A Deeply Personal & Joyful Announcement

Dear Beloved Friends and Family,

I’m writing to share some deeply meaningful news with you. After 15 years of being ordained into the Tiep Hien lineage (Order of Interbeing) under Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh (Thay), I have been invited to receive the Lamp Transmission to become a Dharmacharya (Dharma Teacher) in our Buddhist tradition. This sacred ordination will take place in late March at Plum Village, France.

I am profoundly honored and deeply humbled by this invitation to serve in this way. My greatest aspiration in life is to be Thay’s continuation in every moment — offering my life and work as a contribution to collective awakening. His teachings of peace, wise tenderness, and interbeing have guided me for decades and remain my North Star. I hope to carry forward his legacy with authenticity, humility, and love.

For those unfamiliar, a Dharmacharya is entrusted with the responsibility of teaching, guiding, and nurturing others on the path of mindfulness and awakening. It is not a just a title but a profound call to embody and share the teachings of love, understanding, and liberation in service to the sangha and the world.

Studying and practicing the Dharma has been the anchor of my life. It has shaped how I navigate challenges, understand the world, and strive to show up each day. In December 2021, just one month before Thich Nhat Hanh transitioned from the earthly plane, several Dharma Teachers in our lineage whom I deeply love and respect nominated me to receive the Lamp Transmission. For years, I didn’t know if or when this invitation would come, but I trusted in divine timing.

The following words came to me during the Memorial Pin Ceremony at Deer Park Monastery, just days after Thay’s passing. They reflect my heart’s deepest aspiration and what this path means to me:

Beloved Thay,
You lit my Bodhichitta in my ancestral homeland
On the anniversary of Gandhi’s birth,
At the site of his martyrdom.
You taught me about No Birth, No Death, No Fear
As you invited us all to be the Mahatma’s continuation.

Now your spiritual children are being called
To be your continuation.

There’s no greater honor than to be your spiritual daughter,
No greater life purpose than to strive to embody your teachings
And the insight of interbeing.

I vow to walk the Bodhisattva path together with my brothers and sisters.
I vow to continue your commitment to building Beloved Community,
Knowing that Beloved Community also extends to our Mother Earth.

You once said to me, “Faith is having confidence in your capacity to fully awaken your Buddha nature.”
Knowing I can always touch your wisdom and love within me, I have faith.
The practice is my ultimate embrace, and the sangha keeps my Bodhichitta lit.

Buddham saranam gacchami.
Dhammam saranam gacchami.
Sangham saranam gacchami.

This moment holds profound meaning as I prepare to receive the Lamp Transmission just three weeks after my 45th birthday. I feel deeply honored to be one of the few mothers of a young child invited to receive the Lamp. My path has unfolded not as a monastic but as a householder in this life, and I am profoundly grateful for the opportunity to walk this journey as both a mother and a practitioner.

This journey has brought unique challenges, as navigating the spiritual path while balancing the responsibilities of motherhood and leadership is not always easy. I feel immense gratitude for my husband, Chihiro, whose unwavering support has made this path possible. His love and belief in me have been a steady source of strength, helping me to hold and harmonize my spiritual aspirations with the many roles I carry each day.

I also want to honor the incredible women I’ve been practicing with since 2016 — Jun, Prajna and Victoria. Senior Dharma Teacher Lyn Fine brought together a group of longtime women of color practitioners, and for the past nine years, we’ve studied and walked this path together with Sr. Peace also joining as a guiding teacher. I’m grateful to share that these sisters and I will “go as a river” to receive the Lamp together this March.

I feel deeply connected to a quote from Natalie Goldberg that reflects this moment: “Whether we know it or not, we transmit the presence of everyone we have ever known, as though by being in each other’s presence we exchange our cells, pass on some of our life force, and then we go on carrying that other person in our body… This is why it is important who we become, because we pass it on.”

As I prepare for this next chapter, I carry all of you in me, as you are in me and I am in you. If you feel moved to offer words of encouragement, wisdom, or wishes here, I will be taking them with me to France for inspiration. Your words will water the seeds of wholesomeness and commitment as I prepare for this sacred ceremony.

If you feel inspired to honor this powerful moment, I invite you to contribute to the seed fund for the Thich Nhat Hanh School for Interbeing, which we are starting here in North County San Diego. Alternatively, you are welcome to make a general donation to the Thich Nhat Hanh Foundation. A few years ago, I joined the Foundation’s Board to help support Thich Nhat Hanh’s life and legacy in the world. His teachings continue to be the foundation of how I aspire to live and serve.

With love and deep gratitude,

Meena, True Seal of Peace