觀音前求子

雲公老和尚。俗姓蕭。乃梁武帝之後。世居湖南。湘鄉。父玉堂。母顏氏。清道光初年。父以科舉出身。宦於閩。年逾不惑尚無子。父母憂之。遂以虔誠懇切之心。進香祈子於城外之觀音古廟中。

宣化偈曰：
積功樹德植善因。虔心求子禮慈尊。
萬慮澄清惟當念。一心不亂感而應。

Seeking a son before Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva

The Venerable Master Yun's lay name was Hsiao. His ancestors, who came from Lan Ling  (Fragrant hills ), were descendents of Liang Dynasty Emperor Wu, and had for generations dwelt at Hsiang-hsiang in Human province. His father's name was Yu T'ang and his mother was the Yen of the family. In the first year of the Tao Kuang reign period of the Ch'ing Dynasty (A.D. 1821), His father entered in to public service as a K'e Chu ( a grade in the Governmental Examination system) and became a public official in Fukien Province. When he was past forty years of age, he was still without a son. This grieved him and his wife, so with sincere words and sorrowful hearts, they offered incense and sought a son before the Avalokiteshvara Shrine in an ancient temple outside the city.

The verse says:
Amassing merit, establishment virtue, a wholesome seed was planted. 
Sincere in heart, they sought a son and bowed to compassionate one. 
Ten thousand anxious thoughts were stilled and only one remained. 
Single mindedly unconfused, they effected a response.