Bhikkhuni Triệt Như

NiSu

Early years:
Bhikkhuni was born in 1941, in Gia Định, Vietnam .
Worldly Name : Bui Thi Anh Hoa
She attended the Gia Long girl school and got her Bachelor degree of Law and Arts in Saigon. She taught as a teacher at the Boys Hồ Ngọc Cẩn Secondary School in Gia Định between 1964 and 1975.

In 1983 she settled in the United States as a refugee.

Spiritual journey:
As a lay-person, her Dhamma name was Tu Tam Thao.She attended the Fundamental Meditation Course 2 in 1996 in Beaverton, Oregon .• In 1998-2001 she attended the Paññā Intermediate Meditation Level courses in 3 consecutive years.• 2002 : attended Buddhist Psychology- Advanced Meditation Level Courses .• 2004 : attended the Teacher Course I dedicated to nuns and monks at the Perris Meditation Center.

Specialist in providing courses summaries:
Since 1999, she was an assistant teacher in all Fundamental Meditation and Paññā Intermediate Meditation Level courses conducted in and outside the US.

She was well known to everyone for summarizing all courses in diagrams while Sunyata Founding Zen Master Thích Thông Triệt conducted his courses.

She was also of great help in recording meditation students’ experience at the end of all the meditation courses for inclusion into The News Bulletin which later became the Yearly Magazine) until 2009 .

Study Reports:
Due to her continuously striving for improvement and persistent spiritual practice, from 1996 to 2009, Bhikkhuni wrote many study reports from the courses that she attanded, from the Fundamental Meditation course to the Paññā Intermediate Meditation Level courses, to courses on Buddhist Schools and Buddhist Psychology – Advanced Meditation Level courses. Several of these study reports have been collated and published as a small book entitled “Report to my Master”.

“Report to my Master” was reviewed by Sunyata Founding Zen Master Thích Thông Triệt, who noted that it was a spiritual progress of a steadfast and assiduous student. Venerable Thích Thông Triệt approved its publication in 12/2009, and wrote  an “Introduction and Certification”, to introduce the book to all students of the Sunyata school.

Following the Buddha’s footsteps:

  • She was ordained in 11/2004, at Bodh Gaya, India, and received the Dhamma name Thich Nu Triet Nu
  • In 2005 she received the Great Precepts at the Sunyata Perris Meditation Center, USA.

Taking responsibility and capacity for work:
Taking into consideration her ability to absorb the body of knowledge on Buddhism, Zen Buddhism, neurological science, and practice techniques, as well as her dedication to serve others, Venerable Thich Thong Triet  appointed Bhikkhuni  in 2006 as the Abbot of the Suchness Sunyata Meditation Center in Houston, Texas.

In 2009, in response to the growing study needs of practice communities around the world, Bhikkhuni was appointed Chair of the founding committee for the Central Sunyata Meditation Association.

Teaching:
Since 2007, Bhikkhuni  was assigned the responsibility for spiritual guidance of Sunyata Practice communities such as Toronto (Canada), Paris, Toulouse (France), Stuttgart (Germany), Switzerland, Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide (Australia), Houston, Southern California, Sacramento, San Jose, and Virginia. So far, wherever there is a Sunyata practice community, Bhikkhuni will be there to teach.

Bhikkhuni was gradually authorised to teach the Paññā Intermediate Intermediate Meditation Level 1,2,3, 4 courses and Buddhist Psychology – Advanced Meditation Level courses until present time (2016).

Through many years of training by Founding Zen Master Thích Thông Triệt combined with her own specialised skills, Bhikkhuni has become an official teacher of the Sunyata sangha.

With her knowledge of Buddhism teaching and science, her own spiritual practice experience, along with her teaching skills, her ability to draw diagrams representing neurological functions and meditaion concepts etc … Bhikkhuni has been able to present spiritual and transcendental topics in easy-to-understand, and coherent materials that lead to students experiencing “interesting insights”.

Dhamma successor:
On the 22nd of February  2015, during the Tradition Day ceremony commemorating 20 years of disseminating the Buddhist Dhamma by the Sunyata Meditation School, Venerable Thich Thong Triet, founding master of the Sunyata Meditation School, acknowledged

the virtue and ability of Bhikkhuni, and entrusted to her the ceremonial cloth and ceremonial meditation stick to offically name her as the successor of the Sunyata Meditation School.

The ceremonial cloth is the symbol of the Buddha’s teaching. The ceremonial meditation stick is the symbol of the Patriarches’s teaching.

Since February 2015, Bhikkhuni officially represents Venerable Thích Thông Triệt in disseminating the dhamma and leading the Sunyata practice communities around the world.