We Don’t Need More Buddhists with Kaira Jewel Lingo

QUICK SUMMARY

What does it mean to commit your entire life to the pursuit of awakening and then step back out into the world? In this episode, hosts Dave Plisky and Fr. John Gribowich sit down with Kaira Jewel Lingo, a senior Dharma teacher in the Plum Village Zen lineage, who spent 15 years as an ordained nun under the direct guidance of the legendary Thich Nhat Hanh. Kaira Jewel takes us inside the day-to-day reality of monastic life in southern France, shares intimate stories of Thich Nhat Hanh’s remarkable presence and rare humility, and explores how Buddhist practices like mindful walking, loving speech, and “beginning anew” can benefit anyone regardless of faith tradition. Whether you’re a curious Catholic, a longtime meditator, or simply someone seeking more meaning, this conversation offers a warm and accessible window into the intersection of Buddhism, Christianity, social justice, and everyday life.

IN THIS EPISODE, WE EXPLORE

Growing Up in Intentional Community

Kaira Jewel was born into Order Ecumenical, a 300-person intentional Christian community living communally in an eight-story building on Chicago’s north side. With daily morning offices, pooled income, hand-me-down clothes, and community meals, she describes a childhood structured around service, simplicity, and the conviction that all people are citizens of the earth. The experience shaped a deep hunger for meaning that she carried into adulthood.

Discovering Thich Nhat Hanh and Plum Village

Finishing college at Stanford in 1997, Kaira Jewel set off to find a teacher and a community with no specific religion in mind. After time in India, she attended Plum Village’s summer retreat in southern France. The moment she saw Thich Nhat Hanh, she knew. She canceled the rest of her trip and stayed. Two years later, she took her vows as a nun and remained for 15 years.

Inside the Heart of Plum Village

Fr. John asks what made Thich Nhat Hanh “the real deal.” Kaira Jewel shares how she never saw him rush, how his presence could dissolve stress with a touch on the shoulder, and how he constantly pushed students out of their comfort zones to stay awake and responsive. She also recounts the remarkable moment he bowed before hundreds of monastic students and apologized publicly acknowledging concerns they had raised in private letters.

Zen and Vipassana: Two Routes, Same Destination

Dave asks how Kaira Jewel holds two distinct Buddhist traditions. She explains that Vipassana emphasizes deep, silent inward retreat, slowing down so much you notice your intention before turning a doorknob, while Plum Village weaves mindfulness into communal life: loving speech, deep listening, gathas (short poems) posted everywhere to bring awareness to brushing your teeth or taking out the trash. She finds them deeply complementary, each opening different angles of the same path.

What Buddhism Offers Christians (and Vice Versa)

Thich Nhat Hanh had a picture of Jesus and Buddha hugging on his altar and bowed to it daily. He spent an entire three-month retreat teaching the Rule of St. Benedict. Kaira Jewel reflects on his concept of “dual belonging”  that a tree without roots cannot survive and his challenge to every tradition: lift up the gems, and honestly name and heal the shadows.

Practical Tools for Everyday Life

Kaira Jewel shares two practices she has brought into her marriage with Episcopal priest Adam: walking meditation (which he has combined with the Jesus Prayer,  “Jesus” on the inhale, “I trust you” on the exhale) and “beginning anew,” a structured weekly practice of appreciation, regret, and honest sharing that clears pebbles from a relationship before they become boulders.

ABOUT KAIRA JEWEL LINGO

Kaira Jewel Lingo is a senior Dharma teacher in the Plum Village Zen lineage, a Vipassana teacher, and a member of the Plum Village North American Dharma Teachers Council of Elders. After living as an ordained nun for 15 years in Thich Nhat Hanh’s monastic community, she now teaches internationally in the Zen and Vipassana traditions and in secular mindfulness contexts. Her work centers on the intersection of racial, climate, and social justice, with particular care for Black, Indigenous, and people of color communities. Based in New York, she is the author of

• We Were Made for These Times: 10 Lessons in Moving Through Change, Loss, and Disruption
• Healing Our Way Home: Black Buddhist Teachings on Ancestors, Joy, and Liberation (co-author)
• We Were Made for These Times: 10 Lessons in Moving Through Change, Loss, and Disruption
• Healing Our Way Home: Black Buddhist Teachings on Ancestors, Joy, and Liberation (co-author)

RESOURCES MENTIONED

• We Were Made for These Times by Kaira Jewel Lingo — org
• Healing Our Way Home by Kaira Jewel Lingo & Valerie Brown — com
• Kaira Jewel Lingo’s website — com
• Plum Village — org
• One Earth Sangha (Kaira Jewel is a guiding teacher) — org
• Thich Nhat Hanh — org/thich-nhat-hanh
• Mindfulness for Christians by Sister Annabel Laity (Sister Chan Duc)
• The Rule of St. Benedict — referenced in Thich Nhat Hanh’s three-month retreat teachings