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曾耀麗，星加坡人，在天主教學校念書，卻沒有成為天主教徒。家中不信佛教；父親是無神論者，母親卻是見神即拜，逢廟叩頭的多神主義信仰者。
一九七二年移民加拿大，任職律師事務所；現為房地產商。妹妹是佛教徒，一九八五年帶她去溫哥華金佛寺，她無動於衷。但每星期日她會帶著母親去金佛寺參加法會，一方面等著母親回家，一方面隨喜參加法會。
母親回去後，曾居士仍舊每星期日去金佛寺。那時正是恆實師駐守講經說法，她經常到廟上幫忙，受其影響，很痛苦地變成了素食者。一九八八年聽聞上人已不再收弟子了，於是趕緊和丈夫、兒子皈依上人；並在一九九四年受了五戒。
上人曾多次叫她要送兒子姚文龍來聖城讀書，並且說這不是一件容易的事。「欲令入佛智，先以利鉤牽」，於是她先讓兒子到聖城參加暑期班，以回星加坡渡假來獎勵他。兒子在聖城時交了許多朋友，對環境也熟悉了，反而主動要求留下來。曾居士雖然心中暗喜，但也不動聲色；並趁機與兒子約法三章：至少要在聖城讀三年書，不能中途轉學。兒子也信守諾言，在培德中學唸了八、九、十，三個年級後才回加拿大唸十一年級；之後卻又回聖城完成十二年級的學業，於一九九五年畢業；現就讀於加拿大溫哥華卑詩大學。
曾居士偶然會看到兒子寫的讀書報告，裡面都會引證到佛理，使她覺得十分欣慰；苦心孤詣地送他到聖城唸書，總算沒有白費工夫。她現在並擔任法總的董事，幫忙法界佛教總會處理不動產事宜。
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Yeow-Lee is from Singapore. She attended Catholic schools, but did not become a Catholic herself. Her family was not Buddhist. Her father was agnostic, while her mother worshipped all spirits and deities.
After she moved to Canada in 1972, she worked in a law firm. Currently she is a real estate broker. Her sister, who is a Buddhist, took her to Gold Buddha Monastery in Vancouver in 1985, but she remained unconvinced. However she took her mother to Gold Buddha Monastery every Sunday and joined the Dharma session while waiting to take her mother home.
After her mother returned to Singapore, Upasika Chau continued going to Gold Buddha Monastery on Sundays. That was when Dharma Master Heng Sure was giving lectures there. Gradually she was influenced to the point that she became a vegetarian, which was very difficult for her. She also helped out at the temple often. In 1988 when she heard that the Venerable Master would not be taking any more disciples in the future, she and her husband and son all took refuge with the Master. In 1994 she also took the five precepts.
The Master often urged her to send her son, Wen-Long Yao, to study at the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas, which he told her was not an easy thing to do. "In order to guide people to the Buddha's wisdom, one should first bait them with something they like." Therefore, she first sent her son to summer programs at the City, rewarding him with a trip back to Singapore each time. Her son made many friends at the City and grew used to the environment, and he asked to stay on as a regular student. Although Upasika Chau was secretly pleased, she didn't show it. Instead, she stipulated that if he wanted to study at the City, he must study there for a full three years and not quit in the middle. Her son agreed, and so he attended eighth, ninth, and tenth grades at the City. Then he returned to attend eleventh grade in Canada, only to come back to the City to finish his senior year and graduate in 1995. He now attends the University of British Columbia in Vancouver.
Upasika Chau occasionally sees her son's book reports and is delighted to see that they are full of references to Buddhist teachings; her painstaking efforts to get him to study at the City were not wasted. She now serves as a Trustee of Dharma Realm Buddhist Association and helps the Association in matters of real estate.
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