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24 EASTERN HORIZON | FACE TO FACE
Finding My True Home
By Ven. Kai Lv
Venerable Kai Lv (開律法
師), or Thầy Kai Ly as he was
affectionately called at Plum
Village, originally comes from
Tuaran, Sabah. In 1989, he was
ordained by Venerable Boon
Keng (文建長老), abbot of Ang
Hock See Temple in Penang. After
graduating from the Malaysian
Buddhist Institute, he furthered
his studies at Fu Yan Buddhist
Institute, Taiwan. He has learnt
meditation from several teachers,
including Ven. Pa-Auk Sayadaw,
Sayadaw U Tejaniya and Thich
Nhat Hanh. Zhi Yi of Eastern
Horizon interacted with Ven. Kai
Lv virtually on 14th December
2023, where he shared about his
journey as a monk, his time spent
with the late Zen Master Thich
Nhat Hanh at Plum Village, and
how he has navigated through the
challenges he faced in his practice.
Ven. Kai Lv and other Sangha members Farewell tea party for Ven. Kai Lv at Plum
represented Plum Village to introduce Village in 2017.
mindfulness meditation at Salesforce’s annual
conference, Dreamforce 2017 in San Francisco.
Zhi Yi: What inspired you to the Malaysian Buddhist Institute, I
become a monk, and how has this went on to study and spend 6 years
path unfolded for you? at Fu Yan Buddhist Institute (福嚴
佛學院) from 1993 to 1999, where
Kai: When I was 18 years old, I I met Ven. Yin Shun (印順導師) and
started to think about the meaning Ven. Zhen Hua (真華長老).
of life. I thought the cycle of study-
work-family-death was not the My second stage of monkhood was
answer. I came across the Dharma about meditation. After 10 years of
and some teachers. In the 1980s, learning in Buddhist Institutes, I still
young monks and nuns are rare felt lacking. Although I had mastered
to come by, especially those with the theories in Buddhism, I could not
right view. It was under this context effectively apply them in my life, and I
that I decided to become a monk, did not experience the benefits of the
with the mission of protecting and Dharma. Therefore, I began searching
promoting the Dharma. for meditation teachers. I have learnt
from 5 important teachers: Pa-
There are 3 key stages of my life Auk Sayadaw, Sayadaw U Tejaniya,
as a monk. The first stage involved Sayadaw U Janaka, Zen Master Seung
learning. I was ordained as a Sahn’s disciple Mu Shim Sunim and
nd
sāmaṇera on 22 June 1989 at Ang Thich Nhat Hanh. Each of these
Hock See Temple, where I lived and teachers have their unique style and I
studied at the Malaysian Buddhist have learnt a lot from them.
Institute for 4 years. Later, I was fully The third stage, which is the stage I
ordained as a bhikkhu at Miao Fa am in now, involves sharing what I
th
Temple (妙法禪寺) in Taiwan on 17 have learnt.
March 1993. After graduating from