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比丘尼近義師是馬來西亞柔佛州麻坡人，祖父由中國福建省莆田縣移居馬國；父母對中文教育十分注重，特別送她去學中文，因此閩語、粵語、馬來語、華語、英語，她全懂。她從小看到出家人就特別高興，偏好素食，厭棄葷腥，常令母親擔心她的健康。
1992年她就讀達馬沙拉學院，這是英國漢堡賽大學在馬國所設的雙聯教育那時有人帶她去拜三千佛，每晚七點到九點，她拜得歡喜得不得了。那時她母親晚上睡覺時常呼吸困難，無法安睡，醫生也查不出毛病；看著母親日漸消瘦，她虔誠地拜佛，代母求懺悔，把功德迴向給母親。幾個月後拜佛圓滿，母親不僅能安睡，甚至也聽她勸在初一、十五吃素。她自己也從此皈依三寶，吃長齋了。
大二時，有一次去觀音般若聖寺（原名紫雲洞），一進門覺得很熟悉，原來曾在夢中見過。從此每天下午5點放學後往道場跑，寒暑假時乾脆住了進去，也行日中一食，隨眾上殿，聽經，學當悅眾，鐘鼓、引磬、木魚，出食，香燈。
一日拿起《上人開示錄》看，厚厚兩大本一提起就放不下，不吃不睡一日一夜看完，書中講的好像都是針對自己的毛病；直看到「要跟我出家，一定要大學畢業」時，暗下決心要把大學讀完。
1995年畢業了，她計劃要搬進觀音般若聖寺住，父母急了，一再催著要她到英國去唸碩士學位。她不願斷佛緣，就先找了份待遇好，又清閒的工作，每天工餘誦3部《地藏經》，還影響同事吃素，甚至也日中一食。工作9個月後，公司想要把電腦訓練中心交由她負責，並要求她先去澳洲受訓18個月。她不願離開寺廟到那麼遠的地方。於是辭職，搬進蓮花精舍住，97年在蓮花精舍再次皈依，並受五戒。在排完漢語拼音的三大部經後，萌起出家之心，便申請赴萬佛城。
在美國領事館辦簽證時，拿到的號碼是一千多，心想這可有得等了！領事館內有兩個窗口﹕一個服務美國本國人，一個服務外籍人士；她進去時，裡面黑壓壓擠滿了人。不久服務本國人的窗口開了，叫了她的號碼；她猶豫著上前，「是我嗎？」「是。」「我不是第一號。」「我只辦這一個。」啪、啪、啪，那人頭也不抬就開始蓋章了，完了說句「明天來拿」，啪一聲關上了窗，給了最長的10年簽證！在千百隻眼睛的注視下，她走了出來；人家不知道她是什麼來頭，她自己也不知道這是怎麼回事。
98年1月2日來了聖城，服務女校時，將校中的資料及記錄全部電腦化，方便作業；99年10月23日，在上人及觀音菩薩的出家慶祝日時出了家，法名親禮，開始了近3年的沙彌尼訓練，時常到分支道場支援法會。2002年夏受了具足戒，近義師專持「阿彌陀佛」聖號，到任何地方都可修行。今後為道場服務時，她學著要擴大菩提心，哪裡需要人手就往哪裡去。她也計劃要多研讀戒 律，淨律雙修是 未來目標。
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Bhikshuni Jin Yi was born in Muar, Johor, Malaysia. Her grandfather came from Putian county in Fujian Province of China. Thinking it important that she learn Chinese, her parents made special arrangements to send her to study Chinese. Thus she is comfortable with Fujianese, Cantonese, Mandarin Chinese, Malay, and English. Ever since she was little, she liked to see left-home people and abhorred meat, which caused her mother great worry.
In 1992 when she was studying at Camansara College in Malaysia, enrolled in the Twinning Education Program of Humberside University of Great Britain, someone took her to a temple to bow the Three Thousand Buddhas Repentance from 7 to 9 p.m. every day. The bowing filled her with joy. At that time her mother suffered insomnia due to difficulty in breathing. Doctors couldn’t detect any illness and yet her mother grew thinner each day. She repented on her mother’s behalf and transferred merit to her. When the session concluded a few months later, her mother could sleep. Her mother also took her advice and refrained from eating meat on the first and the fifteenth of every lunar month. Jin Yi Shi herself took refuge with the Triple Jewel and became a vegetarian.
Once during her sophomore year she visited Prajna Guanyin Temple (formerly known as Tze-Yun Tung). Everything seemed familiar there as soon as she walked in because she had dreamed of this place before! From then on she went to the temple everyday after school at 5. During summer and winter breaks, she would live in the temple. While in the temple she practiced eating one meal a day at noon, attended ceremonies in the Buddha Hall, worked as an assistant cantor, played Dharma instruments, took care of the censer, listened to the sutra lectures, and so on. She learned to do just about everything.
One day, she picked up two thick volumes of the Venerable Master’s instructional talks. She started reading and could not put them down. After reading nonstop for 24 hours, skipping meals and sleep, she finally finished. The Master seemed to be speaking directly to her in those talks, pointing out all her faults. When she came to the sentence, “Whoever wants to leave the home-life with me must graduate from college first,” she made up her mind to finish college just in case.
She graduated in 1995 and prepared to move into Prajna Guanyin Temple. Her parents were alarmed and tried to persuade her to go to England to get a Master’s degree. Not wishing to sever her connections with Buddhism, she got a job instead as a software engineer in an information technology company. The pay was good and she managed to recite the
Earth Store Sutra three times a day in her office during breaks. Under her influence, some of her colleagues became vegetarians and even skipped dinner in order to practice eating one meal a day at noon.
However, after nine months, the company wanted her to manage its Computer Training Center, which meant she would have to attend an 18-month training in Australia. Reluctant to leave the temple and Buddhism, which was her spiritual refuge, she declined the offer and resigned. Later she moved into Lotus Vihara where she received the Five Precepts and took refuge again. After finishing the layout of the romanized recitation books of three sutras—the Avatamsaka, the Dharma Flower, and the Shurangama, she yearned to leave the home-life and decided to come to the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas (CTTB).
When she applied for a visa at the American Consulate, she drew a number that was over 1,000 and told herself, “It’s going to be a good wait!” There are two windows inside the Consulate: one for Americans and the other non-Americans. The room was jam-packed when she entered, but before long the window for Americans opened and her number was called. She couldn’t believe it. Hesitantly she asked, “Is it my turn?” “Yes.” “But I am not number one.” “I will only do this one number.” Pa! Pa! Pa! He started stamping some documents without even lifting his head. “Come and get it tomorrow.” Bang! He shut the window, giving her ten years of multiple entry—the longest possible visa. As she walked out of the room, hundreds of eyes followed her. They didn’t know where she came from; she didn’t know either.
On January 2, 1998, she arrived at the City. While working in the Girls School, she computerized all the school data and records. She left the home-life on October 23, as the City was celebrating the Leaving Home Day of Guanyin Bodhisattva and the Venerable Master. She was given the Dharma name Chin Li and started a three-year training period, during which she often went to help branch Wayplaces during Dharma sessions and attended Shramanerika training classes. In the summer of 2002, she was fully ordained as a Bhikshuni. She realizes that in serving the Wayplaces one must expand one’s Bodhi resolve to go wherever one is needed. Jin Yi Shi’s main practice is reciting Amitabha Buddha’s name, and she can go anywhere to cultivate. She plans to delve fully into the precepts, as her goal is to cultivate both the Pure Land and Vinaya.
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