203.參云崗石佛 Visiting the Stone Buddhas at Yun Kang

參云崗石佛

公應南通請。于狼山主持法會。各地皈依均數千人。三月晦回滬。四月接北京電請進京。仍居廣濟。各地佛教代表亦至。中國佛教協會正式成立。大會議決各要案後。公赴山西大同。參禮云崗大石佛窟。誠美化偉大。藝術雕刻。

宣化偈曰：

藝術精雕云崗佛。舉世皆稱偉大作。 我師最後尤朝禮。率身垂范勿空過。

Visiting the Stone Buddhas at Yun Kang

The Master responded to the invitation of Dharma Master Nan T’ung (Penetration to the South) to head another Dharma assembly at Lang Shan (Wolf Mountain) Monastery, where several thousand people from all over took refuge. He returned to Shanghai in the third lunar month, and the next month received a telegram from Peking requesting his presence in the Capital. The Master arrived and stayed at Kuang Chi (Extensive Aid) Monastery. Representatives of various Buddhist groups also were present, and the Chinese Buddhist Association was officially inaugurated. After a plenary meeting in which important policies were decided, the Master went to Ta T’ung in Shanhsi Province and bowed to the large stone Buddhas in the stone grottos at Yun Kang. They were quite imposing and magnificently carved.

The gatha says: The Buddhas at the Yun Kang (Cloud Ridge) Caves are skillfully and finely made. They are known throughout the world and acclaimed for their inspiring grandeur. Our Master Yun especially made a pilgrimage to bow there. Conducting himself as an exemplar of the rule, he never wasted a moment.