As Prophet - Chapter 211



Only Noblemtl

Episode 211. The duty of a Taoist

As the starlight began to fade, Dalcheon stretched out his body and Byeolje approached him and bowed deeply.

“The Master has come. I heard that he has been pacifying the souls of the dead all night.”

Dalcheon smiled bitterly.

“You must have had a hard time.”

“I was helping out at Heunginjimun and then went to Bukhansanseong Fortress.”

Dalcheon nodded silently.

“I came down after learning that the enemy had retreated. The army arrived first, and I was told by the officials to immediately take up their positions. I contacted Namhansanseong Fortress and Ganghwa Island, and they mobilized a group of cavalry to chase the enemy.”

“Thank you for your effort.”

“It wasn’t us who did it. We’re just relaying the news.”

“Please let them know that I am here, clean up the surroundings, and then offer a formal offering.”

“All right.”

Byeolje ordered the young leader to lead Dalcheon to the room and had two Taoist monks attend to him. When Dalcheon entered the room and took off his blood-stained clothes, he was covered in black scabs and blood clots. He knew why he needed two attendants. The blood-stained clothes seemed to weigh twice as much as they should have.

“Eek.”

The young thief was terrified.

“Why, is this your first time seeing blood? It’s exactly the same as what’s inside your body.”

“Isn’t that the difference between what’s inside and what’s outside?”

There is a firmness in the words that are cut off evenly. Even for the same object, it is human nature to be different depending on the location. The standard for distinguishing between good and bad, clean and dirty, etc., changes not so much by the properties of the object itself as by the location where it is placed. We clearly distinguish between rice in a bowl, rice that has fallen on the table, and rice that has fallen on the floor as unclean.

“That makes sense.”

“Where did you get this… … . Are you hurt somewhere?”

“I don’t know if it’s fortunate or not, but it’s all other people’s blood.”

“I heard that you have been active in many places. You are the pride of our Doryu.”

Dalcheon snickered. The two people were holding onto the armor they were wearing inside and struggling. They didn’t know how to put it on or take it off, so they tried to do it by force.

“I will do it.”

Dalcheon himself untied the ends of his armor and shook his shoulders. He took off his armor and the thin armor he was wearing underneath, revealing shabby clothes that he couldn’t tell if they were martial arts uniforms or uniforms. Since they weren’t completely waterproof, blood was thickly soaked inside the martial arts uniform.

“This won’t work either.”

Dalcheon took that off too, and grabbed it. The two were surprised to see Dalcheon’s slender body inside the armor. It seemed like they thought a monster of a colossus would come out. Doryu even made him take off the clothes he was wearing inside.

“I don’t think it will work even if I suck it.”

“There aren’t many. Just rinse them roughly in cold water.”

“Okay, I understand. That won’t work either. I’ll go get you some clothes to wear.”

“It’s okay. Clean and dirty are just what my mind points out, so what does that really mean?”

Doryu turned his head as he left the room.

“If you don’t have any clothes, I’ll bring my own.”

While the two people were packing up the things Dalcheon had taken off, Dalcheon threw a cushion into the room and sat cross-legged on it. Although he said that life is study, it is definitely different from doing it formally. No, it is big. Whenever he is alone, he starts his time with meditation.

Not long after, the manufacturer came in. He knocked on the door and muttered something softly inside.

“Jin-in, this is Je-jo. I will go in.”

There was no answer, but since he had just entered Hanyang, he was anxious. When he opened the door and went in, the sight he saw was a young boy covered in light. His naked upper body seemed to glow with gold. Jejo stood there with his mouth wide open, then knelt down without realizing it.

‘This person is a heavenly being.’

After a while the brilliance faded.

“Are you here?”

“Yes. I went to the army as Jin-in intended. I went to Namhansanseong and heard that the fortress had been rebuilt, so I quickly came running. But the heavens were truly kind. The small book is intact. It is not damaged at all.”

Dalcheon smiled bitterly.

“Do you like it that much?”

“Yes. I was worried that they would destroy everything without even knowing what they were doing, since they were ignorant thugs. With support gradually being cut off, it is now difficult to even maintain the small gate, and if they destroy it, it will be really difficult to rebuild it. There are people who are saying that it is a good idea to destroy it now.”

“So, do your best!”

“What did we do wrong? The problem is this culture where Confucian scholars make fun of Taoism.”

The moment we call a problem cultural, the path to its solution becomes distant. This is because it is a custom of the people and a certain naturalness is historically and socially acknowledged.

“And yet, do you know that the nobles recite the Okchugyeong? Even though they say that Neo-Confucianism is the most correct way?”

“Yes, I seek blessings. I especially desire free blessings.”

“Study.”

“Studying?”

Telling someone who reads and studies the sutras every day to study has a slightly different meaning. Je-jae took a deep breath. If it were someone else, he would have pretended to listen and said he understood it roughly, or he would have grown rebellious, thinking to himself, “Why are you talking about studying?”

However, the manufacture was aware of its own shortcomings. It was a lonely stray ship in a sea of ​​many Confucian scholars, and it was thought that it could be swept away by the waves they raised at any time. It even had a gloomy outlook that the stray ship would not last long in Joseon.

“I will listen.”

“What good is reading sutras to a cow’s ear? It’s not that it doesn’t have any effect, but the foundation of Taoism is study.”

“Studying? What do you mean…?”

“Uhwadengseon! In Buddhism, it is Jeonggak (正覺)! You must achieve enlightenment on this earth. If I do not achieve it myself and just say, ‘This is what they say, read this, this is good, do a ritual,’ there is a limit to it.”

Manufacturing bowed its head.

“It is very difficult. The tradition has been lost and there are no teachers. Isn’t it a study that cannot be learned by anyone, and that can only be learned by someone who has a connection?”

* Inhumanity: If it is not human, it cannot be conveyed, should not be conveyed, and will not be conveyed.

Dalcheon smiled softly.

“I am stopping by Sogyeokso to rest. Isn’t this relationship a relationship? And above all, the war is over. The mountain people who came down from Taebaek contributed greatly to the new king’s enthronement, defeated the rebels, and made a great contribution to ending the war. Isn’t this an opportunity?”

The forehead of the man made gradually lowered until it finally touched the floor.

“Teach us, we foolish ones.”

“I don’t have much time. I hate things that are bothersome. I hate things that are noisy.”

“I’ll look for a quiet place.”

“I want to make this place a place for studying in a short period of time.”

“I dare not ask for your unconditional wish.”

Dalcheon uncrossed his legs. Every time his body moved, the smell of old blood vibrated.

“Please tell all contacts to come to the front hall. I will not work outside. Please create a reception room and separate the inside and outside.”

“That will be the case.”

“I study twelve o’clock every day.”

“Huh?”

“You can’t fall asleep if you want to watch the mother coming in. You don’t have to work hard to show off your efforts.”

“Oh, yes.”

“I will see that studying becomes a daily routine and I will see how many people progress.”

“Thank you. The kindness of the Heavenly King has been bestowed upon Sogyeokse.”

“I don’t want to hear that the Sogyeokseo is gone before the next generation passes away.”

“I’m embarrassed.”

“Please go out and organize the students and clean up the lecture hall where we will be studying.”

“They haven’t all come back yet.”

“Studying is not waiting for the right time. It is studying that must be done now!”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Make a schedule. We will focus on these three things: meditation, chanting, and martial arts. Gather the scriptures in numerical order, find a quiet place to study meditation, and clear out any open space in the yard. Don’t decorate with clutter. There should be an emptiness.”

“I will do as you say.”

“I’ll give you half an hour. I’ll contact the palace, the military, and the government, and even make this place a place of study.”

“Okay. Oh! I have something to tell you… … .”

“what.”

“The concubines who went to Namhansanseong wanted to pray for the protection of their country.”

He pointed to the pavilion at the end of Dalcheon.

“Tell them to do it at the end.”

“We must hold a ceremony. Three days and three nights… … .”

Dalcheon shook his head.

“Either you guard one person or you take turns.”

“We have to do it because we need a lot of donations. The finances of Sogyeokso are not that great.”

Dalcheon frowned. Maybe it’s because he’s still young, but his expression speaks for itself.

“Oh, don’t expect me to come in. Just go somewhere and work in a field. If you don’t become independent, you’ll never be able to study.”

“I will keep that in mind.”

“The war is over. Don’t get caught up in the atmosphere and act like fools. Return to your true nature as a Taoist.”

“All right.”

The manufacturing bowed deeply and stepped back. The manufacturing jumped down from the pedestal of the dormitory and ran with a loud noise, calling everyone. Then, they divided up the work that Dalcheon had ordered them to do.

“You collect the books! They are scattered all over the place, so gather them in the lecture hall so we can look at them together in order of number.”

“Where is our auditorium?”

The manufacturer pointed to the building in front of him. He even built an auditorium that didn’t exist.

“That’s the auditorium for the time being, no, from now on.”

“All right.”

He grabbed another person’s shoulder.

“You make a meeting room closest to the south entrance. Put up a wall to prevent people from coming inside the palace, and divide the inside of the palace into two so that the meetings are held at a distance apart. Bring in a few chairs and put them up. In case high-ranking officials come rushing in, put up a rope. If possible, make it bright red. And write ‘Reception Hall’ on it.”

He gave him two more.

“You are going to the palace, you are going to the military, you are going to the government office. When you go, tell them that the interview with the true person is being held in the southern pavilion of Sogyeokso, and that they told you to come and see the matter in person if necessary. Tell them gently that they plan to focus on their studies for the time being, so they would like you not to disturb their studies. In other words, they are telling them not to come.”

“Who in the palace do I report this to?”

“Isn’t it me? The Royal Secretariat? The Eunuch? Tell me everything.”

“What about the military?”

“The commander-in-chief of the three military departments would be good. Then, convey the message to the Royal Guard, Gyeonggi Provincial Office, and Hanseongbu.”

Since one of them didn’t answer, the manufacturer asked.

“What are you going to do with the coffin?”

“I don’t know either. I’ll stop by the main gate of each government office and tell them what the true man means.”

“Kill, kill, kill.”

Even if I think about it, there is no answer. They will not even be happy to go back and forth in Sogyeok-seo. They are hypocritical people who believe that Neo-Confucianism is the best when it comes to rational rationality while seeking blessings. They will not come to Sogyeok-seo. They may read 『Okchu-gyeong』 secretly in the back corner of the house, but they cannot come in front of people and ask for this or that.

“You three clean the yard. In military terms, it’s like a training ground. There shouldn’t be a single thing cluttered.”

“In the past, they used to say that if you make something colorful and different from everyday life, you can capture people’s hearts.”

The face of manufacturing was reddened. There is such a history. I thought that was the only way to appease those who gave. It had to have a different atmosphere from everyday life.

“My thinking has changed. It has to be empty, emptiness, and silence.”

“It’s difficult.”

“Emptying is the essence of study.”

“You always told me to bring anything.”

“I said I changed my mind.”

He gave various orders and divided up the work. The thieves ran out in all directions. The thieves went around and nagged at him like a savage.

The change began with the small book. I wrote down my schedule on a large piece of paper and posted it in the auditorium. I took out the sundial that I hadn’t seen all year and hung a bell next to it. I swept the yard clean, raised the sunken areas, cut the high areas, and stepped on them hundreds of times. I stacked the books of the sutras by type and shook them clean.