I suppose my parents originally hoped that one day my brother would take over one business and I would take over the other. But my brother's talents were not in any of the academic pursuits and my parents soon began to worry about his abilities. When I was four years old I began to study with the private tutors they had engaged to educate him. He was then two years ahead of me. But I learned quickly and began "skipping" grades until I was ahead of my brother. So, at the conclusion of the Six Year Primary School education, although I was two years younger than my brother, I was graduated two years ahead of him.
I then entered Secondary or Intermediate School. The school I attended was named Li Qun which means a school that "encourages people". It was a Roman Catholic school and all the teachers were Catholic priests and nuns. It was considered the best school in the area. But the study of Christianity was more or less optional; and in my case, it was definitely more less than more. All I really cared about was ball playing. If you could throw it, kick it, bounce it, or hit it, I was interested. In Intermediate School that's what I felt most "encouraged" to do.
But I attended to my studies sufficiently to gain admittance to a three-year Education College. I didn't feel much like selling dried vegetables so I thought I'd become a teacher.
And there I was, in 1934, a cocky kid of seventeen... a smart Alec, you'd say, who one holiday went out, as usual, to Nan Hua Monastery with all the other teen aged boys and girls to have some fun. I had never even heard of Xu Yun and I certainly didn't expect to discover that a holy man had just come to Nan Hua. And there he was...
Something happened to me when I looked into his face. I suddenly dropped to my knees and pressed my forehead against the ground, kowtowing to him. My friends were all astonished I had never kowtowed to anybody in my life... and there I was, inexplicably, with no suggestion from anyone that I do so, humbling myself before him. Filled with awe and wonder, I kowtowed to Xu Yun three times in succession. The Great Master smiled at me and asked, "Who are you and where are you from?" I barely whispered, "I'm Feng Guo Hua, and I come from Shao Guan" And Xu Yun smiled again and said, "Enjoy yourself here at Nan Hua Temple" He was surrounded by many other monks who looked on silently. I suppose they didn't know what to make of it, either.
Now I couldn't wait until I returned to Nan Hua... but not to have fun... I wanted to see Xu Yun again.
The second time I saw him he asked me if I wished to take Buddhist Precepts, that is to say, formally to become a Buddhist. I said, "Yes, of course." And so I received the Precepts from Xu Yun. He gave me the name Kuan Xiu, which means "big and wide practice".
No more soccer, basketball, or even ping pong. Now, during my summer vacation, I traveled the twenty miles or so out to Nan Hua Monastery twice each week. I'd take the train to Ma Ba Mountain, a landmark rock formation, and then I'd walk four miles to the monastery. Xu Yun gave me books about Buddhism to study; and that is how I spent my vacation time. For the first time in my life, I felt religion in my heart. I wanted to become a priest.
But my sudden religious conversion caused confusion at home. Things there were not so simple. In the first place, when I was born my parents went to a famous astrologer to have my natal horoscope cast. This astrologer clearly saw in the stars that I would become a high ranking military officer and that I would die by the time I was thirty. Having a dead hero in the family was an honor that they'd just as soon pass up. They therefore were happy that I did so well in school. That meant that the family businesses would be safe in my hands, especially since it was becoming more and more apparent that the businesses wouldn't do too well in my brother's hands. When my parents finally learned of my desire to become a priest, as Buddhists, they received the news happily; but as businessmen, they were very apprehensive. The wrong son had desired to become a priest!
