As Prophet - Chapter 213



Only Noblemtl

Episode 213. Study, Teach, and Pray

However, he is a special rank of the 6th rank. When there is no military commander, he also acts as a commander. It would not be easy to convey a message to the commander of the army, so he asked Jin-in in advance and prepared. He even wrote down on a small piece of paper what to say in this situation and what to say in that situation. You can’t defeat someone who has prepared in advance.

“In any case, he said that we should respect the Taoist’s quiet place.”

“Respect? I told you not to interrupt.”

“It was a similar tone, but the expression was used very gently and politely.”

“Then what are you planning to do there?”

“You are a Taoist. What would a Taoist do? He would spend his limited time studying, teaching, and praying.”

“Huh! They say a Taoist is acting like a Taoist, so I can’t say no. Really.”

“If there is something important, you can send someone. He also said that he could not ask the Commander-in-Chief, who holds all military power in this country, to come and go. He said that he was remodeling the reception hall and that he would do his best to have an interview there.”

“His Majesty will be here soon.”

“I was told that I hoped the Commander-in-Chief would say the same thing.”

The commander’s eyes rolled back.

“No! I can’t do that! You’re telling me to put a bell around a cat’s neck! Why are you telling me to do that to the main office?”

“He said that if you don’t want to do it, you don’t have to do it.”

The commander-in-chief was dizzy at the immediate response from the special agent. He had prepared a lot to meet him. He had prepared model answers to several questions.

“And he conveyed the same message to the various officials in the army, asking them to respect the tranquility of the true man.”

“Ieeeek, I don’t know! I really don’t know!”

The commander-in-chief touched his forehead. The urgent issue at hand was whether or not to pursue them. If the fleeing ones turned their troops around, our troops would suffer, and we couldn’t just let them run away while plundering. We had to discuss this first… … . My old mind couldn’t fathom it. I felt it. I thought I knew how effectively Dalcheon had expressed his opinions and commanded the entire war. He accurately guided the important parts without stepping forward like an old man in the back room.

“Okay, I understand. I’ll come see you sometime today.”

“thank you.”

Byeolje then went into the palace to find Yu Seokdo. He had no official position, but he was acting as the chief of the royal guard. Jo Donggil had accompanied him to Ganghwado, but the king had not yet returned, and Jo Donggil was not around, so he asked Yu Seokdo.

“What did you say? You’re in the petition?”

“Yes.”

“I wonder if anyone would call me a Taoist. So, what I’m saying is, don’t touch me? In this mess.”

“Yes.”

Yoo Seok-do pouted.

“My teeth, right now.”

As Byeolje recalled the model answer that Dalcheon had mentioned, Yoo Seok-do was more calm than expected. Many thoughts came to his mind quickly. Then, an unexpected question came up. He sat Byeolje down, placed both hands on his knees, and asked like a debt collector.

“Now I wanted to ask, what should I do with my life?”

It’s not among the model answers prepared in advance. Byeolje responded.

“I think that kind of question is really appropriate for the Sogyeokso. I recommend that you stop by and meet the real person at the reception hall. You may be busy, but life’s problems are your main job, so you cannot ignore them.”

“Heh heh.”

Yoo Seok-do recalled the past filled with regret. He lived like a fool, but it was a truly beautiful time. He remembered the wild strawberries that were spread all over the mountains and fields, and the bright boy who threw the roots of the wild strawberries, saying that they were good, in the midst of that greenness.

“I hope I’m not bothering you, right?”

“thank you.”

Even though they barely spoke, Yuseokdo immediately understood and acknowledged Dalcheon’s actions. From the way he sent people to inform them, he realized what he wanted.

“Please tell him that I will not bother you at all, so revive the Taoist movement in this land.”

The star came out after giving a brief greeting. Suddenly, I felt that his soul was pure. Is that why people have to live in the mountains?

* * *

Meanwhile, the people who had fled to the two mountain fortresses began to return to Hanyang. The white procession continued. Their faces were clearly different from when they fled. They were relaxed and full of energy, and they were eager to go. The soldiers of the Gyeonggi provincial government guarded the procession tightly, and placed drinking water and snacks along the way to ensure that they would not get tired during the long journey.

In the past, the soldiers who would have just left the people alone, saying that they would come to them on their own, were clearly different from before. They were the first to evacuate them, and they had the mountain fortress take care of their daily lives, which was very effective. Many people truly felt that the reason we exist is because of the people.

The country was taking such good care of them, so we couldn’t just ignore them as if they were a nuisance. Even the king boarded a ship to Ganghwa Island after hearing the report that all the people of Hanyang had fled.

The Namhansanseong area was even more chaotic. You had to come to Songpa Ferry to catch a boat, but there weren’t enough boats because so many people were rushing in at once. The boats that had carried the people back and forth dozens of times that day were moving again. The smell of the oarsmen’s mouths was sweet. Still, everyone had smiles on their faces. They expected that peace would return because they heard that the enemy had fled and that the evil group had disappeared without a trace.

And from word of mouth, rumors about the war hero, the boy Jin-in, began to spread. Some people had seen his abilities firsthand. Word of mouth quickly spread about him flying through the sky, shining light from his sword, and shooting millions of arrows.

There were even rumors that the Sogyeokseo was teaching Taoism, and there were even people who wanted to go see it. It was obvious that the concubines who had fled to Namhansanseong had heard of it as well.

* * *

Baek Yi-jeong ran to Sogyeokso that afternoon. Was he late because he was helping the people who had fled return? As soon as he heard that he was staying at Sogyeokso, he ran to Sogyeokso without even stopping by his house.

Dalcheon gathered the followers of Sogyeokso and was reading the sutras. The sutras he read every day were probably different, but the direction was different. It was not about reading the supernatural sutras and performing rituals to seek fortune. It was about implementing the way of heaven and earth in the human world. It was about cultivating and studying the vision of the Mysterious Pass to achieve the Great Way.

The way of interpreting the Tao-gyeong was also very realistic. He accurately explained that the main gate was located about 7 degrees behind the navel in front of the kidneys and 3 degrees from the back [between the front and the back], within the white border, there is the source of wisdom and life, which is the Buddha’s Tathagata-garb and the Samadhi. While Buddhism emphasizes wisdom, Seondo emphasizes energy, and in the end, he taught that they are the same.

The first thing to do is to stop thinking. He taught that you should sit in silence and emptiness and become deeply immersed in meditation. It felt like teaching Buddhist meditation.

The secrets of Buddhism and Zen Buddhism were summarized as different explanations of the same thing, but they had the radicality of directly connecting them to my body and my practice. Starting from the fact that the valley god does not die in Laozi’s Tao Te Ching (谷神不死) is called Xuanbin, and the essence, energy, and spirit in Xuanbin are used to train essence and transform it into energy, and the spirit is trained and transformed into spirit, and then this is transformed and united with heaven, and this was explained by grafting it onto specific practice studies.

When I explained the scriptures, which were full of countless words that I did not know, by connecting them to my daily studies, every word I said went straight into the students’ ears. Everything was related. I explained things that were not the same but similar. At this time, the classics and terms of Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism from the faraway Central Plains came up frequently.

“Was that it?”

“Is that interpretation really correct?”

“Wasn’t it the seed of Tathagata that was in the head?”

The audience was surprised by the radical interpretation that directly corresponded the metaphysical explanation to the one-to-one correspondence, but that was only the beginning. When studying right away, there was not a single person who said no to the connection.

He studied a lot. He was originally a Confucian scholar, but he developed a supernatural ability while reading books related to the Way. I also did not know the reason, but when I realized that studying and that humans are a whole made up of spirit, energy, and body, I immediately knew that all those years of studying were in vain. The students asked what they should do, and Dalcheon firmly taught them to study and practice.

He said that a guest came while he was teaching diligently.

“Hey, don’t you know I’m studying?”

“I am a woman.”

The curiosity of the audience was piqued at the word “woman.” Isn’t it true that those who shout to study hard and avoid evil things are actually revealing the truth from ancient times? For a moment, I thought that this gentleman was the same person, but Dalcheon’s expression was not right. I let out a sigh.

“who?”

“I said that because she was the daughter of a wealthy family.”

“I owe a lot to that house.”

“I invited you to the meeting room.”

“all right.”

After studying the scriptures, I had them rest for a little less than half an hour and practice breathing.

“Just take a half-moon break. Otherwise, you’ll lose everything you’ve learned.”

“All right.”

As the craftsman sat down like a student and bowed politely, Doryu bowed in return and expressed his gratitude.

“Exhaling once and inhaling once is called breathing. Not exhaling or inhaling is called another breath. Do you know what I mean?”

It’s a situation where you have to pretend to know even if you don’t.

“When breathing, the mind [心] and the breath [息] should depend on each other. I talked about it at length earlier. In Buddhism, they talk about the mind, and in Zen, they talk about breathing, but they are not two. There is no such thing as non-duality. This is what I said: you should follow the path of true consciousness.”

“yes.”

It seemed like he was going to make me study, but he’s asking me again.

“What is the path of truth?”

The audience answered like young students.

“It’s the Im-maek and the Dok-maek.”

“That’s right. I’ll try it and see what happens.”

Dalcheon pointed to the place where he had decided to sit down with his fingertips. Jejo deeply bowed and carefully turned his body to the sitting place. Since Jejo was doing it, the other Doryu had no choice but to follow suit. No matter how good the study was, it had to be done with breaks, but he didn’t give them time to rest. Instead, he alternated between reading the sutra, sitting meditation, and martial arts in short intervals so that they wouldn’t get bored. Since he had read the sutra, he could start practicing breathing right away.

When he saw Dalcheon crossing the yard, Jejo stopped and encouraged the students.

“This kind of time is a lesson that is hard to obtain again in one’s life. I couldn’t do it because I didn’t have the affinity, I couldn’t do it because I didn’t have the foundation, but I met a teacher who teaches me so easily. I have to do it now.”

“Yes, manufacturing adult.”

“Let’s go.”

The beginning of my position as a fellow student was when I heard a few words from Dalcheon teaching the scriptures and immediately sat down in the back row because I had a realization. Anyone can say that you have to study. It is because it is not something I do, but something I have to do for others. Naturally, I was in a position to approve of teaching the Taoist way, but after hearing a few words from the lecture, something touched my heart. Jejo himself participated more actively.

I have read many books over the years, but they were superficial. What good is a book that you don’t understand and can’t grasp? In contrast, Dalcheon shows the entire method in a very schematic structure.

Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism were all mixed together. Sometimes, Buddhist scriptures were mentioned, and sometimes the names of the sages of the Central Plains, such as Gu Cheo-gi, Jang Sam-bong, and Yu Ok-o, were mentioned. What they said was meant to mean this, but for those who did not know what they were saying, it was like a world-changing explanation.