Ayya Khema (August 25, 1923 - November 2, 1997), a Buddhist teacher, was born as Ilse Kussel in Berlin, Germany, to Jewish parents. Ayya Vaikundar was the Manu avathar (to born as a human being) of Lord Narayana according to Akilattirattu Ammanai the holy script of Ayyavazhi religion. ... August 25 is the 237th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (238th in leap years), with 128 days remaining. ... 1923 (MCMXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ... November 2 is the 306th day of the year (307th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 59 days remaining. ... 1997 (MCMXCVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Buddhism is a dharmic, non-theistic religion, a philosophy, and a life-enhancing system of psychology. ... A teachers room in a Japanese middle school, 2005. ... Berlin is the capital city and one of the sixteen states of the Federal Republic of Germany. ... This article describes some ethnic, historic, and cultural aspects of the Jewish identity; for a consideration of the Jewish religion, refer to the article Judaism. ...

Khema dodged the Nazis during World War II, but was interred by the Japanese. She eventually moved to the United States. After travelling in Asia she decided to become a Buddhist nun in Sri Lanka in 1979. She was very active in providing opportunities for women to practice Buddhism, founding several centers around the world. In 1987 she co-ordinated the first ever International Conference of Buddhist Nuns. National Socialism redirects here. ... Combatants Major Allied powers: United Kingdom Soviet Union United States Republic of China and others Major Axis powers: Nazi Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Harry Truman Chiang Kai-Shek Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tojo Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead... World map showing the location of Asia. ... Nun in cloister, 1930; photograph by Doris Ulmann In general, a nun is a female ascetic who chooses to voluntarily leave mainstream society and live her life in prayer and contemplation in a monastery or convent. ... This page refers to the year 1979. ... Image of a woman on the Pioneer plaque sent to outer space. ... 1987 (MCMLXXXVII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Khema wrote over two dozen books in English and German. Her autobiography, I Give You My Life, is an adventure story sprinkled with nuggets of spiritual wisdom. A chained book in the Bodleian Library at Oxford University A book is a collection of paper, parchment or other material with a piece of text written on them, bound together along one edge, usually within covers. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... Cover of An autobiography, from the Greek auton, self, bios, life and graphein, write, is a biography written by the subject or composed conjointly with a collaborative writer (styled as told to or with). The term dates from the late eighteenth century, but the form is much older. ...

Biography

Ayya Khema was born in Berlin in 1923 to Jewish parents. In 1938, she escaped from Germany with two hundred other children and was taken to Glasgow, Scotland. Her parents went to China and, two years later Ayya Khema joined then in Shanghai. With the outbreak of the war, however, the family was put into a Japanese prisoner-of-war camp where her father died. She later married, had a son and a daughter, and now has four grand-children. Ayya Vaikundar was the Manu avathar (to born as a human being) of Lord Narayana according to Akilattirattu Ammanai the holy script of Ayyavazhi religion. ... 1938 (MCMXXXVIII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar). ... For other uses, see Glasgow (disambiguation) George Square and Glasgows City Chambers Glasgow is Scotlands largest city, located on the River Clyde in West Central Scotland. ... Shanghai (Chinese: ; pinyin:  ; Shanghainese: ), situated on the banks of the Yangtze River Delta in East China, is the largest city of the Peoples Republic of China and the eighth largest in the world. ...

Four years after the American liberation of the camp, Ayya Khema was able to emigrate to the United States. Between 1960 and 1964 she travelled with her husband and son throughout Asia, including the Himalayan countries, during which she learned meditation. Ten years later, she began to teach meditation throughout Europe and Australia. Her experiences led her to become a Buddhist nun in Sri Lanka in 1979, when she was given the name of "Khema" (Ayya means Venerable) meaning safety and security. Year 1960 (MCMLX) was a leap year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1960 calendar). ... 1964 (MCMLXIV) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1964 calendar). ... World map showing the location of Asia. ... Perspective view of the Himalaya and Mount Everest as seen from space looking south-south-east from over the Tibetan Plateau. ... World map showing Europe A satellite composite image of Europe Europe is one of the seven traditional continents of the Earth. ... A replica of an ancient statue found among the ruins of a temple at Sarnath Buddhism is a philosophy based on the teachings of the Buddha, Siddhārtha Gautama, a prince of the Shakyas, whose lifetime is traditionally given as 566 to 486 BCE. It had subsequently been accepted by... This page refers to the year 1979. ...

She helped to establish Wat Buddha-Dhamma, a forest monastery in the Theravada tradition, near Sydney, Australia, in 1978. In Colombo she set up the International Buddhist Women's Centre as a training centre for Sri Lankan nuns, and the Parappuduwa Nun's Island at Dodanduwa. (now unfortunately closed). She was the spiritual director of Buddha-Haus in Germany, established in 1989 under her auspices. In June 1997 "Metta Vihara," the first Buddhist forest monastery in Germany, was inaugurated by her, and the first ordinations in the German language took place there. Theravada (Pāli: theravāda; Sanskrit: sthaviravāda; literally, the Way of the Elders) is the oldest surviving Buddhist school, and for many centuries has been the predominant religion of Sri Lanka (about 70% of the population[1]) and continental Southeast Asia (parts of southwest China, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Malaysia... This is about the city of Sydney in Australia. ... 1978 (MCMLXXVIII) was a common year starting on Sunday. ... Map of Colombo with its administrative districts Coordinates: District Colombo Division, Colombo District Mayor Uvaiz Mohammad Imitiyaz (Sri Lanka Freedom Party) Area    - City 14. ... 1989 (MCMLXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1997 (MCMXCVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

In 1987 she co-ordinated the first International Conference of Buddhist Nuns in the history of Buddhism, which resulted in the setting-up of Sakyadhita, a world-wide Buddhist women's organisation. H.H. the Dalai Lama was the keynote speaker at the conference. In May 1987, as an invited lecturer, she was the first ever Buddhist nun to address the United Nations in New York on the topic of Buddhism and World Peace. 1987 (MCMLXXXVII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Tenzin Gyatso (Tibetan: བསྟན་འཛིན་རྒྱ་མཚོ་; Wylie: Bstan-dzin Rgya-mtsho) (born July 6, 1935) is the fourteenth and current Dalai Lama, and as such, is often referred to in Western media simply as the Dalai Lama, without any qualifiers. ... 1987 (MCMLXXXVII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The United Nations (UN) is an international organization whose stated aims are to facilitate co-operation in international law, international security, economic development, and social equity. ... Official language(s) English de facto Capital Albany Largest city New York City Area  Ranked 27th  - Total 54,520 sq mi (141,205 km²)  - Width 285 miles (455 km)  - Length 330 miles (530 km)  - % water 13. ...

Ayya Khema has written twenty-five books on meditation and the Buddha's teachings in English and German; her books have been translated into seven languages. In 1988, her book "Being Nobody, Going Nowhere" received the Christmas Humphreys Memorial Award. 1988 (MCMLXXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Ayya Khema ordained Ven. Sister Sangamitta from Switzerland (now practising in Thailand) Ven. Sister Dhammadina a graduate of Peradeniya University, Ven. Sister Vayama from Australia and Ven. Sister Uttpalvanna of Galle and her pupils in Sri Lanka. University of Peradeniya is the second oldest university of Sri Lanka and is a renowned state university, funded by the University Grants Commission of Sri Lanka . ... The Fort: View of the lighthouse Galle (ගාල්ල in Sinhala; காலி in Tamil) (pronounced as one syllable, rhyming with Gaul in English, in Sinhalese, IPA /gaːlːə/) is a town situated on the southwestern tip of Sri Lanka, 119 km from Colombo. ...

Ayya Khema drew her last breath on November 2, 1997 at Buddha Haus, Uttenbühl (part of the village Oy-Mittelberg) in Germany after a brief illness. 1997 (MCMXCVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

See also

• Ordination of women
• Buddhist monasticism
• Thai Forest Tradition
• Vihara

In general religious use, ordination is the process by which one is consecrated (set apart for the undivided administration of various religious rites). ... Monasticism is one of the most fundamental institutions of Buddhism. ... The Thai Forest Tradition is a loosely organized movement within Thai Theravadin Buddhism, emphasizing meditation and strict adherance to the vinaya over intellectual pursuits. ... Vihara is Sanskrit or Pali for (Buddhist) monastery. ...

External links

• Ayya Khema's writings
• More on Ayya Khema including online articles and guided meditations