小南海不挂单
公年四十五岁。离洪福寺。是日至府城内。到小南海挂单。竟被拒留宿。即复出城外宿于路边。是夜腹痛甚剧烈。初四日仍拜行。晚发冷病。初五日起痾痢疾。每日仍勉强拜。毫无怠意。
宣化偈曰:
顺逆境界皆精进。苦乐病疾仍拜香。
一念真诚圣默佑。万缘放下自荷当。
Deciding not to stay at Hsiao Nan Hai Monastery
At that time the Master was 45 years of age. The night after he left Hung Fu Monastery he sought to spend the evening at Hsiao Nan Hai Monastery but was refused lodging there. He went back outside the city walls, and spent the night next to the road. During the night the Master developed severe stomach cramps. On the fourth day of the New Year he continued to bow, but in the evening he began shivering. On the fifth he was afflicted with dysentery. In spite of all this difficulty, he forced himself to continue bowing without the slightest indolence.
The verse says:
In smooth or obstructing situations, he always progressed with vigor.
Whether happy, sad, well, or sick, he continued to make prostrations.
With a single truly sincere thought, one gains the aid of sages.
And when one lets go of the myriad states, one becomes totally self-reliant.