I was born in the Phillipines in 1952. When I was five, my father sent me to live with my grandmother at Guanyin Temple, which she managed. Following her example, I became vegetarian and began bowing to the Buddha and believing in Buddhism. When I was in elementary school, my grandmother supervised me very strictly. I had have her permission before I did anything. She did not allow me to attend fieldtrips or parties and never gave me any pocket money. If I needed to buy food or other things, I had to ask permission first, and then I had to show her whatever I bought. I never had money of my own. After graduating from junior high, I learned to lead Buddhist ceremonies and play the Dharma instruments. After high school graduation, I enrolled in a first-year Chinese language course in the Humanities Department of Zhongzheng University. In the afternoons, I taught an elementary-school class on Buddhism at the Nenren School. I was a volunteer there for six years.

In 1974, Guanyin Temple was relocated to the outskirts of the city. At that time, since my grandmother was getting old and needed someone to help her, I devoted myself to temple administration. I received the Boddhisattva precepts in 1978. The following year, I started a number of charity projects and set up a home for the elderly and an orphanage.

In 1982, I read News from True Cultivators, through which I learned about the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas and the Venerable Master. I really liked the Master’s Six Guiding Principles (no fighting, no greed, no seeking, no selfishness, no pursuit of personal gain, and no lying). Thus I resolved to leave the home-life. I wanted to draw near and study from the Venerable Master, such a good and wise advisor.

In May 1993, two nuns from the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas visited Guanyin Temple and stayed for three weeks. My conditions with the City ripened, and I visited the Venerable Master in America on December 26. On the sixteenth day of the eleven lunar month, Amitabha Buddha’s Anniversary, I left the home-life and received the novice precepts. I went through the training of a novice nun, which included, in addition to morning and evening recitation, daily physical exercise, meditation, recitation of Mahayana Sutras, bowing, classes, community work, Sutra lectures, mantra recitation, and so on. Although the schedule was very tight, I rejoiced in the Dharma, felt purified both physically and mentally, and obtained a sense of self-mastery. I feel very fortunate to have had this experience. Having received the complete precepts in September of this year, I aspire to cultivate in accord with the Venerable Master’s teaching.