Pictorial Biography of the 
Venerable Master
HSU YUN

--continued from issue # 40

by  
TRIPITAKA MASTER HSUAN HUA

UPON FIRST MEETING THE TRIPLE JEWEL, 
THE BUDDHA. DHARMA, AND SANGHA #9

      When the Master was thirteen, his grandmother Chou died, and he accompanied his father to escort the coffin back to Hsiang Hsiang county for burial. The Sangha was invited to perform 'Buddhist rites.  Upon first seeing an image of the Buddha, the Master immediately bowed; the sight of sutras cheered him and when he met the Sangha, he acted with deference; He tried each of the ceremonial instruments, and did not want to stop playing them. It was as if he had suddenly come to an understanding, and yet, he himself did not "appear to be aware of it.

The Gatha says:

Eternal words and filial thoughts,

transmitted from the past to the present., 
He carefully performed ancestral rites,

sincerely relaying compassion. 
In awe he beheld samadhi's power,

its aiding and maintaining, 
Offenses as numerous as Ganges sands
   were completely wiped away.

-illustrated by             --translated by Disciple
a Student of Prajna           Bhiksu Heng Yo