Sister Dang Nghiem, a Buddhist nun and disciple of Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh, shares her journey from trauma to healing. Born during the Vietnam War, she transformed personal loss into spiritual strength. She discusses the Five Strengths of Applied Zen Buddhism: trust, diligence, mindfulness, concentration, and insight. Sister D emphasizes the importance of mindfulness in rebuilding trust and fostering resilience. Her insights illuminate how embracing the present can lead to inner peace and compassion, even in the face of life's challenges.
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Sister D's Journey to Becoming a Nun
Sister D's path to becoming a nun began with her grandmother's advice and a series of losses, including her soulmate's death.
This led her to question her life's purpose and seek peace through a spiritual path.
question_answer ANECDOTE
Past Traumas and the Path to Healing
Sister D's past traumas resurfaced after her partner's death, revealing the limitations of external achievements in healing internal suffering.
She realized the importance of addressing her own suffering to help others, leading her to leave medicine.
question_answer ANECDOTE
Sister D's Childhood Trauma
Sister D recounts her difficult childhood during the Vietnam War, marked by loss, sexual abuse, and displacement.
These experiences deeply impacted her well-being, leading to recurring nightmares, depression, and physical ailments.
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In *Flowers in the Dark*, Sister Dang Nghiem combines her experiences as a survivor, medical doctor, and Buddhist teacher to offer a body-based approach to healing from trauma. The book integrates neuroscience, effective treatments, and mindfulness training, providing accessible practices for anyone suffering from trauma. It includes guided reflections and exercises to help readers tap into their inner faculties of self-trust, diligence, mindfulness, concentration, and insight.
Healing: A Woman’s Journey from Doctor to Nun
Sister Dang Nghiem
This extraordinary story takes the reader from the rice fields of Vietnam to the peaceful surroundings of Thich Nhat Hanh’s monastery in Plum Village. Sister Dang Nghiem shares her life experiences, including childhood trauma, her career as a doctor, and her eventual ordination as a Buddhist nun. The book demonstrates how her personal experiences and the insights gained from Buddhist teachings have enabled her to become a support and resource for others. With humor, insight, and an irrepressible sense of joy, Sister Dang Nghiem’s story provides clarity and guidance for everyone facing similar challenges.
Mindfulness as Medicine
A Story of Healing Body and Spirit
Sister Dang Nghiem
In *Mindfulness as Medicine,* Sister Dang Nghiem shares her profound journey of healing from the devastating diagnosis and symptoms of Lyme disease, which also triggered unresolved traumas from her past. Combining her medical knowledge with advanced mindfulness practices, she guides readers through step-by-step techniques to embrace and transform suffering. The book emphasizes that suffering can be transformed and mastered, leading to deep appreciation for life, peace, joy, and love for oneself and others.
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It’s hard to be a human. No matter how good things are for you, being alive is still hard. Whatever your life circumstances are, we’re all subject to impermanence and entropy.
This episode dives into a five-part Buddhist list for being stronger in the face of whatever life throws at you.
Sister Dang Nghiem, who goes by Sister D, is a nun in the Plum Village tradition and a disciple of Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh. She was born in Vietnam during the war, and is the daughter of a Vietnamese mother and an American soldier. Sister D experienced an unfathomable amount of loss before relocating to the US, where she became a doctor and later, after experiencing more loss, became a nun. She’s written several books and her most recent is Flowers in the Dark.
In this conversation, Sister D shares her story, and then walks us through The Five Strengths of Applied Zen Buddhism which include trust, diligence, mindfulness, concentration, and insight.
Content Warning: This episode covers difficult topics including death, mental illness, and sexual abuse.
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