Life of the Ven. Hsu Yun - He Makes Serious Vows to
Make a Pilgrimage to Ch'ing Liang (Clear and Cool) Mountain
Going By Three Steps One Bow

The Master had by now left the home-life for more than twenty years, but he had not yet completed his karma in the Way. He had not repaid his parents' kindness, and so he vowed to again make a pilgrimage to Nan Hai. From Fa Hua Temple all the way to Ch'ing Liang Peak at Wu T'ai (Five Peaks) Mountain, he made one full prostration every three steps. At the outset, four Ch'an monks, P'ien Chen (Pervasive Truth), Chiao Ch'eng (Englightened Vehicle), Shan Hsia (Distant Mountains) and Ch'iu Ning (Autumn Freeze) accompanied the Master. But they gradually had thoughts of withdrawing. It was not easy going.

The verse says:

Being able to do what is troublesome

    is true action.

Being able to bear the unbearable

    is true forbearance.

being able to practice the difficult

    is true cultivation.

Being able to take what is unpleasant

    is true endurance.

A Pictorial Biography of the Venerable Master Hsu Yun,
composed by the Venerable Master Hsuan Hua