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Upasika Kuo Hsun was born on the Olympic
Peninsula of Washington. Numerous scholarships subsidized an early
career in painting at the University of Washington, and she spent a
number of years there with the Art Department.
She began her studies of Buddhism under the
direction of Dr. Edward Conze at the University of Washington
Institute for Asian Studies, and concentrated on research into
Tibetan Mandalas. This quickly led to a
greatly expanded interest in practical Buddhism, which culminated
when she attended an intense, weeklong meditation session at the
Buddhist Lecture Hall in San Francisco, and became a disciple of the
Venerable Master Hsuan Hua.
After becoming a disciple of the Master, she
attended the 1968 98 Day Lecture and Cultivation Session. During
this Session she gained a deep understanding of
The Shurangama Sutra, and the Shurangama
Mantra. Following this session she took up residence in San
Francisco, enrolled in San Francisco State College, and received her
degree.
Upasika Kuo Hsun is now teaching college level
modern dance in addition to her work as a Director in the San
Francisco Department of Recreation and Parks. She is married to
Upasaka Kuo Tsun, a teacher and graduate of the University of
Washington. Both she and her husband are dedicated cultivators of
the Way, and hold the Five Precepts and the Forty-eight Bodhisattva
Precepts. In addition to their cultivation of Ch'an Meditation, they
both have a good knowledge of the Buddhist teachings, and have
delivered lectures on some of the most important of the Buddhist
sutras. Upasika Kuo Hsun has said about her life: When I was little
I thought if I got big everything would be okay. When I got big I
thought if I got rich everything would be okay. When I got rich I
decided to save myself and that is what I am doing now.
All naturally created objects have a rhythm.
People have lost sight of theirs. I did. Don't eat meat; don't be
confused; don't kill. Wake up. Quit flopping around like a fish on
the beach and swim. It's easy. Now breathe in and see it all come
together.
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