Kongyan is originally from Malaysia. She first learned about Buddhism in 2002 after reading “The Way to Buddhahood” by Venerable Master Yinshun. Her interest in Buddhism quickly flourished and she subsequently took refuges and precepts in December 2003. She has an undergraduate degree from Malaysia, a Master’s degree in Forest Molecular Genetics from Michigan Technical University and a Ph.D. in Molecular Plant Science from Washington State University as of May 2012. As Venerable Kongyan became more serious in learning Dharma, the interest of joining the Sangha in order to practice and share dharma with others slowly began to emerge. Consequently, she moved to MABA to practice here after completing her Ph.D. study. She was ordained in September 2012 as a novice and finished taking her full Bhikkshuni ordination on December 2014 in Taiwan.