Venerable Chi Kwang Sunim is a

Zen Buddhist Zen ( zh, t=禪, p=Chán; ja, text= 禅, translit=zen; ko, text=선, translit=Seon; vi, text=Thiền) is a school of Mahayana Buddhism that originated in China during the Tang dynasty, known as the Chan School (''Chánzong'' 禪宗), and ...

nun. She is currently the leader of a small community and forest retreat in

Kinglake, Victoria Kinglake is a town in Victoria, Australia, north-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the Shires of Murrindindi and Nillumbik local government areas. Kinglake recorded a population of 1,662 at the 2021 census. ...

Training

Sunim studied Seon (Zen) meditation in Songgansa under the Zen master Kusan. She also studied under Myongseong Sunim, Proctor of Unmun Sa Temple. Sunim was ordained as a bhikkhuni in

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

and is associated with the Lotus Lantern International Buddhist Centre in Korea. A bhikkhunī (

Pali Pali () is a Middle Indo-Aryan liturgical language native to the Indian subcontinent. It is widely studied because it is the language of the Buddhist ''Pāli Canon'' or ''Tipiṭaka'' as well as the sacred language of ''Theravāda'' Buddhism ...

) or bhikṣuṇī (

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...

) is a fully ordained female monastic in

Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...

. In ''Blossoms of the Dharma: Living as a Buddhist Nun'' she writes that “the Korean bhikkhunis have established a systematic, effective way of training new nuns.” This includes a novice period, sutra study schools and then meditation halls or other vocations. In 1988 she returned to live in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

but makes bi-annual trips back to

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

Leadership

Sunim is the chair of the Seon Centre in Kinglake. She has been the chair of the Australian Sangha Association and the Buddhist Council of Victoria. Sunim is involved with intra-Buddhist and interfaith programs.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sunim, Chi Kwang Living people 20th-century women Year of birth missing (living people) Buddhist nuns Zen Buddhist nuns Australian Buddhists