In the grand story of human spirituality, there are moments when ancient traditions, long thought to be fading, suddenly burst back to life, touched by a divine spark. These moments often signal profound changes on the horizon. Dojeon Chapter 1, Section 8, a sacred text of Jeung San Do, brings one such extraordinary moment to life for us. It’s the story of Choe Su-un, the founder of Donghak (Eastern Learning), and his pivotal encounter with the Supreme God, Sangjenim. This meeting set him on a path to become a messenger for a new cosmic age. This account is more than just a historical record; it’s a vivid illustration of how the enduring spirit of Shin-gyo (Spirit Teaching) played a crucial role in preparing the world for the Later Heaven Gaebyeok, a great cosmic renewal.
A Fading Light and a Seeker's Earnest Call
Shin-gyo, as the Dojeon explains, was the original spiritual wellspring of the Korean people, and indeed, a source for many faiths around the world. The famous Silla scholar Choe Chi-won even praised its deep wisdom as the "Mysterious and Profound Dao called Pungnyu," a teaching that could enlighten all life. But by the mid-19th century, as the Joseon dynasty struggled with internal problems and the increasing pressure from Western powers, this unique spiritual heritage began to lose its shine and influence. Its once-bright flame was dimming.
It was during this challenging time that Heaven sought a voice. Choe Su-un, born as an illegitimate son into a declining noble family, was a soul who had been earnestly searching for the Way (Dao) from a young age. His varied life experiences and unwavering dedication to meditation showed his deep desire to understand Heaven's Will. This spiritual quest led him to make a profound vow at Yongdamjeong Pavilion: "I will not step out into the world again until I have met the Lord of Heaven."
The Divine Encounter: A Heavenly Mission
Su-un's sincere prayers and unwavering heart reached the heavens. In the spring of 1860, when he was thirty-seven, the Holy Spirit of Sangjenim, the Lord of Heaven, appeared to him. The divine message was clear and direct: "Do not fear, and do not be alarmed. People call me Sangje—why do you not know Sangje?" (Dojeon 1:8:9). With these words, Sangjenim gave Su-un a Heavenly Mandate (Cheonmyeong) and the "eternal and boundless dao," giving him the mission to "cultivate and strengthen yourself through meditation, write teachings for people, and establish my truth correctly to spread it across the world" (Dojeon 1:8:10).
This direct communion, often called the "Dialogues with the Lord of Heaven," was a moment of great awakening for Su-un and signaled the dawn of a new cosmic era. He received sacred mantras from Sangjenim—the thirteen-character Sicheonjuju (Serving the Lord of Heaven) and an eight-character mantra to receive the light of Sangjenim's Holy Spirit—powerful tools to help humanity connect with the divine.
Announcing a New Age: Donghak and the Gaebyeok Story
Filled with this divine purpose, Su-un founded Donghak. His mission, however, was much larger than just starting a new religious movement. He was tasked with preparing the Eastern land for the future arrival of Sangjenim in human form and announcing the coming of the Later Heaven Gaebyeok—a great shift, like the cosmos moving from a long summer into a new autumn, a time of immense renewal and transformation.
Su-un tirelessly proclaimed that the "Supreme Dao of Mugeuk (Infinite Ultimate)," the Dao of the Father who would bring forth the world of the Later Heaven, would appear in Joseon. He warned that strange illnesses would accompany this cosmic change, urging people to purify themselves with this Supreme Dao. Despite facing harsh persecution from the alarmed Joseon court, which labeled Donghak as dangerous, and his eventual martyrdom in 1864 (where, even in his final moments, he offered a bowl of fresh water and prayed to Sangjenim), Su-un's five years of work planted crucial seeds for the future.
The Unfolding Prophecy: Su-un's Lasting Importance
Choe Su-un's life and teachings, as beautifully told in (Dojeon 1:8), represent the first vital spark in the unfolding story of the Later Heaven Gaebyeok. He himself did not see the full completion of the Heavenly Mandate, as that ultimate fulfillment was meant for Sangjenim's own arrival as a human. Instead, Su-un's sacred role was like that of a messenger, a figure preparing the way, announcing the imminent coming of the Lord of Heaven and the dawn of a new world of life.
His powerful declarations—"How could you possibly know Sangjenim of Heaven’s Golden Palace?" (Dojeon 1:8:21) and "The unprecedented Supreme Dao of Mugeuk will emerge in this world" (Dojeon 1:8:22)—were not just words, but prophecies echoing the divine will. They signaled the reawakening of Shin-gyo's ancient truth, now filled with Sangjenim's direct command, ready to guide humanity through the great changes to come.
As we read the events detailed in (Dojeon 1:8), we see more than just one man's spiritual journey. We witness an amazing divine plan where Choe Su-un stands as a key figure, connecting the fading light of an old era with the brilliant dawn of Sangjenim's new cosmic age. His legacy is a powerful reminder of the deep spiritual destiny of the Eastern land and a call for all of us to embrace the path to the Later Heaven.
Sacred Venerable Choe Su-un Receives a Heavenly Mandate from Sangjenim
1Spirit Teaching was the original root of numerous religions, and its dao lineage has endured unbroken throughout the long history of the Korean people of the East. 2Choe Chi-won once said, “Within our country resides a mysterious and profound dao called Pungnyu.... Indeed, this dao, encompassing the Three Teachings, reaches out to all life to enlighten it.”
3However, during the period when Joseon and other Eastern countries were in danger of sinking under the oppression of Western imperial powers, Spirit Teaching also lost its luster and authority, and its lineage waned. 4It was during this period that heaven called upon an unknown seeker of dao in this Eastern land to perpetuate the dao lineage of Spirit Teaching and proclaim the dawning of a new world that would unfold through the Later Heaven Gaebyeok. 5This seeker was Sacred Venerable Choe Su-un, the founder and head of Eastern Learning.
6Su-un was an illegitimate son of a noble family in decline. Aspiring to seek dao from youth, he experienced the world in a wide variety of ways and completely devoted himself to meditation so that he might understand the will of God. 7During this time, Neo-Confucian scholar Yi Un-gyu said to Su-un, “You are the one who will perpetuate the dao of Immortalism.”
8In October 1859 (BDG 12), Su-un strengthened his convictions and entered Yongdamjeong Pavilion, where he vowed to himself, “I will not again go forth into the world until I have beheld the Lord of Heaven.” Su-un then ardently devoted himself to prayer.
Beholding Sangjenim’s Holy Spirit, and Su-un’s Enlightenment
9The following year, 1860 (BDG 11), when Su-un was thirty-seven years of age, the Holy Spirit of the Lord of Heaven came to him on April 5 and declared, “Do not fear, and do not be alarmed. I am the one whom people call Sangje—why do you not know Sangje?” 10He then proclaimed: I grant you the eternal and boundless dao, with which you must cultivate and steel yourself through meditation, compose writings and teach people, and rightly raise my truth and proclaim it across the world. If you do so, I will bestow upon you everlasting life and exaltation by all the world.
11Through this proclamation, Su-un received from Sangjenim a heavenly mandate and spirit teaching to herald the coming new world and attained enlightenment. This event marked the beginning of the “Dialogues with the Lord of Heaven,” which ushered in a new cosmic era.
12Sangjenim during this period commanded of Su-un, “Receive this mantra,” and Su-un eventually composed the thirteen words of the main mantra and the eight words of a second mantra for receiving the light of Sangjenim’s Holy Spirit:
13侍天主造化定 永世不忘萬事知
시천주조화정 영세불망만사지
Si-cheon-ju Jo-hwa-jeong Yeong-se-bul-mang-man-sa-ji
至氣今至願爲大降
지기금지원위대강
Ji-gi-geum-ji-won-wi-dae-gang
14In upholding his heavenly mandate and spirit teaching, Su-un founded and proclaimed Eastern Learning; within a short time, it spread across all of Gyeongsang-do Province. 15Alarmed by its rapid propagation, the Joseon royal court decreed Eastern Learning to be a subversive cult and arrested Su-un. 16In February 1864 (BDG 7), Su-un was brought to the Daegu Military Grounds for execution. He offered a bowl of fresh water and prayed to Sangjenim, then was beheaded. Su-un was forty-one years of age.
Proclaiming the Incarnation of the Lord of Heaven into the Eastern Land
17Su-un prepared in the Eastern land the path of life that leads to the Father, the Lord of Heaven, and declared that the era of serving the Lord of Heaven, who would incarnate as a human, would soon dawn. 18He proclaimed to all of humanity that the Supreme Dao of Mugeuk, the dao of the Father who would bring forth the world of the Later Heaven, would emerge in the land of Joseon.
19Though he was unable to completely fulfill the heavenly mandate bestowed upon him by Sangjenim, Su-un for five years proclaimed to the world that the Lord of Heaven would incarnate in Joseon and that a world of new life would come to pass through the Later Heaven Gaebyeok. The following were Su-un’s solemn proclamations concerning the salvation of humanity:
20The Lord of Heaven sent me to preserve the destiny of this country.
21How could you possibly know Sangjenim of Heaven’s Golden Palace?
22The unprecedented Supreme Dao of Mugeuk will emerge in this world. Youth, before long, you will hear countless people sing a jubilant song of peace and prosperity. Will this world not be of the Supreme Dao of Mugeuk that will flourish throughout the ages?
23People of the world, how could you possibly know that the Destiny of Mugeuk is upon us?
24If you chant the thirteen words with utmost devotion, what need will you have of ten thousand scriptures?
25Cultivate and purify yourself with the Supreme Dao of Mugeuk and the destiny of the next fifty thousand years will be yours.
26The fate of the mysterious disease spreading across the entire world—is this not once again gaebyeok?
