117.回城南龍泉寺住 Returning to Cheng Nan and staying at Lung Chuan Monastery
回城南龍泉寺住
五月團亂益熾。以扶清滅洋為號召。殺日使書記。德公使。太後縱之至十七日。下詔與各國宣戰。京大亂。六月天津失。七月聯軍陷北京。時王公大臣。住龍泉者。乃勸公偕伊等。隨扈蹕西行。
宣化偈曰：
清運將末鬧義合。八國聯軍入寇魔。 迫逼太后長安去。擁護聖駕有頭陀。
Returning to Ch’eng Nan7 and staying at Lung Ch’üan8 Monastery
By the fifth lunar month, the Boxer Rebellion had intensified. Their motto was “Support the Ch’ing Dynasty, and eliminate the foreigners.” The Empress Dowager had condoned the assassination of the secretary of the Japanese Consulate and the German Ambassador. On the seventeenth of the month, war was declared on the foreign powers by imperial mandate. The capital was in tumult. The following month, T’ien Tsin was lost, and a month later Peking fell to the allied troops. During that time, the princes and ministers who were staying at Lung Ch’uan (Dragon Spring) Monastery urged the Master to join the Imperial Retinue in its flight west.
The gatha says: On the verge of ruin was old Ch’ing Dynasty, as the Boxers were embattled. The allied armies of eight different countries invaded like plundering demons. The Empress Dowager in dire straits fled to Ch’ang An in the west. Protecting their royal majesties was a man of ascetic practice.
- “Southern City”
- “Dragon Spring”