Founder & Monastics
Most Venerable Thich Thong Hai
Photo courtesy of Andy Malmin
Most Venerable Thich Thong Hai
• President & Abbot- An Lac Mission, Ventura CA, and Chan Khong Monasteries in Hawaii, Los Angeles, & United Kingdom
• Abbot - Bao Quang Monastery, Santa Ana, CA
• International Charity Chair & Director of the Department of Charity of the Vietnamese American United Buddhist Congregation
• Vietnamese Project Dana,
Most Venerable Thich Thong Hai was born in 1952 in Bến Tre, Vietnam. He became a novice monk at the age of 11, serving as a disciple to Zen Master Thích Thanh Từ, the abbot of Trúc Lâm Zen Monastery in Đà Lạt, which is part of the Trúc Lâm school of Buddhism in Vietnam. He received the Upasampadà ordination in 1976.
Upon leaving Vietnam, he integrated Pure Land and Zen Buddhist practices to address the unique needs of his community, which had experienced the loss of their homeland.
In 1989, he completed his Bachelor's degree in Buddhist Studies. In 1993, he graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Eastern Medicine, specializing in acupuncture, from the University of Hawaii, USA. By 1999, he earned a Master's degree in Public Health, also from the University of Hawaii.
In 2003, Most Venerable Thich Thong Hai, along with several practitioners, acquired an old church building to establish Ventura Buddhist Center/An Lac Mission.
Venerable Tapovanaye Sutadhara
Photo courtesy of Andy Malmin
Venerable Tapovanaye Sutadhara
• Director, Ventura Buddhist Study Center, Tripitakavedi (Bachelor of Buddhist Textual studies) (BSDP, A'pura, Sri Lanka) B.A.(Kelaniya, Sri Lanka), M.A.(Hawaii, USA).
• Abbot of Camarillo Buddhist Center, Camarillo, California
Venerable Tapovanaye Sutadhara entered the order of Buddhist Monks as a novice in 1966, at Tapovanaya Buddhist Monastery, Mulleriyawa-New Town, Sri Lanka, under the tutelage of Late-Venerable Kudawelle Vangeesa Maha Thero, a renowned Meditation Master in Insight Meditation and Venerable Dodampahala Chandrasiri Maha Thero, Patriarch, Sri Kalyanivansa Chapter of Amarapura Sect, Sri Lanka.
His academic, administrative, and student counseling experience at the University of Kelaniya in Sri Lanka combined with his Buddhist practice enriched his career as the Director, Ventura Buddhist Study Center, An Lac Mission, Ventura, California.
Venerable Thich Chuc Hien
Venerable Thich Chuc Hien
• Department of Culture of the Vietnamese American United Buddhist Congregation
• Resident at An Lac Mission, Ventura, California
Venerable Thich Chuc Hien (Thầy) is a renowned Dharma teacher in Vietnam. Thầy was born in 1972 in Quảng Nam, Vietnam. At the age of 11, he received The Three Jewels Refuges from Venerable Đồng Hảo, the abbot of An Hòa Temple, and was given the dharma name Chúc Hiền. In 1990, he graduated from secondary school, and in 1991, with the consent of his parents, he was ordained as a monk. He was entrusted by his teacher to stay with Most Venerable Quảng Hạnh at Từ Nghiêm Temple and Đức Sơn Temple in Phú Mỹ Town, Bà Rịa Vũng Tàu Province.
From 1992 to 1994, Thầy studied in the Basic Buddhist Studies Class in Tân Bình District, Saigon, under the guidance of Most Venerable Minh Cảnh. In 1993, he received the Śrāmaṇera ordination at the Thiện Hòa Precepts Transmission Ceremony at Đại Tòng Lâm. From 1994 to 1997, he pursued his Intermediate Buddhist Studies at Vĩnh Nghiêm Monastery and also passed the entrance exam for the Vietnam Buddhist University during this time.
In 1998, he received the Bhikkhu ordination at the Thiện Hào Great Precepts Transmission Ceremony at Ấn Quang Temple and was given the dharma name Giác Trí. From 1997 to 2001, he completed the Bachelor of Buddhist Studies program at the Vietnam Buddhist University in Ho Chi Minh City. From 2002 to 2006, he taught Dharma lessons at various Basic Buddhist Studies classes and participated in Sino-Vietnamese language studies.
In 2006, Most Venerable Thich Thông Hải recruited Thầy to settle in the United States, where he is currently studying and leading Buddhist activities in Vietnamese at Ventura Buddhist Center. He is also known as the author of numerous works in Vietnamese, including poetry, eulogies, and translations of Buddhist scriptures from Classical Chinese into Vietnamese.
Taking refuge in the Sangha in myself,
I aspire to help all people build Fourfold Communities,
to embrace all beings and support their transformation.
— Thich Nhat Hanh