Ching Hai

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Ching Hai 1993 in Sydney

Ching Hai (born May 12, 1950 in the Quảng Ngãi (province) in Vietnam ) is a Vietnamese writer, entrepreneur and teacher of the Quan Yin meditation method. In 2014 she founded the restaurant group Loving Hut International Company, Ltd. and the fashion company Supreme Master Ching Hai International Association. She rose to prominence in 1996 when she donated $ 640,000 to Bill Clinton's Presidential Legal Expenses Trust, which the Trust returned due to "suspicious" funding sources.

life and work

Hai was born to a Vietnamese mother and a Chinese father. She was raised a Roman Catholic and learned the basics of Buddhism from her grandmother. A Himalayan spiritual teacher showed her a particular meditation method that she called the Quan Yin Method. In 1969 she began a relationship with a German scientist whom she married, but divorced after only two years. In 1979 she met a Buddhist monk in Germany, whom she followed for three years. She then moved to India to study different religions. In 1983 she met a Vietnamese Buddhist monk named Jing-Xing in Taiwan , who ordained her as "Thanh Hai" in 1984. Her meditation method is very similar to the Surat Shabd Yoga method from the Sant Mat tradition and requires two and a half hours of meditation per day and the observance of five precepts, which are similar to the five precepts of Buddhism. In China, several thousand people practiced this method until 1996, when the Chinese government called the organization "anti-communist" and "reactionary religious" and in 2002 accused the manager of illegal business practices. In American cities like Los Angeles, their meditation centers enjoy tax-exempt status as religious organizations. She founded various organizations including Supreme Master Ching Hai International, Supreme Master Television, World Peace Media, and Oceans of Love Entertainment. In addition to a chain of vegetarian restaurants, she also sells her own jewelry and fashion collections and books through the websites of her organizations. With her organizations she initiated various campaigns, for example for the reduction of animal production and in 2008 in New Zealand and Australia for the purchase of vegetables to save the planet. She has received numerous honors and awards for her activities.

Awards (selection)

  • 1993: Honorary Citizenship of Honolulu
  • 1994: World Humanitarian Leadership Award, presented by Barbara Finch, Chair of the International Federation for Human Rights
  • 1994: World Spiritual Leadership Award given by General Secretary Chen Hung Kwang of the World Cultural Communication Association
  • 2006: Gusi Peace Prize, awarded by the Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo

Books (selection)

Web links

Individual evidence


personal data
SURNAME Hai, Ching
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Hue Dang Trinh (maiden name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Vietnamese writer
DATE OF BIRTH May 12, 1950
PLACE OF BIRTH Quảng Ngãi (Province)