Venerable Yan Qi joined the Dharma Drum Mountain San Francisco Bay Area Center in December 2024. In 2018, he entered a six-year Chan training program at Dharma Drum Mountain Sangha University, where he learned how to organize and run a Chan meditation center, lead meditation workshops and activities, and teach the Dharma in both Chinese and English.

He was ordained as a novice monk at Dharma Drum Mountain in 2019 and received the full Bhikshu precepts at Yuan Tong Temple in Puli, Taiwan, in 2022. During the precepts training period, he was selected as the honor novice of the year. While serving the sangha and the precept community, he dedicated himself to studying the Bhikshu Precepts in the Four-Part Vinaya and the Bodhisattva Precepts in the Brahma Net Sutra.

Prior to his ordination, he earned a Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering in 2015. His research focused on hearing aids, hearing loss, psychoacoustics, and medical equipment compliance. Despite his background in engineering, he believes that while technology can make our lives more convenient, it cannot bring true happiness. Rather, genuine joy arises from realizingthe Dharma and Chan practice. For this reason, he has vowed to diligently practice Buddhism and share the Buddha’s teachings and help everyone realize compassion and wisdom just like the Buddha.