- A Horse Is Necessary for Success
- 1 When Ho-yun began her time of intensive meditation, Sahng-jeh-nim gave her a notebook which He had made by binding together sheets of white paper twice as wide as His hand. On each sheet of paper, He had her draw a chicken, a horse, or something that resembled a snake, and put a dot on it.
- 2 Doing as she was told, she would make ink from an ink stick and draw the pictures, day and night. Sahng-jeh-nim would collect and burn them. She drew horses more often than any other animal.
- 3 One day, when Ho-yun became bored and tired, she complained, “I don’t want to do this anymore.”
- 4 Sahng-jeh-nim soothed her. “The day gets bright only after the rooster crows. When the hen cries, she is about to die; but when the rooster crows, the day gets bright.”
- 5 “Why did I draw horses?” Ho-yun asked.
“Whether there is a crisis or not, a horse is necessary for success. Winning or losing depends on the horse.”
- 6 She then asked, “What is a snake for?”
“What you drew is not a snake. It is a dragon-horse. Later, it will become a great person.”
- (JSD Dojeon 5,271)
