就任涌泉寺住持

己巳九十岁。正月在沪。起程回鼓山。礼祖塔墓。有闽主席。兼海军部长杨幼京〈树庄〉。与前任主席方声涛。率官绅僧俗。居士护法等。留公住持鼓山丈席。公以鼓山乃薙染初地。缅怀祖德。义不容辞。责难推诿。遂允就任。整理寺风。

宣化偈曰：

涌泉古刹唐代兴。高僧龙象度群萌。
云公飞锡驻石鼓。整顿宗风教化行。

Becoming abbot of Yung Ch'uan²⁴ Monastery

The Master was ninety years old in 1929. During the first month of that year, he left Shanghai for Ku (Drum) Mountain, where he bowed to the stupas of the Patriarchs. Yang Yu Ching (Shu Chuang), the Chief Executive of Fukien Province and Secretary of the Navy, and Fang Sheng T'ao, the former Chief Executive, headed a group of public officials, scholars, monks, laymen, and other protectors of the Dharma to urge the Master to become Chief Abbot of Drum Mountain. This was where the Master first shaved his head and donned the monk's robes. As he recalled with strong sentiment his virtuous predecessors, he could not neglect his duty or retire from his responsibility. He accepted their request and set about restoring the monastery to its former glory.

The gatha says:
The ancient shrine of Bubbling Spring flourished during the T'ang.
There High Sanghans - dragons and elephants - crossed over the multitudes.
The tin staff of Master Yun was planted in a drum of stone,
As he restored the School's renown, through his teaching and cultivation.

24. "Bubbling Spring"