Venerable Ming Zhen Shakya (formerly Chuan Yuan Shakya) was ordained in the Peoples Republic of China at Nan Hua Si, the Monastery of Hui Neng (Eno), the Sixth Patriarch of Chan Buddhism, and was the first American to be ordained in Mainland China in more than a quarter century of Communist rule. She was founder of the Nan Hua Zen Buddhist Society and serves on the Board of Directors of the Zen Buddhist Order of Hsu Yun.