- Preparing for Ho-yun’s Meditation
- 1 Sahng-jeh-nim created a tent for Ho-yun in Heuk-suk Valley, using two rolls of stiff cotton. On the ninth day of the ninth month of 1905, Sahng-jeh-nim announced to her, “You will be secluded.”
- 2 Thinking the word secluded might mean to be put into a fire, Ho-yun asked, “What does ‘secluded’ mean? What should I do if it gets too hot?”
- 3 “It’s all right. It won’t get hot, but you cannot come out.”
- 4 “How can I live if I don’t come out?”
“You can still live.”
- 5 Sahng-jeh-nim then ordered someone to dig a round well inside the tent at its east side, saying, “If you dig it improperly, a person will die.”
- 6 After the well was dug, Sahng-jeh-nim said, “Measure its depth.” Someone cut down a bulrush and measured the depth. It was a little less than four ja. The bulrush’s flower was level with the top of the hole.
- Fresh Water Brings the Qi of Heaven and Earth
- 7 Sahng-jeh-nim had stones stacked around the well and a cover made. He then floated a bowl on the water and told Ho-yun to look inside the well.
- 8 With a stick, Sahng-jeh-nim stirred the water east, west, north, and south. Then, He scooped up water with the bowl and laid sticks in the shape of a cross over the top of it, dividing the bowl into four sections.
- 9 He said, “This bowl of fresh water brings the qi of heaven and earth. Drink it. You must drink first, and then I will drink.”
- 10 Holding the bowl to Ho-yun’s mouth, He said, “This is yours. Drink.” Ho-yun held the ends of the sticks and drank three sips from one section of the bowl. Sahng-jeh-nim then offered another section to Hyung-yul, who also held the ends of the sticks and took three sips.
- 11 Sahng-jeh-nim Himself then drank the rest of the water.
- 12 He said to Ho-yun, “From tonight, you will sleep here.”
“I’m afraid,” said Ho-yun. “I can’t sleep here all alone.”
- 13 “This well will hold and comfort you, so be calm and stay here.” He took some hay and laid it in a circle in the tent.
- Ho-yun’s Spiritual Eye Opens
- 14 As Ho-yun meditated in the tent, she eventually opened her spiritual eye. She found that, even from within the tent, she could see the visitors who came to Sahng-jeh-nim, could see who they were, and could even see how much money they had in their pockets and whether they were reluctant to offer it.
- 15 A magpie would come and tell her who was coming that day and the next, and she could understand everything the bird said to her.
- 16 Once, Sahng-jeh-nim asked, “What did you do last night?”
- 17 “Last night, a magpie came and told me who was coming, from where he was coming, and how much money he had. The man was thinking about how much money he needed for traveling and whether he would offer some to You. Tomorrow, a bundle of seaweed will arrive.
- 18 Also, if a certain man catches a bird, its mother will worry, so don’t let him keep the bird.”
- 19 “Let us see if you are correct,” Sahng-jeh-nim said, patted her on the bottom, and left the tent.
- 20 Indeed, the next day someone brought some money. Someone else arrived carrying a baby bird in his pocket, while the bird’s mother cried outside. Sahng-jeh-nim had him release the little bird.
- 21 On another occasion, after Sahng-jeh-nim had had a drink, He came and asked, “Do I smell like alcohol?”
“I can hardly smell it,” Ho-yun replied, “because it was brewed with malt bought in Wae-mahk-shil Village.”
- 22 Slapping His knee, Sahng-jeh-nim exclaimed, “Take down the tent!” He said to Ho-yun, “From now on, I should call you teacher.”
- 23 Ho-yun had entered the tent on the ninth day of the ninth month and completed her study 125 days later on the first full moon of the following year, 1906, the Year of the Horse.
- (JSD Dojeon 4,45)
