Because the plot of land they owned was too small to provide ample means of living, he looked around for other jobs on the side.
[1] In 483, Sengyou was ordered to go to Wu and Baochang immediately left the family life to become his disciple.
After fleeing east from the chaos that accompanied the fall of the Southern Qi, he was summoned by Emperor Wu of the Liang to take up the position as abbot of the Xin'an (新安) monastery in 505 AD.
[3] In attempting to fulfill this vow he abandoned his duties as abbot and was banished to Guangzhou 廣州 for about four years, during which time he worked on his biographies.
In 515, Baochang was Commissioned by Emperor Wu to compile an official catalogue of Buddhist scriptures in the Liang Imperial library.