Dharma Master Changzhen kept thinking of how to propagate the Dharma even better. He said, “Baoguo Monastery should not be a tourist spot; it should become a Way-place that proclaims and propagates the Buddhadharma as well as a school for cultivation for the four assemblies.” He planned to establish a Buddhist Reading Room which loaned Buddhist books, periodicals, and audio materials free of charge; to arrange more Buddhist lecture series to propagate the Buddhadharma. He also wanted to open an East-West Medical Clinic for the needy and to dispense medicines free; and to build a Buddha Recitation Seniors’ Home to enable elderly Buddhists to live out their final years in the tranquil environment at Baoguo Monastery so that they could be guided by the Dharma to the end of their lives. In that way more people can be reborn in the Pure Land and more people can become Buddhas.

Dharma Master Changzhen was always a person who proclaimed Buddhism. No matter when or where, he never forgot to use the simple to describe the deep; to use the near to explain the far in lecturing on the Buddhadharma in terms of the relationships between the mundane and the transcendental and the scientific principles involved in cause and effect. His teaching caused people to abandon evil and tend towards the good, to recognize the Buddhadharma and even to say sincerely, “Only today have I realized how great the Buddhadharma is. The Buddhas and Bodhisattvas are truly closer to me than my family!”

Dharma Master Changzhen also propagated the Dharma without talking. When you are enjoying watching the wind through the gnarled banyan tree, on the bark of the trunk the words “See through things, put them down, and be at ease” will catch your eyes and make you think deeply. When you are walking slowly down the corridor, observing the progress of the Hopeful Building Project, the “Song of Giving” on the wall will attract your attention: “Giving, giving, if you give you will get. Give away your wealth to create talented people...” When you sit down in a teahouse to rest, look at the couplet on the pillar:

The quiet of the mountains and forests penetrate the meaning of Chan.
Relaxing over a bowl of tea satisfies the original mind. 

The horizontal title was:

Tea and Chan are a single flavor.

Next to the couplet, an explanation says:

Chan Master Congshen of Zaozhou in the Tang dynasty liked to use tea to describe Chan. He would often say “Go drink tea!” to instruct his students, many of whom became enlightened by that instruction. “Tea and Chan are a single flavor” thus became a favorite saying of the Chan School. Forceful in its block-style calligraphy and simple and rustic in its words, this couplet was written by Master Changzhen.

The horizontal title applies not only to this couplet, but also to our life. It is like adding eyes to the painting of a dragon, bringing the dragon to life. The meaning here certainly is before our eyes and is infinitely far-reaching. Perhaps you have already realized the meaning and have gotten a small peek at the mysterious wonder of life. What does the tea taste like? And how about the Chan principle? What you see depends on yourself. I think this is part of Dharma Master Changzhen’s propagation of Dharma through literature.

When Dharma Master Changzhen was almost eighty years old, he still took his meals with the Great Assembly. Although he has an attendant, he refused to have meals cooked especially for him. He always said he was cultivating along with everyone and was no different. During the cultural revolution some people falsely accused him of ten crimes warranting death. After his case was overturned, he took the initiative to seek out those people, have heart-to-heart talks with them, and console them. In the end the enemies became friends, and one of them even came to believe in Buddhism.

Whenever Dharma Master Changzhen went out he used public transportation. He had to walk two kilometers to the bus stop. Public transportation was very inconvenient. People suggested buying a car in the monastery’s name primarily for the purpose of transporting the Master to and from the various places where he propagated the Dharma. The vehicle could simultaneously be used to do some business. But Dharma Master Changzhen would not agree to it. He said, “If you buy the car in the monastery’s name, you cannot use it to do business. The monastery is a pure place, how can it have any connection with making profit?” In the end, when he went out, he still walked to the bus stop to take the public bus. When it rained, he would get splattered with mud. On a sunny day, he would be covered with dust.

Dharma Master Changzhen looked very ordinary and common. He ate, attended ceremonies, and cultivated just like everyone else. But he certainly was different from most others. At this particular time, religion has become rather worldly and some monks and nuns are very concerned about the benefits given them according to their positions. However, Dharma Master Changzhen fixed his Abbot’s stipend to be same amount as that of every ordinary monk and nun. When some “high-class” guest monks went on pilgrimages to Mount Emei they would recline in bamboo palanquins carried by sweating, straining laborers. However, the near-eighty Dharma Master Changzhen would walk on the mountain roads getting covered with dust. Ordinary people found it extremely difficult to get even a brief audience with Dharma Masters who had just the slightest bit of renown. However, Dharma Master Changzhen never refused to see anyone. He received people graciously and never tired of spreading the Dharma. What a person he is!

I have tried to use words such as ‘humble,’ ‘modest,’ ‘kind,’ and ‘solemn’ to describe his character, but it’s of no use. These words used to describe him can be said to be correct and can be said to be incorrect, because he is far more than any of that. I have discovered how poor and insufficient my words are. I realize I have written so much and yet barely scratched the surface or touched a hair. I am far, far away from his soul.

In the dusk, when I was standing in front of Baoguo Monastery’s adorned and solemn Jeweled Hall of the Great Heroes, the sounds of the bells filtered by, and an overwhelming religious feeling encompassed me. Zi Gong’s poignant comment of some two thousand years ago welled up in my mind, “Confucius’ wall measures several tens of feet tall and one cannot find a door to go in, and so one cannot see the beauty of the temples and the riches of the officials.” [Analects]. Dharma Master Changzhen’s wall is too lofty and the things within it are too abundant and fine. I am definitely an amateur. How can I be qualified to write about him?

But Dharma Master Changzhen’s deeply compassionate mind—that stern and cautious ascetic appearance—stands out very clearly.

(end)