Upasika Wu Guanyi is from Henan County, China. He graduated with honors from the Department of Food Engineering of the South China University of Technology. As a child, he was introverted and liked to read science fiction. He loved to ask "why?" However, he was also impatient and easily annoyed. In college he was miserable because he had no clear purpose in life, yet he was cynical toward religion. He sought the outer sensory stimulation of soccer, rock-n-roll, and practical jokes, hoping to fill the need for inner happiness. Upon reading the Confucian Analects and learning that filial piety, brotherhood, loyalty, and trustworthiness are the fundamental principles of human existence, he realized that there was still something worthwhile to pursue in life. Once at Prajna Monastery in Changchun, Manchuria, he happened to hear a person holler, "Just read the Venerable Master Hua's books. You don't have to read anything else." He thought to himself, "Who is this sage, the Venerable Master Hua, who has such great virtue? Does Buddhism actually exist in the United States?" Those words planted the seed that led him to come to the States.

Upasaka Wu came to the United States to study in 1997. He transferred to Dharma Realm Buddhist University in 1998. Upon reading the book, In Memory of the Venerable Master, he marveled that there had been such an authentic person in the world. Always trying to be different, he at first grew his hair long and wore it in a pony tail, which attracted quite a few sidelong glances. After a while, he shaved his head, which was also shocking to people. To satisfy his strong desire for knowledge, he joined the community in cultivation and also kept up his personal practice. He discovered that the Buddhadharma make a lot of sense and gave a very complete explanation of the phenomena of the world. Soon he took refuge and received the five precepts, as well as the Dharma name Qin Guan.

On March 25, Upasaka Wu joined the Novice Preparatory Training Program, with the intention of leaving the home life six months afterwards. How did he muster such a strong resolve? He had witnessed a close friend battle with leukemia for over a year before passing away in 1997. The recollection still causes his eyes to brim with tears and his hair to stand on end. He feels there is no way of knowing how many eons it will be before he encounters the Buddhadharma or has the chance to become a monk again, so he is determined not to miss this opportunity, just as one would not want to return empty-handed after visiting a mountain of jewels.