- Forty-Nine Tae-geuk Symbols
- 1 One day, lying down facing south, Sahng-jeh-nim said to Duk-gyum, “Do not let any flies land on Me.” He then fell asleep.
- 2 Half an hour later, Duk-chahn called out to Duk-gyum, “It’s time for lunch.” Duk-gyum explained that he was carrying out an order for Sahng-jeh-nim and could not go.
- 3 Duk-chahn said, “He is asleep. There is no problem.” When Duk-gyum chased away all the flies and started to walk away, Sahng-jeh-nim awoke and sat up.
- 4 Sahng-jeh-nim said, “Did you come here to beg for food? You cannot behave this way in the middle of a work of renewal. Eat in turns.”
- 5 Later, Sahng-jeh-nim and Duk-gyum ate together. After the meal, Sahng-jeh-nim drew many Tae-geuk symbols on a sheet of paper.
- 6 At the four corners, Sahng-jeh-nim wrote different words. He then said to Duk-chahn, “Go and get Me a peach branch that grows toward the east.”
- 7 He told Duk-gyum, “Count the number of Tae-geuk symbols. When you get to ten, hold the branch in your mouth while you count the rest.” The total number was forty-nine.
- 8 When Duk-gyum reported the number, Sahng-jeh-nim said, “That is correct. If you had counted wrongly, there would have been big trouble in the future.”
- 9 Holding the branch in His hand, Sahng-jeh-nim yelled loudly. He then took the paper to the medicine room, where He burned it.
- 10 After that, Sahng-jeh-nim wrote the character dragon (龍) on another sheet of paper and told someone to throw it into the well by the medicine room. The paper sank under the water.
- (JSD Dojeon 5,245)
