- Demons Try to Interrupt
Ahn Nae-sung’s Three-Year Meditation
- 1 For three years, Nae-sung meditated with the Tae-eul Mantra in Su-tohng-mohk Village, in an unheated room. Having nothing else to sit on, he covered the floor with straw.
- 2 One day, although three years had not yet passed, some spirits, which appeared as resplendent male and female immortals, came to him and said, “Your study is now complete. Why do you not get up? Should you not go out into the world for the sake of your own success?
- 3 We will escort and serve you. Please go out into the world.” Such spirits, possessing the appearance of resplendent male or female immortals, came in groups to utter similar temptations again and again.
- 4 Without saying a single word to them, Nae-sung kept meditating with the Tae-eul Mantra. Eventually, all of the spirits vanished.
Attacked by Bedbugs, Fleas, and Lice
- 5 Some time later, countless bedbugs suddenly appeared in his room. They crawled over him, covering his body and making it look black.
- 6 Paying no mind to this, Nae-sung continued with his meditation, and eventually the bedbugs disappeared.
- 7 Later, fleas bit Nae-sung’s whole body, as if trying to disturb his meditation.
- 8 Finally, lice thronged to his long, unkempt hair and beard. They crawled inside his clothes, biting him day and night.
- 9 His mother, unable to bear seeing him in this condition, combed the lice out of his hair and beard.
- 10 Nae-sung would not allow her to kill them, so she merely collected the lice and buried them in the ground.
- A Test from Sahng-jeh-nim
- 11 Following Sahng-jeh-nim’s command, Ahn Nae-sung completely devoted himself to chanting the Tae-eul Mantra. One evening, after he had been meditating with the mantra for about a year and six months, he had a vision in which Sahng-jeh-nim appeared and said, “Nae-sung, your study is over.”
- 12 Nae-sung doubted this and said to himself, “The Lord of Heaven would not mislead me.
- 13 A jesting spirit is playing a trick. This must be a test from my Teacher.”
- 14 Without wavering in the slightest, he concentrated on his practice. Seeing this, Sahng-jeh-nim slapped His knee, saying, “This is how it should be.”
- 15 Nae-sung devoted himself to meditating with the mantra for three full years.
- Hardships Befall Nae-sung
- 16 Some of the young men in the village disliked Nae-sung’s chanting day and night, and they mistreated him. Once, they even dug up the floor of his rented room.
- 17 Nae-sung paid no attention to any of this, never budging and always continuing to meditate.
- 18 The woman who was Nae-sung’s landlord tried to drive him away by spreading a rumor that Nae-sung’s mother had stolen from her house a gold ring and a silver hair clip. she made a great commotion as she pretended to look for them.
- 19 With his spiritual eye, Nae-sung saw that the ring and the hair clip were in the daughter-in-law’s clothing chest. He told the landlord to look there. The landlord became so afraid that her wickedness would be revealed by Nae-sung’s spiritual power that she dared say no more to evict him.
- Nae-sung’s Body Is Transformed
- 20 Nae-sung was so devoted to sitting in meditation that at times he would have open sores on his buttocks. Eventually, his clothes became so threadbare that only the seams remained intact.
- 21 On the last day of his meditation, when he finally rose to leave the room, Nae-sung’s mother noticed that his facial features had become larger. Also, he had grown breasts like a woman’s that even bore milk.
- With Sahng-jeh-nim’s Guidance, Nae-sung Marries
- 22 By chanting the Tae-eul Mantra with one mind, Nae-sung actualized the Yool-lyuh Program.
- 23 As he was about to leave the village, Sahng-jeh-nim’s spirit appeared to Nae-sung and said, “If you go to Soon-chun County, you will find the woman who is to be your wife waiting for you.”
- 24 Following Sahng-jeh-nim’s words, Nae-sung went to Soon-chun and there met Chey Mahl-soon, whom he later married.
- The Fox Should Be Stopped
- 25 One day, before His ascension, Sahng-jeh-nim gave a dried octopus to Nae-sung and said, “In the future, a thousand-year-old fox will come to you.
- 26 If the fox makes its appearance in the world, the world will fall into chaos. The fox should be stopped.”
- (JSD Dojeon 10,71)
