Supreme Master Television

Ching Hai
Ching Hai in Sydney (1993)
Born	(1950-05-12) 12 May 1950 (age 67) Vietnam
Known for	Founder of Quan Yin Method

Ching Hai (born 12 May 1950) is an author, entrepreneur and teacher of the Quan Yin Method of meditation. Hai founded the restaurant and fashion company Supreme Master Ching Hai International Association. Her followers refer to her as "Supreme Master".

Ching Hai was born to a Vietnamese mother and a Chinese father, on 12 May 1950 in a small village in the Quảng Ngãi Province in Vietnam. In 1969, she began a relationship with a German scientist. They married, but separated after two years to focus an spiritualism. In 1979, she met a Buddhist monk in Germany whom she followed for three years, but his monastery denied entry to females. She moved to India to study different religions.

Hai attempted to buy a copy of the Bhagavad Gita from a bookshop near the Ganges. Despite the shopkeepers' assertion that they had not got a copy, an extensive search revealed one in a sealed box. This led to rumours of her having a third eye circulating by 1982.. In 1983, she met a Vietnamese Buddhist monk in Taiwan named Jing-Xing, who ordained her in 1984 as "Thanh Hai", meaning "pure ocean".

According to her official biography, Ching Hai was born to a well-off naturopathic family in Âu Lạc, Hanoi, Vietnam. Though raised as a Roman Catholic, she learned the basics of Buddhism from her grandmother. A Himalayas spiritual teacher showed her a particular meditation method which she named Quan Yin method.

Her meditations centres in American cities such as Los Angeles benefit from tax-exempt status as religious organizations. She presides over an organization which owns restaurants and sells her jewellery and clothes.

Hai founded the Loving Hut restaurant chains. with 138 restaurants worldwide in 2014.

She launched an clothing line in New York and Paris in 1995.

Hai has written a 50 books called "Elevation of the Soul" which include a cookbook, over 400 videos of her public appearances and an $8 video of "Funny Non-Saint Stories" taped in Los Angeles with footage of her birthday celebrations.

She has authored picture books, such as The Birds in My Life and The Noble Wilds. The books consist of photos she has taken.