Ayya Khema (born Ilse Kussel; August 25, 1923[1] – November 2, 1997) was a Buddhist teacher noted for providing opportunities for women to practice Buddhism,[2] founding several centers around the world.

[3][1] In 1938, her parents escaped from Germany and traveled to China while plans were made for Khema to join two hundred other children emigrating to Glasgow, Scotland.

[6] At age twenty-two, Khema married a man seventeen years her senior named Johannes and they moved to an apartment in the Hongkou District.

[8] As the People's Liberation Army were on the cusp of taking Shanghai, Khema and her family fled for San Francisco, California, United States.

[13] Khema moved with her infant son to Rancho La Puerta in Tecate, Mexico, to study the philosophy of the Essenes with Professor Edmund Skekely.

[19] In 1978, Khema founded the Wat Buddha Dhamma forest monastery in New South Wales and installed Phra Khantipalo as abbot.

[17] Khema's desire to become a Buddhist nun led her to Thailand where she studied with Tan Ajahn Singtong for three months.

It's just letting go and disappearing, and it's very nice.Ayya Khema died on November 2, 1997, at Buddha Haus, Uttenbühl (part of the village Oy-Mittelberg) in Germany after fourteen years with breast cancer.