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果婷師原籍越南，今年十一歲，是比丘尼恆寂師的小外孫女。她出生美國；越南的戰亂之苦一點也沒嘗到。四歲吃素，小時跟外婆很接近。外婆一生吃素禮佛、虔誠唸觀音菩薩名號。越戰時蒙佛保佑，一家有驚無險，但也飽看戰亂之苦，深感人世無常，不時講些佛理給她兄妹倆聽，果婷師從小就知道世上有很多痛苦，一心想跟著外婆一起出離這個娑婆世界。
外婆嚮往萬佛聖城，常提聖城，因此種下了果婷師想住聖城的念頭。後來外婆終於在聖城出家了，不久母親也將一家人搬到聖城來住。果婷師看著聖城的小沙彌尼們，心生歡喜；又眼看哥哥在聖城上學不久即想出家，同伴小果柔也申請出家，自己怎能落後？經上人答允，便在外婆及母親的祝福聲中，於一九九四年和哥哥及果柔一起剃度，輕輕鬆鬆地就脫離了家庭生活；那年她才七歲。
出家後和同時剃度的「總角」之交小果柔師成了好同修：共同上課、學習，互相策勵，背的第一部經書是「永嘉大師證道歌」。因背經之故，中文大有進步；越文則越來越鴉鴉烏。幸虧及時住進了聖荷西的金聖寺，尚有機會跟外婆惡補越文，這才又會講越南話了。否則將來怎能跟越南人講經說法，度自己的同胞呢？這也是小果婷師的心願之一呢！
出家後的果婷師身體也健康；精神也愉快。有時看到大人們為著出家而猶豫不決，自己和自己那麼來回拉鋸，還真不知道是怎麼回事呢！
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Eleven-year-old Guo Ting Shi, who is of Vietnamese descent, is the granddaughter of Bhikshuni Heng Ji Shi. Born in the United States, she did not taste the suffering of the Vietnam War. She became a vegetarian at age four. She was very close to her maternal grandmother, who has been a vegetarian and a Buddhist all her life, and who sincerely recites the name of Guanyin Bodhisattva. During the Vietnam War, her family was protected by the Buddhas and escaped harm. However, having witnessed the miseries of war and the fragility of life, she often preached Buddhist principles to her brother and sister. That's why Guo Ting Shi grew up being aware of the great suffering in the world and wanted only to follow her grandmother in leaving this Saha world.
Her grandmother longed to come to the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas and often spoke to Guo Ting Shi about it. This planted a wish in Guo Ting Shi’s mind to come and live in the City. Finally her grandmother came to the City and left the home-life, and shortly afterwards her mother and her whole family moved to the City to live. Guo Ting Shi was delighted to see the young novice nuns at the City. When her brother, who studied at the City, and her playmate Guo Rou Shi both applied to leave home, how could she lag behind? With the Venerable Master’s permission and the blessings of her grandmother and mother, she, her brother, and Guo Rou Shi left the home-life in 1994. She was seven that year.
After leaving home, she and her childhood playmate Guo Rou Shi became good Dharma companions. They studied together and urged each other on. The first Buddhist text they memorized was the “Song of Enlightenment by Great Master Yongjia.” Through memorizing texts, her Chinese improved by leaps and bounds, but her Vietnamese fell behind. Fortunately, she moved to Gold Sage Monastery in San Jose, where she could practice Vietnamese with her grandmother, so that she would be able to speak Dharma to her fellow Vietnamese, which is one of her vows.
Guo Ting Shi is a healthy, happy novice. She can hardly understand why adults have such a difficult time making the decision to leave home.
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