Today we celebrate the continuation day of our beloved Sister Chan Khong, (Sister True Emptiness)—founding member of the Order of Interbeing (Tiep Hien) and Plum Village. She is a true source of love, compassionate action, and refuge for our beloved community and the world.
This year, 2026, marks 60 years of the Order of Interbeing. In honor of this anniversary and Sister Chan Khong’s Continuation Day, we share an excerpt from her memoir, Learning True Love: Practicing Buddhism in a Time of War, about how the Order of Interbeing originally manifested with the guidance and vision of our beloved teacher Thich Nhat Hanh.
On the fifth of February in 1966, a full moon day, Thay Nhat Hanh ordained the first six members of the Tiep Hien Order, the Order of Interbeing. This Order was created by Thay to help bring Buddhism directly into the arena of social concerns during a time when the war was escalating and the teachings of the Buddha were most sorely needed. Thay proposed that the Order be composed of monks, nuns, laymen, and laywomen, and said that the six of us first ordained were free to choose whether we preferred to live and practice as formal monastics or as laypersons. We three women chose to live celibate lives like nuns, although we didn’t shave our heads, while the three men chose to marry and practice as lay Buddhists. Among the three women was Nhat Chi Mai, who immolated herself for peace just a year later.
It was a wonderful celebration! Each of us was given a lamp with a handmade shade on which Thay had calligraphed “Lamp of the World,” “Lamp of the Full Moon,” “Lamp of Wisdom,” etc., in old-style Chinese. During the initiation ceremony, we six ordainees vowed to study, practice, and observe the Fourteen Precepts of the Order of Interbeing. Since that day, I have felt that these precepts are my primary teacher, especially when I have been under stress and do not know the best way to act.
The conditions requested by Thay Nhat Hanh to those of us who formally ordained with him were to practice at least sixty Days of Mindfulness a year and to practice with a community of friends. Even though I continued to be extremely busy, I renewed myself every week with a Day of Mindfulness at our SYSS temple, from Saturday noon until Sunday noon. I would always come laden down with worries about urgent responsibilities, but after a short while I could slowly calm myself and stop even the most anxious thoughts. I tried to dwell mindfully on every act, beginning with putting my overnight bag in my room, boiling some water for washing, and putting on my meditation clothes.
Then I practiced walking meditation alone in the woods, picking wildflowers and bamboo branches for arrangements for the meditation hall. After three hours of dwelling steadily in each mindful act and releasing all my worries, I began to feel renewed, and we six members of the Order gathered to recite the precepts and chant the Heart Sutra together. Then we shared tea and our experiences of the past week, ate dinner silently together, and practiced sitting meditation before bed. We meditated together again in the early morning. During individual time before and after evening meditation and the next day, I sometimes had to resume my urgent work alone in my room, but I always did it in a mindful way.
One day, Nhat Chi Mai said to me, “We are such a new Order that the Buddhist Church does not accept us as nuns.” I comforted her by saying, “Don’t worry. We don’t need their acceptance. We were ordained by Thay because we wanted to follow the Fourteen Precepts. Others can think of us as laypersons, nuns, or whatever they want. What is important is that we practice the precepts as guidelines lighting our path of service and helping us transform our negative tendencies, like fanaticism, narrow-mindedness, anger, and hatred.” In fact, as we continued to practice sincerely, many of the high monks came to appreciate us. Although they didn’t call us nuns, they treated us with equal respect.
Today, thousands of friends in Europe, North America, Australia, and Asia have come to know and practice these Fourteen Precepts, although most have not had the opportunity to receive them formally from Thay. I always advise those who wish to practice the precepts to organize a sangha, a community of friends, around them, to recite the precepts every month, and share their experiences of living the precepts. If they do this, already they are members of the extended community of the Order of Interbeing.
Excerpt from Learning True Love: Practicing Buddhism in a Time of War by Sister Chan Khong
Love Letters to Sister Chan Khong
Sister True Emptiness 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 (Excerpt from his Foreword to Sister Chan Khong’s “Learning True Love”)
I felt a closeness to Chi Phuong whose Dharma name was Chan Khong, True Emptiness. I felt I had known her before but I did not know where or how. At that time I had no idea how much Thay and Sister Chan Khong had done together and separately to relieve suffering in the war years in Vietnam, and how she had been Thay’s loyal assistant for so long. Thay has called Sister Chan Khong a “peace warrior” to describe her intrepid and untiring work to bring about more happiness and less suffering in the world.
Excerpt from True Virtue by Sister Chan Duc, describing the first moment she met Sr Chan Khong in 1986
Presently, it seems that only a few of the elders—those who are long-standing OI veterans—remain with us. One of the people remaining, whom we need to treasure, is Sister Chan Khong. Once I heard Thay mention that during a retreat in Europe, nobody had brought the text of the Fourteen Precepts. Therefore, Sister Chan Khong had to retype it. And from where did she retype it? It flowed out from her own heart. She had learned the text by heart very accurately, as if it had been meticulously stored in the museum of consciousness.
Excerpt from the Dharma Talk ’’Understanding and Love: The Spirit of the 14 Mindfulness Trainings’’ by Venerable Thich Phuoc Tinh, recounting Sister Chan Khong’s vast capacity and commitment
Dear Sister Chan Khong, so much gratitude to you and the other Cedars for showing us by example how to embody unwavering compassion in the face of injustice… deep bows!
Kat, Joyful Engagement of the Heart (Tâm Tiep Hỷ)
Sister Chan Khong, you are such an inspiration for me. Thank you so much for singing us lullabies during deep relaxation. They help my inner child heal! With much love!
Magda, Bodhi Heart of the Source
Thank you, dear Sister Chan Khong, for being an inspiration to so many of us! _()_
Aaron Solomon (Chan Phap Man)
A Gift of Transformation and Healing
Please enjoy this rare recording of Thich Nhat Hanh and Sister Chan Khong chanting and singing together in a Night of Prayer.
Books and Practices by Sister Chan Khong
- Learning True Love
- Beginning Anew: Four Steps to Restoring Communication
- Deep Relaxation: Coming Home to your Body
We invite you to enjoy a deep relaxation of body and mind as Sister Chan Khong takes us gently through the steps of a guided meditation, encouraging us to practice love and care for ourselves.
On this occasion, we would like to invite you to write a note (below) to Sister Chan Khong to express gratitude or to share how her presence and teachings have touched and impacted your life. Thank you so much!
Share Your Reflections