Vodcast #5: INTERVIEW: The Venerable Dr. Yifa

The Venerable Dr. Yifa has been a nun in the Fo Guang Shan order of Taiwanese Buddhism since 1979. Ordained at Fo Guang Shan Monastery in Kaohsiung when she was just twenty-years-old, Yifa has gone on to earn a few post-graduate degrees, author several books, serve as a leader in higher education, and foster interreligious understanding in America.

She holds a law degree from the National Taiwan University, a master's degree in comparative philosophy from the University of Hawaii, and a doctorate in religious studies from Yale University.

Yifa served as the first president of University of the West, and went on to hold other offices at the institution, including provost and chair of the religious studies department. She has also served as dean of Fo Guang Shan Buddhist College. In addition, Yifa has been a visiting scholar at the University of California at Berkeley and Harvard University, a lecturer at Boston University, a Numata Visiting Professor of Buddhist Studies at McGill University, and a faculty member at the National Sun Yat-Sen University in Taiwan. She is currently program director for Wooden Fish, the Humanistic Buddhism Monastic Life Program in Taiwan.

Her books include Safeguarding the Heart: A Buddhist Response to Suffering and September 11, The Origins of Buddhist Monastic Codes in China: An Annotated Translation and Study of the Chanyuan Qinggui, Stories From The Sutras, and Sisters of the Buddha: Women's Roles in Buddhism Through the Centuries. Yifa is also the co-author, along with Norman Fischer, Joseph Goldstein, Judith Simmer-Brown, David Steindl-Rast, and editor Patrick Henry, of Benedict's Dharma: Buddhists Reflect On the Rule of St. Benedict--one of Amazon.com's Best Books of 2001.

Over the years, she has participated in such noted interfaith dialogues as the Gethsemani Encounter. She was also a contributor to the UNICEF South Asia office's Safe Motherhood Project.

In 2003, the United Nations awarded Yifa its Outstanding Women in Buddhism Award. This past October, she was honored at the 9th Annual Juliet Hollister Awards Ceremony, which was held at the United Nations Headquarters in New York City. Yifa was recognized along with Chief Arvol Looking Horse and Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl (who was honored posthumously).

Yifa and I met when I first arrived at UWest in January. We have a couple of mutual friends, which led to some good conversation right off the bat. Over lunch with her recently, I asked Yifa if she would be willing to go on camera to discuss her upcoming book Junk, which will be published in June by Lantern Books. She very kindly agreed, taking time out of a full schedule while she is in Los Angeles. I very much appreciate her willingness to find a moment to tell us about her latest literary endeavor.

Thank you also to the Venerable Kiet for taking the above photo of Yifa and me.

You can watch the interview here (below), at iTunes, or at YouTube.