Editing Xuyun (section)

==Later life==

Xuyun worked tirelessly as a [[bodhisattva]], teaching precepts, explaining sutras, and restoring old temples. He worked throughout [[Asia]], creating a following across [[Burma]], [[Thailand]], [[British Malaya|Malaya]], and [[Vietnam]], as well as [[Tibet]] and [[China]]. He remained in China during [[World War II]]. In the winter of 1942, Xuyun held a "Protect the Nation, Quell the Disaster, Mahākaruṇā Dharma Assembly" that lasted over three months in [[Chongqing]], the capital of China at that time. He stayed after the rise of the [[People's Republic of China]] (PRC) to support the Buddhist communities rather than retreat to the safety of [[Hong Kong]] or [[Taiwan]].

In the spring of 1951, Xuyun and twenty-five monks were accused of hiding weapons and treasure. They were arrested and tortured in Yunmen Monastery ({{Zh|s=云门寺|t=雲門寺|p=Yúnmén Sì}}) in Shaoguan, [[Guangdong]] province. Some of the monks were tortured to death or suffered broken bones. Xuyun endured several beatings during the interrogations, resulting in fractures to his rib cage. He closed his eyes and would not talk, eat, or drink, and stayed in the [[samādhi]] for nine days. During this time, his attendants [[Fayun]] and Kuanchun waited on him. Several of his works on scriptural commentary were also destroyed. [[Li Jishen]], who was Vice President of the PRC at the time, informed and sought help from the then Premier of the PRC, [[Zhou Enlai]], who put an end to the monks' detention after three months. This incident later became known as the "Yunmen Incident."<ref>Xu Yun (Author); Luk, Charles (Translator); Hunn, Richard (Revised & edited): "Empty Cloud: The Autobiography of the Chinese Zen Master Xu Yun", pages 138-140.  Element Books, 1988, {{ISBN|1-85230-031-0}}</ref><ref>Venerable Master Hsuan Hua (Composed by); Buddhist Text Translation Society/Dharma Realm Buddhist University (Translator): "A Pictorial Biography of the Venerable Master Hsu Yun, Vol. 1", pages 433-435. Dharma Realm Buddhist University, 1983, {{ISBN|0-88139-008-9}}</ref>

In 1953, with Dharma Master Yuan Ying and others, Xuyun formed the Chinese Buddhist Association at [[Guangji Temple (Beijing)|Guangji]] (Extensive Aid) Monastery where he was Honorary President. The following resolutions were proposed to the government:
# In all places, further destruction of monasteries and temples, the desecration of images, and the burning of sutras shall immediately cease; 
# Forcing [[Bhikkhu|bhikshus]] and [[Bhikkhunī|bhikshunis]] to leave their monastic orders will not be tolerated; and
# All monastery property shall be returned forthwith, and enough arable acreage should be returned to the [[Sangha]] so as to make the monasteries self-supporting.

The petition was approved. Xuyun then represented the Association in receiving three gifts from a Buddhist delegation from [[Sri Lanka]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.drbachinese.org/online_reading/sf_others/VM_HsuYun_Bio_02/page199.htm |title=虛雲老和尚畫傳 上宣下化老和尚著述 A Pictorial Biography of the Venerable Master Hsu Yun composed by the Venerable Master Hsuan Hua |publisher=Drbachinese.org |access-date=2012-02-27}}</ref> He also responded to the invitation of Dharma Master Nan Tong to head another Dharma assembly at Lang Shan Monastery, where several thousand people from all over [[Refuge in Buddhism|took refuge in Triple Gems]]. He returned to [[Shanghai]] in the third lunar month, and the next month received a telegram from [[Beijing]] requesting his presence in the capital. After arriving, he stayed at Guangji Monastery. Representatives of various Buddhist groups also were present, and the [[Chinese Buddhist Association]] was officially inaugurated. After a plenary meeting in which important policies were decided, some monks suggested to him some changes to precepts and rules. Xuyun then scolded them and wrote an essay about the manifestation of the [[Three Ages of Buddhism|Dharma Ending Age]].<ref>{{Cite web | title=虛雲和尚年譜 | url=http://www.bfnn.org/book/books2/1184.htm#a21 | language=zh | trans-title=Chronology of Monk Xuyun}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Ch'en |first=Kenneth |title=Buddhism in China : A Historical Survey |year=1964 |place=Princeton |publisher=Princeton University Press |isbn=0691000158 |pages=463–4}}</ref>