- Combining Sternness with Gentleness
- 1 One day, Gim Gwahng-chahn got into a fight with a Christian and would not stop even when someone tried calling him back. Sahng-jeh-nim Himself came, picked Gim Gwahng-chahn up by the scruff of the neck, and carried him away.
- 2 Then, Sahng-jeh-nim said to him, “Get a pair of scissors and cut My hair.”
- 3 No matter how hard he tried, Gwahng-chahn could not cut Sahng-jeh-nim’s hair. Sahng-jeh-nim said, “You cannot even cut My hair, can you?” Then, He cut off a lock Himself.
- 4 Sahng-jeh-nim always combined sternness with gentleness.
- 5 When people acted unjustly or unreasonably, He would reprimand them as sternly as autumn frost or soothe them gently. Sometimes, He would punish them severely or cause thunder to roar.
- 6 After harshly castigating a disciple who had done wrong,
- 7 Sahng-jeh-nim would console him in a voice like a warm spring breeze, saying, “Never do it again, all right?”
- (JSD Dojeon 3,113)