Sister Chân Không is the senior-most living Dharma teacher of the Plum Village tradition and was the principal collaborator of the late Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh (1926–2022) for over sixty years. She is widely regarded as a living embodiment of the Plum Village teaching — engaged Buddhism, mindfulness as everyday practice, and the integration of social action with meditation.
She co-founded the Order of Interbeing with Thich Nhat Hanh in Vietnam in 1966, in the midst of the Vietnam War, when the Order was conceived as a form of engaged Buddhist response to the violence of the time. Following her exile from Vietnam in 1969, she worked alongside Thich Nhat Hanh in Paris and later at Plum Village in the Dordogne region of France, which the two established as the principal home of the lineage in 1982.
She is the author of Learning True Love, a substantial memoir of her work in social action during the Vietnam War, and of Beginning Anew, a presentation of the Plum Village practice of repair and reconciliation. She has trained generations of Plum Village monastics, dharma teachers, and lay practitioners, and now serves as one of the senior holders of the lineage following Thich Nhat Hanh's passing.
Her teaching style is characterised by the practicality of the Plum Village path — walking meditation, mindfulness in daily activities, deep listening, loving speech, and the Five Mindfulness Trainings as the heart of lay practice. She continues to lead retreats from Plum Village in France and travels occasionally to teach internationally.
Applications for personal time are received through Plum Village France on a quarterly cadence. Pilgrim Circle members of The Promised Studios receive priority routing for Asia-region retreats.
