- 1 After hearing the earnest pleas and prayers of the spirits of sages, buddhas, and bodhisattvas in heaven,
- 2 Sahng-jeh-nim came down to the world in order to open a new universe and save humans and spirits from misery. He incarnated in an Eastern land where the dawning sun of a new future was to rise.
- Family Lineage
- 3 The surname of Sahng-jeh-nim was Gahng of the Jin-ju lineage, and His birth into the Gahng family implied the profound meaning of saving humanity.
- 4 Gahng is the oldest surname in history. The first to have this name was Shin-nohng of the ancient Bae-dahl dynasty.
- 5 So-jun, the father of Shin-nohng, once commanded the military base in Gahng-su. Because Shin-nohng was born and grew up in Gahng-su, he used Gahng as a family name.
- 6 A descendant of Shin-nohng, Tae-gohng, brought Spirit Teaching to the Chinese.
- 15 Sahng-jeh-nim’s grandfather, Gahng Hahn-joong, who was a very learned and virtuous man, worked as a farmer in Go-bu County.
- 16 Ghee-joong, a close relative of Sahng-jeh-nim’s grandfather, gave rice to other families when he saw there was no smoke coming from their chimneys. He was an expert at acupuncture and cured the sick. Also, he established a school for children and taught reading and writing throughout his life.
- 17 The Gahng family was known for showing great devotion to their ancestors. Before ancestral memorial rites, they stopped smoking and drinking for seven days and purified themselves through bathing.
- 18 Sahng-jeh-nim’s father was the chosen heir of the eldest uncle, Gahng Du-joong, which made Sahng-jeh-nim the head descendant of the Gahng family, thirteenth in the line of Gahng Bu, a prominent ancestor who was a high-ranking government official.
- (JSD Dojeon 1,11)
