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Network of Buddhist Women in Europe
Female teachers
Sister Chan Khong
Sister Chan Khong, born in 1938, formerly known as Cao Ngoc Phuong, was a well known Buddhist peace activist during the Vietnam war.
She came to Paris during the last years of the war to work with Thich Nhat Hanh and the Buddhist Peace Delegation in trying to influence the Paris Peace Talks. She has remained in exile from Vietnam since the war's end, but continues to run a program of aid to the poor in Vietnam (through a network of Buddhist social workers inside the country).
She worked closely with Thich Nhat Hanh in the creation of Plum Village and helping conduct spiritual retreats internationally.
She is central to the organisation of the activities of Plum Village and continues to be an inspiration to many in the Sangha.
She writes: "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."
Book:
- Learning True Love: Practicing Buddhism in a Time of War, Parallax Press, Revised and Rev. (28. April 2007)
- Order of Interbeing Beginnings (book excerpt)