Traditional Soto Zen Service 10:30 AM

Dharma Talk: 11:00 AM

Speaker:   Sister Pearl Pham

Topic: Dharma Talk on Vietnamese Zen

Biogrpahy: Sister Pearl (dharma name: Viên Thanh Châu) was ordained in 2019 at Đại Đăng Monasteryin San Diego, California, by her root teacher, venerable TN. Như Đức, abbess of the Viên Chiếu (Completed Illumination) Monastery in Saigon, Vietnam. Sister Pearl is trained in the Bamboo Groove Vietnamese Zen School under the guidance of most revered Zen master Thich Thanh Tu (1924—), the dharma brother of Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh (1926–2022). Sister Pearl was born and raised in South Vietnam. She immigrated to the United States with her parents when she was 13 years old and lived in Minnesota for most of her life. She has been practicing Zen since her late teenage years. Before ordination as a Buddhist nun, sister Pearl worked as a physician assistant in the Cancer and Palliative Care departments at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN, for almost 10 years. Right after her ordination, sister Pearl went back to Vietnam to practice with her teacher at the Viên Chiếu monastery for about four months. Then, she returned to United States to finish her Buddhist chaplaincy training at Upaya Zen Center and lived there for about 2 years as a practicing Soto Zen resident before she moved to Atlanta at the beginning of this year, 2022.Currently, sister Pearl is living at the Atlanta Soto Zen Center as a resident, and she is also a chaplain intern at the Emory Decatur Hospital. Sister Pearl’s practice is strongly influenced by both Vietnamese Zen Schools under the guidance of Zen masters Thich Thanh Tu and Thich Nhat Hanh as well as the Soto Zen School under the guidance of Roshi Joan Halifax at Upaya Zen Center. Sister Pearl’s aspiration is to work closely with children, teenagers, and young adults to bring the Dharma alive and practical into their lives. She has been teaching several online dharma classes for children as well organizing various Mindfulness Day Retreats at the local Buddhist temples.