VENERABLE DR.THÍCH NỮ GIỚI HƯƠNG
Nguyên Hà, Senior Editor, Mỹ-Việt Magazine
Senior Editor Nguyên Hà
I came to know the famous nun, Dr. Thích Nữ Giới Hương, as a person who has pursued the study of the sutras and the profound doctrines of the Great Enlightenment One, through many of her valuable religious books and through the Buddhist work opportunities given to many other brothers and sisters. I was entrusted with a few small jobs to help Hương Sen Temple. I have thus realized that Venerable Bhikkhuni Giới Hương is a true master, brave, honest, and persistent, with a superior creative intelligence, a compassionate soul, and an abundant love for Buddhism, literature, and lyrics.
Perhaps a part of Bhikkhuni Giới Hương’s outstanding, quintessential, smart manner comes from being one of the closest disciples of Master Hải Triều Âm, who was a famous, virtuous nun that knew how to train disciples. Building upon that base with her own efforts, Bhikkhuni Giới Hương manifested naturally throughout her journey, from the time she was a young nun until she became the abbess of Hương Sen Temple, located in a remote place in a foreign country.
On the homepage of Hương Sen Temple, Perris, California, one can read her biography, as follows:
Dr. Bhikkhuni Giới Hương
Dr. Bhikkhunī Giới Hương (world name Śūnyatā Phạm) was born in 1963 in Bình Tuy, Vietnam and ordained at the age of fifteen under the great master, the Most Venerable Bhikkhunī Hải Triều Âm. In 1994, she received a bachelor’s degree in literature from Saigon University. She studied in India for ten years and in 2003, graduated with a PhD in Buddhist philosophy from the University of Delhi, India. In 2005, she settled down in the United States, and in 2015, she earned a second bachelor's degree in literature at the University of Riverside, California.
Currently, she is pursuing a degree in the Master of Arts program at the University of California, Riverside and works as a lecturer at the Vietnam Buddhist University in HCM City. She favors quietly reflecting on Dharma, and that leads her to write, as well as translate, Buddhist books and lyrics for music albums on her Bảo Anh Lạc Bookshelf.
In 2000, she established Hương Sen Temple in Bình Chánh, Saigon, Vietnam. In 2010, she founded Hương Sen Temple in Perris, California, USA, where she serves as abbess.
BẢO ANH LẠC BOOKSHELF
- Boddhisattva and Śūnyatā in the Early and Developed Buddhist Traditions
- Bồ-tát và Tánh Không Trong Kinh Tạng Pali và Đại Thừa
- Ban Mai Xứ Ấn (The Dawn in India), (3 vols)
- Vườn Nai – Chiếc Nôi Phật Giáo (Deer Park–The Cradle of Buddhism)
- Xá Lợi Của Đức Phật (The Buddha’s Relic), Tham Weng Yew, translated into English by Bhikkhunī Giới Hương
- Quy Y Tam Bảo và Năm Giới (Take Refuge in Three Gems and Keep the Five Precepts)
- Vòng Luân Hồi (The Cycle of Life)
- Hoa Tuyết Milwaukee (Snowflake in Milwaukee)
- Luân Hồi trong Lăng Kính Lăng Nghiêm (The Cycle of Life in Śūrangama Sūtra)
- Nghi Thức Hộ Niệm Cầu Siêu (The Ritual for the Deceased)
- Quan Âm Quảng Trần (The Commentary of Avalokiteśvara Bodhisattva)
- Sen Nở Nơi Chốn Tử Tù (Lotus in the Prison), many authors, translated into English by Bhikkhunī Giới Hương
- Nữ Tu và Tù Nhân Hoa Kỳ (A Nun and American Inmates), (2 vols)
- Nếp Sống Tỉnh Thức của Đức Đạt Lai Lạt Ma Thứ XIV (The Awakened Mind of the 14th Dalai Lama), (2 vols)
- A-Hàm, Mưa pháp chuyển hóa phiền não (Agama – A Dharma Rain transforms the Defilement), (2 vols)
- Góp Từng Hạt Nắng Perris (Collection of Sunlight in Perris)
- Pháp Ngữ của Kinh Kim Cang (The Key Words of Vajracchedikā-Prajñāpāramitā-Sūtra)
- Tập Thơ Nhạc Nắng Lăng Nghiêm (Songs and Poems of Śūraṅgama Sunlight)
- Chùa Việt Nam Hải Ngoại (Overseas Vietnamese Buddhist Temples), Vol 2, Võ Văn Tường & Từ Hiếu Côn, translated into Englishby Bhikkhunī Giới Hương
- Việt Nam Danh Lam Cổ Tự (The Famous Ancient Buddhist Temples in Vietnam), Võ Văn Tường. Translated into English by Bhikkhunī Giới Hương
- Rebirth Views in the Śūraṅgama Sūtra
- The Commentary of Avalokiteśvara Bodhisattva
- Phật Giáo-Một Bậc Đạo Sư, Nhiều Truyền Thống (Buddhism: One Teacher Many Traditions), Bhiksu Tenzin Gyatso the Fourteenth Dalai Lama and Bhikṣunī Thubten Chodron. Translated into Vietnamese by Bhikkhunī Giới Hương
- Nét Bút Nơi Song Cửa (Reflections at the Temple Window)
- Bản Tin Hương Sen (Newsletters), Blingual Language: Vietnamese-English
- Máy Nghe (Hương Sen Digital Mp3 Radio Speaker)
- Phóng Sự về Chùa Hương Sen (Introduction on Huong Sen Temple)
- Famous Words in Vietnamese-English: Danh Ngôn Nuôi Dưỡng Nhân Cách -Good Sentences Nurture a Good Manner collected by Thích Nữ Giới Hương
- Hương Sen, Thơ và Nhạc, Nguyễn Hiền Đức -Lotus Fragrance, Poem and Music, Nguyễn Hiền Đức, English Interpreter: Thích Nữ Giới Hương
- Cách Chuẩn Bi Chết và Giúp Người Sắp Chết-Quan Điểm Phật Giáo-Preparing for Death and Helping the Dying – A Buddhist Perspective, Sangye Khadro, English Interpreter: Thích Nữ Giới Hương
- The Key Words in Vajracchedikā Sūtra
- Văn Hóa Đặc Sắc của Nước Nhật Bản -Exploring the Unique Culture of Japan (Bilingual Language)
- Take Refuge in the Three Gems and Keep the Five Precepts
- Sống An Lạc dù Đời không Đẹp như Mơ -Live Peacefully though Life is not Beautiful as a Dream (Bilingual Language)
- Sarnath-The Cradle of Buddhism in the Archeological View
- Hãy Nói Lời Yêu Thương -Words of Love and Understanding (Bilingual Language)
- Văn Hóa Cổ Kim qua Hành Hương Chiêm Bái -The Ancient-Present Culture in Pilgrim (Bilingual Language)
- Cycle of Life
- Nghệ Thuật Biết Sống -Art of Living (Bilingual Language)
- Tuyển Tập Ni Giới trong Thời Hiện Đại – The Contributions of Buddhist Nuns in Modern Times (Bilingual Language)
- Tuyển Tập 40 Năm Tu Học & Hoằng Pháp của Ni sư Giới Hương - Forty Years in the Dharma: A Life of Study and Service - Venerable Bhikkhuni Giới Hương (Bilingual Language)
BUDDHIST MUSIC ALBUMS
from Poems of Thích Nữ Giới Hương
- Đào Xuân Lộng Ý Kinh (The Buddha Teachings Reflect in Cherry Flowers)
- Niềm Tin Tam Bảo (Trust in Three Gems)
- Trăng Tròn Nghìn Năm Đón Chờ Ai (Who is the Full Moon Waiting for over a Thousand Years?)
- Ánh Trăng Phật Pháp (Moonlight of Dharma-Buddha)
- Bình Minh Tỉnh Thức (Awakened Mind at the Dawn; Piano Variations for Meditation)
- Tiếng Hát Già Lam (Songs from the Temple)
- Cảnh Đẹp Chùa Xưa (The Magnificent Ancient Buddhist Temple)
- Karaoke Hoa Ưu Đàm Đã Nở (An Udumbara Flower is Blooming)
- Hương Sen Ca (Hương Sen’s Songs)
- Về Chùa Vui Tu (Happily Go to Temple for Spiritual Practices)
- Gọi Nắng Xuân Về (Call the Spring Sunlight on)
Please read Bảo Anh Lạc Bookshelf at our website: www.huongsentemple.com.
With many direct meetings with Venerable Giới Hương, I and many other members of the Construction Committee of Hương Sen Temple have undertaken many daily activities, cultural events, technology, fundraising, making audiotapes, newspaper, books, pilgrimage reports, etc. . . Everyone recognizes that she is a versatile person who works and works regardless of difficulties, never wasting money or time. She works hard and acts as if she is afraid she cannot work anymore or will not have more time, especially in creating sutras, books, literature, and poems. She wrote books, created poems, seated in front of the computer night and day, cold or hot, almost forgetting herself with a spirit of selfless sacrifice, wholeheartedly devoting her brain and mortal body for the sake of Dharma and sentient beings.
Master Giới Hương and nun disciples doing manual labor
How many times we have witnessed her with a rudimentary leaf hat over her head, bearing scorching heat or cold winds in the semi-desert, together with nuns in the temple digging soil, moving bricks, leveling soil in the parking lot, and clearing the grass in the wilderness around the temple. And if we do not see her doing field labor with her hands and feet like that or somewhere in the small temple, then when we walk into a narrow, simple room, we can see her attentively facing the computer keyboard, completing pages still in progress. Her strengths and perspectives can be seen in her writing; recently, she has been honored to receive the title, "Vietnamese-American female doctor writing and translating many Buddhist publications" from the Global Vietworld Record Organization at Liên Hữu Buddhist Conference, Anaheim, California on December 15, 2019.
Please take time to read all articles and view photos: 6.9._A_true_master_-_Nguyen_Ha.pdf
