菜梅開蓮兆瑞

公住持雲棲寺。備材鳩工。親操勞役。建築僧坊。完成後。每年皆傳戒法。講經教。坐禪香。丙寅戒期中。殿前老枯梅樹。開白蓮花數十朵。前後菜圃中。青菜皆開青蓮花。華中皆有化佛。儼然如。我今盧舍那。方坐蓮華台。周匝千華上。復現千釋迦。

宣化偈曰：

枯梅開蓮華。主林神助發。
諸佛來加護。千葉千釋迦。

Witnessing the auspicious omen of greens and plum trees blooming with lotuses

As the Abbot of Yun Ch'i (Cloud Abode) Monastery, the Master prepared construction materials, assembled workmen, and himself joined in the painstaking labor of reconstruction. A new monastery was built. Upon its completion, the precepts were transmitted every year, the teachings of the sutras were explained, and there was practice of dhyana meditation. During the precept ceremony of 1926, the old and withered plum trees in front of the main hall blossomed with a large number of white lotus flowers. Throughout the vegetable garden, the greens bloomed into green lotuses. In each of the flowers was a majestic transformational Buddha. re-enacting the following Sutra passage:

Now I, the Buddha Nishyanda, sit here atop the lotus dais.
All around, upon a thousand flowers, appear a thousand Shakyan Lords.

The gatha says:
The withered plum trees bloomed with lotuses
Appearing through the aid of the forest-ruling spirits.
Buddhas came to protect the location.
There were thousands of Shakyamunis upon thousands of lotus petals!