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一九六八年春，當時還是在家人的比丘尼恆持師，隨一群華盛頓大學學生前往舊金山中國城參加為期七天的禪修。這是她首次接觸佛法，也是第一次見到上人。禪七由上人主七，講了許多開示。在一次小參的答問時，上人鼓勵各人說說自身的體驗。當時恆持師就踴躍發言，坦承自己坐香時一直在等待開靜的引磬聲。
即便如此，六八年夏她仍舊回來繼續參加暑期講習班。這期間上人每天為學員講解《楞嚴經》。並指導他們每天做數小時的禪坐。
經中關於六根的分析令她尤其佩服。釋迦牟尼佛說：「將你困在生死之中的就是你的六根：眼、耳、鼻、舌、身、意，這六根。」佛繼續解釋，雖然六根令我們受苦，然而我們不該對他們持憎恨的態度，其至想摧毀他們。即使六根像一群賊，我們也不可仇視他們，因為一旦他們幡然悔悟，就會成為我們修行的助力。「只要不隨著他們，就切斷生死流了。」佛做了以上的結論。
暑期班之後，上人講解《法華經》及其它的大乘經典，恆持師也參加聽了這一系列的開示。一九六九年秋，在上人的指導及同意之下，她與其它三位沙彌、一位沙彌尼同去台灣受三壇大戒，為期二個月，成為受具足戒的比丘尼。
一九七零年二月十五日，恆持法師發下如是大願：
1）生生世世，日復一日，誓願跟隨護持慈師，依其教導之正法，如法修持。
2）誓願敬順父母、親人。
3）誓願捨去大如須彌之自我，時時培育大慈悲心。
4）誓願隨同師父入一切趣中，助其救渡眾生，令眾生明心見性。
5）誓願將所修一切善根功德，迴向一切眾生。
七零年冬季，受了具足戒的比丘尼恆持師，參加三藩市佛教講堂為期十四週的禪修。起七時，上人勉勵行者努力精進，即使房子在身邊塌了下來也要繼續打坐。嗯……禪七期間，房子倒是沒有垮下來，只是上人領著大部份的弟子搬進了最早的那座金山寺，只留下幾個頑固份子堅持坐下去，完成精進禪七。那時非但佛教講堂一搬而空，更巧的是，僅僅一牆之隔的隔壁房間竟然開始整修重建。重型機械敲敲打打的同時，恆持師所面對的那面牆被撞擊得隆隆作響，震動不已。她不禁暗自好笑，仍策勵自己在噪雜的整修工程中繼續坐下去，就在這期間，她對出靜引磬聲的盼望止息了。
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In the spring of 1968, Heng Chih Shi, then a laywoman, joined a group of students from University of Washington who traveled to San Francisco's Chinatown to attend a week-long Chan meditation session. That was her first contact with Buddhism and the first time she met the Venerable Master, who led the session and gave many instructional talks.
During one question-and-answer period, when the Master invited participants to talk about what they were experiencing in the session, Heng Chih Shi volunteered that she found herself always "waiting for the bell" to end the sitting period.
Nonetheless, she returned for the Lecture and Practice Session in the summer of 1968, featuring the Master's explanation of the
Shurangama Sutra and several hours of meditation daily. She was particularly inspired by the analysis of the six sense organs found in that Sutra. Shakyamuni Buddha says, "That which binds you to birth and death is simply your six senses–eyes, ear, nose, tongue, body and mind." The Buddha goes on to explain that although the six senses are responsible for our plight, we should not hate them or want to destroy them. Even though the senses act like thieves, we must not treat them badly, because once they change, they become a great help. "You only need not follow. Cut off the flow," the Buddha concludes.
After the summer session, the Venerable Master continued his teaching by explaining the
Lotus Sutra and other Mahayana texts. Heng Chih Shi joined those lecture series and in the fall of 1969, with the Master's guidance and permission, traveled to Taiwan with four other novices to train in a two-month Precept Platform, after which she was fully ordained.
On February 15, 1970, Bhikshuni Heng Chih Shi made the following vows:
1. In life after life, day after day, I vow always to protect and follow my compassionate teacher and to cultivate according to his teachings based on the Proper Dharma.
2. I vow to be filial to my parents and family members.
3. I vow to cast off my self as big as Mt. Sumeru and to continually nurture and use compassionate kindness.
4. I vow to follow my teacher to enter repeatedly any realm in order to help my teacher rescue beings, helping them realize their true mind.
5. I vow to dedicate any merit and virtue from doing deeds to all beings.
By the winter of 1970, Heng Chih Shi was a fully-ordained nun when she joined the fourteen-week winter meditation session held at the Buddhist Lecture Hall. At the start of that intensive session, the Master urged everyone on by saying that even if the building fell down around them, they should continue meditating. Well, the building didn't fall down, but during that session, the Master and most of his disciples moved to the first Gold Mountain Monastery, leaving only the most stubborn meditators behind to complete the long session. Besides that major evacuation from the Buddhist Lecture Hall, the building next door–just one thin wall away from the meditators–was demolished and reconstructed during that winter. As the gutting took place, the wall that Heng Chih Shi was facing as she meditated shook and rumbled from the impact of the demolition machines. She chuckled inwardly, remembering the Master's admonition, and continued to sit throughout the subsequent noisy remodeling. Somewhere along the line, she stopped waiting for the bell.
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