Ayya Khema (August 25, 1923 – November 2, 1997) was a

Buddhist 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 ...

teacher A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. whe ...

noted for providing opportunities for

women A woman is an adult female human. Prior to adulthood, a female human is referred to as a girl (a female child or Adolescence, adolescent). The plural ''women'' is sometimes used in certain phrases such as "women's rights" to denote female hum ...

to practice Buddhism, founding several centers around the world. In 1987, she helped coordinate the first-ever

Sakyadhita International Association of Buddhist Women Sakyadhita International Association of Buddhist Women is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization founded in 1987 at the conclusion of its first conference and registered in California in the United States in 1988. Sakyadhita holds an international confere ...

. Over two dozen books of her transcribed Dhamma talks in

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

and

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

have been published. In the last year of her life, she also published her

autobiography An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life. It is a form of biography. Definition The word "autobiography" was first used deprecatingly by William Taylor in 1797 in the English peri ...

: ''I Give You My Life.''

Biography

Born as ''Ilse Kussel'' in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

, Germany in 1923 to

Jew Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""Th ...

ish parents. In 1938, her parents escaped from Germany and traveled to China while plans were made for Khema to join two hundred other children emigrating to

Glasgow, Scotland Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

. After two years in Scotland, Khema joined her parents in

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flow ...

. With the outbreak of the war, Japan conquered Shanghai and the family was moved into the

Shanghai Ghetto The Shanghai Ghetto, formally known as the Restricted Sector for Stateless Refugees, was an area of approximately one square mile in the Hongkew district of Japanese-occupied Shanghai (the ghetto was located in the southern Hongkou and southwest ...

Hongkew , formerly spelled Hongkew, is a district of Shanghai, forming part of the northern urban core. It has a land area of and a population of 852,476 as of 2010. It is the location of the Astor House Hotel, Broadway Mansions, Lu Xun Park, and Hon ...

where her father died five days before the war ended. At age twenty-two, Khema married a man seventeen years her senior named Johannes and they moved to an apartment in the

Hongkou District , formerly spelled Hongkew, is a District of the People's Republic of China, district of Shanghai, forming part of the northern urban core. It has a land area of and a population of 852,476 as of 2010. It is the location of the Astor House, Sh ...

. In 1947, her first child, a daughter named Irene, was born. As the

People's Liberation Army The People's Liberation Army (PLA) is the principal military force of the People's Republic of China and the armed wing of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The PLA consists of five service branches: the Ground Force, Navy, Air Force, ...

were on the cusp of taking Shanghai, Khema and her family fled for

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, United States. From San Francisco, Khema moved to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

and then

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...

where she gave birth to her second child, a son named Jeffrey. Soon, Khema began feeling incomplete and this led to investigating various spiritual paths, an interest her husband didn't share. This led to their divorce. Khema moved with her infant son to Rancho La Puerta in

Tecate Tecate () is a city in Tecate Municipality, Baja California. It is across the Mexico-US border from Tecate, California. As of 2019, the city had a population of 108,860 inhabitants, while the metropolitan area has a population of 132,406 inha ...

, Mexico, to study the philosophy of the

Essenes The Essenes (; Hebrew: , ''Isiyim''; Greek: Ἐσσηνοί, Ἐσσαῖοι, or Ὀσσαῖοι, ''Essenoi, Essaioi, Ossaioi'') were a mystic Jewish sect during the Second Temple period that flourished from the 2nd century BCE to the 1st c ...

with Professor Edmund Skekely. There she married her second husband, Gerd. The whole family soon became

vegetarian Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the consumption of meat (red meat, poultry, seafood, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slaughter. Vegetarianism m ...

, a practice Khema continued until her death. The three traveled for years, visiting

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

, Australia,

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

, then settling in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

, Australia, where Khema began to study with Phra Khantipalo. To further her studies, Khema traveled to San Francisco to study

Zen 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 ...

at the

San Francisco Zen Center San Francisco Zen Center (SFZC), is a network of affiliated Sōtō Zen practice and retreat centers in the San Francisco Bay area, comprising City Center or Beginner's Mind Temple, Tassajara Zen Mountain Center, and Green Gulch Farm Zen Center. Th ...

and worked at

Tassajara Zen Mountain Center The Tassajara Zen Mountain Center is the oldest Buddhism in Japan, Japanese Buddhist Sōtō Zen monastery in the United States. It is on the border of the Ventana Wilderness and within the Los Padres National Forest, southeast of Carmel-by-the-S ...

for three months. She then spent three weeks in

Burma Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...

where she studied meditation with students of

U Ba Khin Sayagyi U Ba Khin ( my, ဘခင်, ; 6 March 1899 – 19 January 1971) was the first Accountant General of the Union of Burma. He was the founder of the International Meditation Centre in Yangon, Myanmar and is principally known as a leading ...

. In 1978, Khema founded the Wat Buddha Dhamma forest monastery in

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

and installed Phra Khantipalo as abbot. Khema's desire to become a

Buddhist nun 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 ...

led her to

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...

where she studied with Tan Ajahn Singtong for three months. Sri Lanka was her next destination where she met

Nyanaponika Thera Nyanaponika Thera or Nyanaponika Mahathera (July 21, 1901 – 19 October 1994) was a German-born Theravada Buddhist monk and scholar who, after ordaining in Sri Lanka, later became the co-founder of the Buddhist Publication Society and author ...

who introduced her to

Narada Maha Thera Narada Mahathera ( si, නාරද මහා ස්ථවිරයන් වහන්සේ), born Sumanapala Perera (14 July 1898 – 2 October 1983) was a Theravada Buddhist monk, scholar, translator, educator and Buddhist missionary who w ...

. Narada Thera gave her the name "Ayya Khema". A 1983 return trip to Sri Lanka, led her to meet her teacher, Ven. Matara Sri Ñānarāma of

Nissarana Vanaya Nissarana Vanaya ( Sinhala: නිස්සරණ වනය) is a renowned meditation monastery in Sri Lanka. It is located in Mitirigala in the Western province close to the town of Kirindiwela. History Meetirigala Nissarana Vanaya is a monas ...

, who inspired her to teach

jhana In the oldest texts of Buddhism, ''dhyāna'' () or ''jhāna'' () is a component of the training of the mind (''bhavana''), commonly translated as meditation, to withdraw the mind from the automatic responses to sense-impressions, "burn up" the ...

meditation. As it was not possible at the time to organize an ordination ceremony for bhikkhunis in the Theravada tradition, Ayya Khema then received complete monastic ordination at the newly built Hsi Lai Temple, a Chinese Mahayana temple under the Fo Guang Shan Buddhist Order, in 1988. Khema was one of the organizers of the first International Conference on Buddhist Women in 1987 which led to the foundation of the

. In 1989, Khema returned to Germany and began teaching at Buddha Haus in

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...

. According to Ayya Khema's own account, she had been suffering from

breast cancer Breast cancer is cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipple, a newly inverted nipple, or a re ...

since 1983. In 1993 after it started giving her trouble she underwent a

mastectomy Mastectomy is the medical term for the surgical removal of one or both breasts, partially or completely. A mastectomy is usually carried out to treat breast cancer. In some cases, women believed to be at high risk of breast cancer have the operat ...

operation in Germany. During a five-week recovery period in the hospital she almost died, but her condition was expeditiously stabilized by the medics. In an interview she expressed a positive opinion of that experience.Ayya Khema discussion about death with Ann Hershey part 1
YouTube
Ayya Khema discussion about death with Ann Hershey part 2
YouTube Ayya Khema died on November 2, 1997, at Buddha Haus, Uttenbühl (part of the village

Oy-Mittelberg Oy-Mittelberg is a municipality in the rural district Oberallgäu in Bavaria, Germany. Geography Oy-Mittelberg is situated in the Allgäu The Allgäu (Standard German: , also Allgovia) is a region in Swabia in southern Germany. It covers th ...

) in Germany after fourteen years with breast cancer. Her ashes are kept in a

stupa A stupa ( sa, स्तूप, lit=heap, ) is a mound-like or hemispherical structure containing relics (such as ''śarīra'' – typically the remains of Buddhist monks or nuns) that is used as a place of meditation. In Buddhism, circumamb ...

at Buddha Haus.

Publications

*
Being Nobody, Going Nowhere: Meditations on the Buddhist Path
',

Wisdom Publications The Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition (FPMT) was founded in 1975 by Lamas Thubten Yeshe and Thubten Zopa Rinpoche, who began teaching Mahayana Buddhism to Western students in Nepal. The FPMT has grown to encompass over ...

, 1987, * ''When the Iron Eagle Flies: Buddhism for the West'', Wisdom Publications, 1991 * ''Who is myself? A guide to Buddhist meditation'' (commentary on the '' Poṭṭhapāda Sutta''), Wisdom Publications, 1997, * ''I Give You My Life'' (autobiography),

Shambhala Publications Shambhala Publications is an independent publishing company based in Boulder, Colorado. According to the company, it specializes in "books that present creative and conscious ways of transforming the individual, the society, and the planet". Man ...

, 1997, * ''Come and See for Yourself: The Buddhist Path to Happiness'', Windhorse Publications, 1998, * ''Be an Island: The Buddhist practice of Inner Peace'', Wisdom Publications, 1999, * ''Visible Here and Now: The Buddhist Teachings on the Rewards of Spiritual Practice'' (commentary on the ''

Samaññaphala Sutta The Samaññaphala Sutta, "The Fruit of Contemplative Life," is the second discourse (Pali, ''sutta''; Skt., ''sutra'') of the Digha Nikaya. In terms of narrative, this discourse tells the story of King Ajātasattu, son and successor of King Bi ...

''), Shambhala Publications, 2001, * ''Know Where You're Going: A Complete Buddhist Guide to Meditation, Faith, and Everyday Transcendence'' (retitled republication of ''When the Iron Eagle Flies''), Wisdom Publications, 2014, *
The Meditative Mind
' (retitled republication of ''To Be Seen Here And Now''),

Buddhist Publication Society The Buddhist Publication Society (BPS) is a publishing house with charitable status whose objective is to disseminate the teaching of Gautama Buddha. It was founded in Kandy, Sri Lanka in 1958 by two Sri Lankan lay Buddhists, A.S. Karunaratna and ...

, 2012, *
Within Our Own Hearts
', Buddhist Publication Society, 2012,

Bodhi Leaf Publications (BPS)

*
Self-Image and Self-Knowledge (BL105)
' *
Meditating On No-Self (BL95)
'

References

; Citations ; Bibliography * * * * * * *

External links

Ayya Khema's writings

Collection of about 400 of Ayya Khema's Dharma talks between 1988-1996

''To Be Seen Here and Now''
- Ten Dhamma Talks from a meditation retreat at Pelmadulla Bhikkhu Training Centre, Sri Lanka {{DEFAULTSORT:Khema, Ayya 1923 births 1997 deaths Thai Forest Tradition nuns Jewish emigrants from Nazi Germany to the United Kingdom Converts to Buddhism German Buddhist nuns Buddhist writers Theravada Buddhism writers German Theravada Buddhists 20th-century German women writers 20th-century German writers 20th-century Buddhist nuns People from Berlin

Biography

Publications

Bodhi Leaf Publications (BPS)

See also

References

External links