Venerable Yi-Lai, Bhikkuni of Chinese Mahayana Buddhism, Dharma name, Xin Xi( 心西) (號依來). Born in 1946 in Yi-Lan County, Taiwan, she graduated from Taipei Ladies Education College ( 台北女子師專), then served at the Fo Guang Shan Ta Tzu orphanage (大慈育幼院) since 1979.

In 1988, Venerable Yi Lai took full ordination under the Grand master Hsing Yun in Hsi-Lai Temple, USA.

Venerable Yi-Lai undertook many positions such as the Principal of Pu Man Primary School, the Abbess of Kaoshiung Pu Xian Temple. In 1990, she was posted to Africa to propagate Buddhism. She was the Abbess of South Africa’s Newcastle Meditation Centre, during that period, she also established five Buddha’s Light International Associations (BLIA).

In 1993, upon completion of the Chung Tian Temple in Brisbane, Australia, Venerable Yi-Lai was posted there as the Abbess, and at the same time, acting as the Abbess of the Vihara in Perth, Western Australia.

In 2006, she was then posted to Sydney, Australia to take on the post of the Abbess of Nan Tien Temple and the Head Abbess of all FGS temples in Australia and New Zealand.

Venerable Yi Lai has eyes for details but at the same time, is sharp and decisive. During her postings as the Abbess in various locations, she organises a variety of activities through which she shares the teachings and wisdom of Buddhism with the Australian community by and large and helps to make it the second largest religion in Australia. Some of the activities include meditation retreats, Eight precepts retreats, study group, arts and crafts classes, Dharma talks, loving care group, neighbourhood watch, disaster relief, charity donation fund, traditional crafts classes, artifacts exhibition, Buddhist hymns concert, amongst many others. The Chung Tian Chinese School initiated by the Abbess has now expanded to 5 Campuses, with close to 800 students, making it the most important cultural and educational centre for the Chinese community of Queensland.

During her time as the Abbess at the Chung Tian Temple, for each year since 1997, the temple has been jointly organising the Buddha’s Birthday Celebration with the Brisbane City council in the South Bank, each year, attracting more than 100,000 visitors from various cultural backgrounds to join in the celebration. It has become the biggest multicultural event of the city, serving the needs of the public, helping to facilitate religious and cultural harmony, purifying the minds of people and stabilising the society. It is now a well-acknowledged event by the Queensland government.

In October 2006, Abbess Yi Lai was transferred to Nan Tien Temple to take on the post of Head Abbess of Australia and New Zealand. She actively leads the Buddha Light International Association Sydney to establish the Loving Care Group, which join the forces and enthusiasm of its members to benefit society through charity work that supports the needy and the disadvantaged. It aims to bring the loving kindness and compassion as exemplified by the Buddha to those who are less fortunate.

In addition to facilitating learning and exchange of BLIA members, Venerable Yi-Lai also established the Fo Guang Bi-monthly newsletter, which provides a domain for the members to share their experiences from learning of Buddhism and contributing to communities. The Loving Care Choir was also established to allow members to propagate the Dharma with songs. In addition, various activities such as seminars, Tea Chan, Tai Chi etc are jointly organised between the BLIA members and Fo Guang Shan Sangha community to join the strength and resources of the two in order to better serve the community and propagate Humanistic Buddhism.

Venerable Yi-Lai has received many awards, such as in 2001, she was awarded "Contribution to the community award by a multicultural organization". In the same year, under her leadership, the BLIA Queensland was awarded a Silver medal for volunteerism by the government, other awards include:

• 2003 Badge of Australian Federation of a Century conferred by Queen Elizabeth II
• 2002 Moreton Community Australia Day Award
• 2002 Certificate of Appreciation by Australian National Flag Association(ANFA)
• 2001 Queensland Multicultural Service Award
• In 2001 she was listed in the hero list in 100 years of Australian history.
• In 2000, the Gold Coast Government awarded her the Honorary Citizen Award.
• In 1999, Logan city government awarded her the Cultural Contribution Award.
• In 1997, the Queensland Logan City Council awarded her the Community service award.