- As a Young Man
- 1 After returning home, Sa-ohk went up Shee-ru Mountain and meditated, chanting the True Dharma Mantra. Many cranes flocked among the tall pines on the mountain.
- 2 Over the years, He often hiked up Shee-ru Mountain in the day or at night. As He left His village and passed through the valley and the pasture on the way to the mountain,
- 3 He would let out an earth-trembling roar that could be heard for ten lee. The villagers, men and women, young and old, were afraid to leave their houses at night.
- 4 While walking on the path through the pasture, He often chanted, “Gu-chun-ha-gahm-jee-wee,” and yelled, “Enlightenment comes forth! Enlightenment comes forth!”
- 9 Sa-ohk once went drinking with Gahng Yun-hwey. When Yun-hwey tried to pour some rice wine into a cup for Him, Sa-ohk said, “I don’t need a cup.” Then, He picked up the large pot of wine and drank every last drop. Yun-hwey watched Him in astonishment.
- 10 One day, on Chung-doh Hill, Sa-ohk told people their fortunes. Everyone was amazed by His insights.
- 13 Being a strong and vigorous young man, He enjoyed contests of strength. He often competed with His uncle, Gahng Ghee-hwey, a strong man of large stature.
- 14 Sa-ohk could lift a millstone with His teeth, kick the eaves of the house, or one-handedly throw a bundle of thatching up on the roof.
- 15 Once, He bent backward with only one hand on the ground and did not budge as ten strong men pushed down hard on His waist.
- 16 In another test of strength, Gim Gwahng-moon saw Sa-ohk place a large stone mortar over His head and spin it.
- 17 As Sa-ohk matured, His face grew to resemble that of the Maitreya statue of Geum-sahn Temple. His eyes were as bright as the sun and moon, and His voice was like thunder. His conduct was respectful and proper, He was generous and broad-minded, and He always carried Himself well. He spoke vibrantly and eloquently and showed divine insight into the nature of people. His qi was magnificent.
- Sa-ohk Adopts the Name Jeung-san
- 18 In early January of Sa-ohk’s twenty-second year, His father’s friend, Yu Suh-gu, visited unexpectedly.
- 19 Sa-ohk brought in a table of food and wine and said to His brother, Yung-hahk, “Go to the next room and get the paper attached to the wall.” On the paper was written:
- 人日人來寅艮方 逢場必是柳瑞九
- On the Day of the Human, a person will come from the northeast. Upon meeting, you will surely see that this person is Yu Suh-gu.
- After reading this, Suh-gu was astonished.
- 20 Around this time, yu Suh-gu assisted in moving the grave of Sa-ohk’s grandmother to the top of Shee-ru Mountain.
- 21 One day, after Sa-ohk moved back to Gaeng-mahng Village, He chanted the True Dharma Mantra on Shee-ru Mountain and, summoning the commander spirits of the five directions and the spirits of the Twenty-Eight Generals, planned the future.
- 23 Later, while studying on Shee-ru Mountain, He adopted the name Jeung-san.
- Baek In-su, a Child Prodigy
- 24 Baek In-su was born in 1888. In his family, there had been few children for generations. Only one son had been born in each of the last three generations, the last of these being In-su.
- 25 In-su possessed profound spiritual awareness from birth. When he was eight months old, his spiritual eye began to open. By age three, he could clearly see inside all things and beings.
- 26 His qi awakened completely. From age three, as soon as he could walk alone, he left home and disappeared whenever he could.
- 27 Each time, his parents were terribly distressed by his disappearance. Whenever In-su was found and brought back home, he kept saying, “There is someone I must find.” Then, he would leave home again without notice.
- 28 He often wandered off for five days at a time and sometimes for as many as ten days.
- In-su Begins to Follow Jeung-san
- 29 Whenever In-su roamed around various places, he tried to relieve his hunger by picking some fruit or begging for food.
- 30 One day, brilliant spiritual energy descended from heaven and showed In-su the image of a person. An immortal voice said to In-su, “This person you see is your Father. Seek Him.”
- 31 In 1893, when In-su was six, the auspicious energy of heaven and earth guided him to Go-bu County.
- 32 There, he finally met Jeung-san. Suddenly, a brilliant light filled heaven and earth, making it difficult for In-su to look directly at Jeung-san.
- 33 Filled with joy, In-su was about to greet Jeung-san, but Jeung-san ignored him and walked away.
- 34 In-su scampered after Jeung-san, who kept scolding him loudly, “Go home, you rascal!”
- 35 Not discouraged, In-su kept following Jeung-san over the next two months. Finally, Jeung-san bestowed the name ‘Bohng-nahm’ upon In-su and allowed In-su to be His follower.
- A Right Mind and the Right Path
- 36 One day, Jeung-san told Bohng-nahm, “If you are going to die believing pathetically, do not believe at all.
- 37 If you have made a vow to heaven and earth, you must keep faith with a right mind and follow the right path. If you say you believe, but you are faithless and covetous, then you will be punished severely by heaven and earth.”
- 38 Jeung-san also said, “When people commit transgressions in this world, they may think that if it is done in secret, nothing may come of it. But when people who have committed transgressions go to the spirit world, all of their deeds are revealed.
- 39 They think there is comfort in death―‘If I die, I die’―but when they go to the spirit world, they will find only fear. Transgressions committed by those claiming belief cannot be forgiven.”
- (JSD Dojeon 1,19)
