Ven. Chung Ohun Lee, Ph.D., Executive Director Emeritus
Ven. Dr. Chung Ohun Lee is a senior leader of Won Buddhism and a widely respected voice in global interfaith and multilateral engagement. As a spiritual teacher and international leader, she has dedicated her life to fostering understanding, cooperation, and peace across religious traditions, cultures, and global institutions.
Ven. Lee is the founding teacher of the Manhattan Won Buddhist Temple and the founder of the Won Buddhism UN & Interfaith Office, playing a central role in establishing Won Buddhism’s presence in New York and at the United Nations. Her leadership helped shape a model of engaged spirituality that brings Buddhist practice and ethical reflection into the heart of contemporary urban and global life.
Since 1992, Ven. Lee has represented Won Buddhism at the United Nations, contributing to numerous UN-related committees and initiatives addressing peace and security, human rights, climate change, universal ethics, and gender equality. She served as Co-President of Religions for Peace International from 1999 to 2018, the world’s largest interfaith network, fostering cooperation among religious leaders and institutions worldwide.
As a teacher and author, Ven. Lee has consistently emphasized inner cultivation, ethical responsibility, and spiritual freedom as foundations for social transformation. Her publications include Gender Equality: Women in Won Buddhism (2013), Living Dharma: A Guide to Daily Practice of Won Buddhism (2012), Vision for a New Civilization: Spiritual and Ethical Values in the New Millennium (2000), and Dharma Record: New Mind and New Body (1994).
Ven. Lee received full ordination in Korea in 1981 and holds both an M.A. and a Ph.D. from New York University. As Executive Director Emeritus, she continues to be honored for her foundational vision and lifelong contribution to Won Buddhism’s international and interfaith engagement.