After the disaster-relief ceremony at Wolong Temple in Xi’an made Master Xuyun famous far and wide, devotees from many places came to see him. The once-quiet temple grew so crowded that it became impossible for him to practice in peace. Seeing the temple filled with noise and visitors, Xuyun quietly left again.
He went alone to the Zhongnan Mountains in Shaanxi, where he built a small thatched hut and changed his Dharma name from Shideqing to Xuyun. From then on, he lived an ascetic life in the mountains, surviving on wild vegetables and devoting himself to spiritual cultivation.
More than 20 years passed. By then, Empress Dowager Cixi was long dead, the Qing Dynasty was nearing its end, and China had entered the chaotic era of warlord rule. Among the major military factions of the time was the Yunnan clique, which would later become closely connected to Xuyun’s story.
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