, high-pressure career as a lawyer-lobbyist into human-scale, social-equity-centered work, guiding leaders and organizations to foster greater understanding, authenticity, compassion, and trust. You can find more about her and her latest book, Hope Leans Forward, on her website.

• Reflections of a Quaker Woman of Color, issue 35 Fall/Winter 2003
• Gatha on Looking Deeply into Violence and Hatred, issue 73 Autumn 2016
• The Wisdom of Work, issue 82 Autumn 2019
• An excerpt from Hope Leans Forward, issue 90 2022

Leslie Rawls

Leslie Rawls, True Realm of Awakening, co-founded and practices with the Charlotte Community of Mindfulness in North Carolina, US. She was ordained into the Order of Interbeing in 1995 and received Lamp Transmission from Thay in 2009. Leslie has worked in many roles to support The Mindfulness Bell: as the first Family Practice Section editor, managing editor, Sangha directory maintenance team member, and Caretaking Council member.

• Grief and Wholeness, issue 26 Summer 2000
• Loving the Whole, issue 90 Winter/Spring 2019
• Healthy Boundaries, issue 81 Summer 2019
• What’s All This Bowing About?, issue 82 Summer 2020

For more celebration of women in our International Plum Village Tradition, read Women in the Practice and Female Buddhas: A Revolution for Nuns in the Plum Village Tradition from the Thich Nhat Hanh Foundation.