Visible Here and Now: The Buddhist Teachings on the Rewards of Spiritual Practice
Ven. Ayya Khema was born into a Jewish family in Berlin in 1923. After leading an active life in the world—including marriage and children in America and adventure in South America, Asia and Australia—she turned seriously to spiritual practice in her forties. In 1979, she was ordained a Theravadin Buddhist nun, receiving the namekhema,meaning "safety and security"(ayyameans "sister"). Ayya Khema established a forest monastery near Sidney, Australia; a training center for nuns in Colombo, Sri Lanka; and Buddha-Haus, a meditation center in the Allgäu, Germany. Among her books areWhen the Iron Eagle Flies; Being Nobody, Going Nowhere;andWho is My Self?;and an autobiography,I Give You My Life.She passed away in 1997.