Sister Chân Tuệ Nghiêm

Sr Tue Nghiem

Adornment with Insight

Sister Tuệ Nghiêm (“Sr. Insight”) ordained as a novice nun on December 11th 1993 at Plum Village France as a member of the “Fish” family. She received full bhikshuni ordination on December 2nd 1996, and the Lamp Transmission from Thầy to become a Dharma Teacher on February 19th, 1999. As a “baby” of the then small community, Sr. Tuệ Nghiêm was cherished by Thầy and the elders, but also firmly guided.

Sr. Tuệ Nghiêm was born in Vietnam, and grew up in California, USA. Influenced by her loving and spiritual mother, she joined the Vietnamese Youth Buddhist Society as a teen. She studied psychology at university, with a strong interest in the mind and the aspiration to alleviate the mental pain she saw around her. The same interest and aspiration then brought her to Plum Village France, where her elder brother (Brother Pháp Đang, “Br. Dharma Lamp”) had already ordained under Thầy. After the sojourn at Plum Village, she returned to California. The contrast between the malaise of a fast-paced living and the simple, fulfilling life at Plum Village helped set her life direction.

Sr. Tuệ Nghiêm balances her time in administrative roles with growing organic vegetables on the New Hamlet “Happy Farm”. She firmly believes in taking care of the body to sustain the practice, thus shares her experience in holistic medicine, yoga, Qi Gong, and nutrition with the community. Her favourite practices are breathing, walking, and reflecting on the sutras. She also enjoys learning neuroscience, Chinese, and loves to knit socks, swing in a hammock, listen to Mozart, and make samosas for the community.

Sister Tuệ Nghiêm regularly leads retreats in Europe, Asia, and North America. While at home in New Hamlet, she finds many ways to be with her younger sisters: hiking, mentoring, teaching the precepts, Buddhist psychology, and Vietnamese/English classes, driving and car maintenance.

Dharma Talks

tue nghiem website

On Grief and Loss

In Zen, we often say that the moment of death is the moment that reveals how we have been practicing. Indeed, the fear of dying is the base for all other fears. As practitioners, death should be an object of our contemplation. Sister Insight shares her experience of practicing…

Sr Tuệ Nghiêm

December 4, 2022
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Breathe, Smile and Accept

What do you truly want for your life? Knowing this becomes a source of energy on our path. When we see our path clearly, we are no longer afraid. Mindfulness is the energy of awareness that enables us to apply the practice in our daily life. This allows us…

Sr Tuệ Nghiêm

September 22, 2022

Openness, Non-Attachment to Views & Freedom of Thought

The moment we step into Plum Village we want to cultivate the energies of mindfulness, concentration and insight. The Buddha originally taught these three trainings as precepts, concentration and insight. It was Thầy who showed us that precepts are essentially mindfulness. Every precept is a Dharma door. They are…

Sr Tuệ Nghiêm

October 7, 2018

Insight Through Investigation

When we understand ourselves we can understand other people. But we often look at reality with tinted glasses on, not able to look beyond ideas, perceptions and prejudices. That’s why we need to wake up. (2:34) The second Factor of Awakening is “investigation of phenomena” (or dharmas). Investigation of…

Sr Tuệ Nghiêm

November 26, 2017

Why is Suffering Holy?

During the retreat at Magnolia Grove Monastery​ (September 23, 2015), Sister Tue Nghiem teaches us why suffering is holy, even though it’s so uncomfortable. Coming back to our suffering helps us cultivate our compassion, our joy, and our happiness. In addition to the retreats at Deer Park Monastery next…

Sr Tuệ Nghiêm

September 23, 2015

The Holiness of Suffering

The First Talk from our retreat at Magnolia Grove Monastery during “The Time is Now Retreat”, part of the Miracle of Mindfulness US tour. Help us caption & translate this video! http://amara.org/v/HIFY/

Sr Tuệ Nghiêm

September 23, 2015

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What is Mindfulness

Thich Nhat Hanh January 15, 2020

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