True Dedication
Sister True Dedication (the translation of her Vietnamese monastic name, “Chân Hiến Nghiêm”) is from the U.K. She was ordained in 2008 at the age of 27, and became a Dharma Teacher in 2016.
Before entering the monastery, Sister True Dedication studied History & Political Thought at Cambridge University and worked as a journalist for BBC News in London. In the early years of her monastic training, she assisted Thich Nhat Hanh and Sister Chan Khong in their engaged Buddhist actions for human rights, religious freedom, applied ethics, and ecology. She helped to found the international Wake Up Movement, a community of young meditators who are finding new ways to combine mindfulness and engaged Buddhism.
Today, she contributes her time and energy to guiding young monastics and editing Thich Nhat Hanh’s writings, in particular his recent books on Buddhism and ecology, including Love Letter to the Earth (2013), The Art of Living (2017), and Zen and the Art of Saving the Planet (2021). She helps the community with external communications and media liaison, and can occasionally be found on twitter and instagram. At home in the monastery Sister True Dedication enjoys relaxing with her monastic siblings, drinking coffee, community-building, savoring silence in nature, and (when it’s appropriate) acting in comedy skits.
Sister True Dedication’s TED Talk, “3 Questions to Build Resilience and Change the World” was published on December 6, 2021.
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Dharma Talks
Our Actions are Our True Legacy
This Dharma Talk was recorded on the 10th August 2023 in Plum Village Upper Hamlet. It is the fourth and last talk of the Annual Wake Up retreat (mainly for young people 18 to 35 years old).
Sr Hiến Nghiêm
How to be a Good Ancestor: Mindfulness for Business People
This Dharma Talk was recorded in upper Hamlet, Plum Village France. It was the last talk of a series, as part of a special retreat for Business people, held in June 2023.
Sr Hiến Nghiêm
To Become a Dharma Teacher
This Panel Sharing was recorded on the 19th of March 2023 in Lower Hamlet, Plum Village France. We are sorry that some sharings in Vietnamese haven’t been translated yet.
Sr Hiến Nghiêm
True Spiritual Friendship
from 2022 11 03, Rains Retreat, Lay Day, Talk 7. How can we embrace our ancestors that we have never met? This and the below questions were addressed by Brother Phap Huu and Sister True Dedication in this “a-la-carte Dharma Talk”. * How can we understand our deep suffering…
Br Pháp Hữu, Sr Hiến Nghiêm
Active Response to Suffering
Is Plum Village “engaged” enough today? Is our daily practice of mindfulness an appropriate answer to the problems our world is facing? If we look deeply at current issues such as war, injustice, or the climate crisis, we can understand their connection with our ways of thinking, speaking and…
Sr Hiến Nghiêm, Br Pháp Linh, Br Pháp Hữu
Celebrating 40 Years of the Plum Village tradition | A Music and Meditation Evening
on the 14th of June 2022, we had a wonderful music and poetry concert to celebrate 40 years of the Plum Village tradition. The concert was part of a two-week long mindfulness practice retreat, with the theme “Now We Have a Path, We Have Nothing to Fear”, held in…
Br Pháp Hữu, Br Pháp Linh, Sr Trai Nghiem, Sr Hiến Nghiêm, Br Phap Bieu
The Gift of A Quiet Mind
Please enjoy the first Dharma Talk of the Plum Village Online New Year’s Retreat. Find out more about Sister True Dedication : https://test.plumvillage.org/people/dharma-teachers/sister-hien-nghiem/
Sr Hiến Nghiêm
Community Life in Difficult Moments
How can we be sovereign in our own life? How can we be free, & free from discrimination? Community life can be uncomfortable, and impossible to control: so why do we choose it? How can we help a loved one navigate the process of dying? How can community help?…
Br Phap Bieu, Sr Hiến Nghiêm, Sr Đào Nghiêm
Wake Up Earth “Engaged Action & Aspiration”
Sister True Dedication teaches on how to combine spirituality and action. When we have found a spiritual path, we realize that we are not alone, we walk the path with others. The Four Noble Truths enable us to see the heart of the situation and the way to better…
Sr Hiến Nghiêm
Happiness or Profit?
Sr Lang Ngheim talks about the different ways we can come back to the present moment. One way is to be present but caught in what is happening, the other is to be present but free. She explains and shares personal stories on how the insight of interbeing enables…
Sr Lăng Nghiêm, Sr Hiến Nghiêm
Know your Body, Know your Mind
This talk took place during the Wake Up Earth Retreat, 2016. Help us caption & translate this video! http://amara.org/v/UL8F/
Sr Hiến Nghiêm
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Questions & Answers
Q&A: News, Enlightenment, & Pain | Brs Phap Huu, Bao Tang, Srs Thuan Nghiem, Hien Nghiem
0:00 Introduction by brother Phap Huu 2:50 How to deal with News? How to protect ourselves when we read the News and how to balance the negative energy created by the News? 12:55 How can the peace movement respond in a non-violent way to the invasion of Ukraine? 21:42…
Br Troi Bao Tang, Br Pháp Hữu, Sr Thuận Nghiêm, Sr Hiến Nghiêm
Questions & Answers
0:00:51 Should we always speak the truth? 0:09:40 How can I deal with pain and chronicle disease in a loving way? 0:23:58 How to let go of attachment? 0:40:35 How to handle my cravings? 0:53:46 How to make decisions?
Sr Lăng Nghiêm, Sr Hiến Nghiêm, Br Pháp Lưu
Questions & Answers
Recorded during the Nourishing Happiness Retreat, UK Help us caption & translate this video! https://amara.org/v/bcaN/
Br Pháp Lai, Sr Chân Đức, Sr Hiến Nghiêm
Questions & Answers for Children
Recorded during the Nourishing Happiness Retreat, UK. Help us caption & translate this video! https://amara.org/v/bcaQ/