1.
The Founding Master said, ¡°When the world arrives at the degenerate age and faces troublesome times, a savior with a dharma that can preside over an epoch of the world will perforce appear, and, by redirecting the energy of heaven and earth, he will rectify the world and regulate people¡¯s minds.¡±
2.
After attaining great enlightenment, the Founding Master composed many songs and odes in literary Chinese, which he compiled together as the Collection of the Significance of the Dharma (Pŏbŭi taejŏn). Their meanings were extremely cryptic and they were incomprehensible to the average person, but their gist was that the true lineage of the Way and its power, which had been severed, would be restored, and that the broad trends in the world, after a period of irrationality, would return to rationality. He also referred to plans he had of establishing a religious order in the future. Subsequently, the Master burned the book himself to prevent it from being passed down to posterity. However, we have handed down orally the first stanza of the preface£¡°Generally, since the Grand Ultimate differentiated heaven from earth: The Original Heaven first descended into the earlier day till its energy was spent; now it descends into the mind that begins anew¡±£and the following eleven stanzas of Chinese poetry:
After roaming through myriad valleys and thousands of peaks,
I met a host who had neither worldliness nor traces.
Wild grasses slowly grow thanks to the grace of rain and dew,
The returning fortune of heaven and earth waits for a rectified mind.
An arrow is shot toward the sun¡¯s rays in the blue sky,
Five-colored clouds plummet from the puncture and envelop my body.
A sage riding a cloud searches out an enchanted land,
It is the best of all places where all things are in harmony.
A great river ten thousand leagues long encircles the sentiments of the world,
The mountains and rivers, the sources of the Way, harmonize yin and yang.
What kind of place can we call the Honam sky?
It is the best pavilion for all the rivers and mountains under heaven.
The dimensions of heaven and earth are measured with a ruler,
To make and pass down clothes that fit each human being.
All things in heaven and earth mature in one womb,
The sun and moon synchronize the day and the night.
With the wind released in the air, heaven and earth resound,
With the moon suspended in the east, the myriad nations are illuminated.
After wind and rain, frost and snow, have passed,
All at once flowers bloom in a spring lasting ten thousand years.
By training in the Way, the mind surpasses the moon above a thousand peaks,
By cultivating virtue, the body is as rich as a ship loaded with ten thousand rice bags.
3.
A disciple esteemed only knowledge of literary Chinese, so the Founding Master said, ¡°The Way and its power originally have nothing to do with letters, so let go of such thoughts. In the future, we will compile all our scriptures in simple language that the general public can readily understand; the day is not far away, either, when the peoples of the world will each translate and widely study these scriptures we have compiled in our own vernacular language. So do not revere only difficult literary Chinese.¡±
4.
When the Founding Master was first establishing the headquarters in Iksan, he asked the few disciples who had assembled in some small thatched houses, ¡°What might our order be compared to now?¡± Kwon Taeho said, ¡°It is like a seed-bed for rice farming.¡± The Master asked, ¡°Why so?¡± Taeho answered, ¡°Because, although only a few score of disciples in small houses like these currently revere and rejoice in the dharma of our order, this will serve as the foundation upon which this dharma will pervade the entire world in the future.¡± The Founding Master said, ¡°You¡¯re right. Just as farming those large fields begins with planting seeds in small seedbeds, so too will we today be recognized in the future as the ancestors of a great, worldwide order. Some people may smirk at these words, but after only the first thirty-six-year cycle, there will be increasing numbers of people who will yearn for and seek out this dharma. After a few decades, this dharma will be sought out throughout our country, and throughout the world after a few centuries. Once this happens, not only will there be numberless people who will regret not having met me, but you who are among the first one hundred disciples and who also are those who participated in this order during this first thirty-six-year cycle will be envied and revered to no end.¡±
5.
Upon returning from an excursion to the Diamond Mountains, the Founding Master composed a verse for the congregation: As the Diamond Mountains become known to the world, Korea will again become Korea.
Then, the Master said, ¡°The Diamond Mountains are mountains peerless under heaven, so in the near future, they will be designated as an international park and be tended resplendently by various nations. Subsequently, people in the world will vie with each other to find the host of this mountain. Thus, if the people who are to be its hosts have nothing prepared in advance, with what will they treat their guests?¡±
6.
On an anniversary of the order¡¯s foundation, the Founding Master addressed the congregation, ¡°We have a great treasure£the Diamond Mountains. This nation will certainly become known because of the Diamond Mountains and the Diamond Mountains will shine ever more brightly because of its hosts. With inseparable affinities connecting this nation, the Diamond Mountains, and its hosts, we will together be the light of the world. Thus, do not be pessimistic about our current situation, but accumulate merit so that when the world comes seeking the true hosts of the Diamond Mountains, you will have the right qualifications. The hosts of the Diamond Mountains must develop personalities that are equal to that of the Diamond Mountains. If you polish and brighten them, its luster will appear. If you intend to become like the Diamond Mountains, you must be pristine and guileless like the mountains so that you do not lose your own originally pure face. Being respectful like the Diamond Mountains, concentrate on your own fundamental duties; being firm like the Diamond Mountains, do not let your belief and dedication or your will waver. In that way, the mountain becomes the substance and the person becomes the function. The substance is stationary while the function is active. Thus the mountain stays still and becomes the substance; but the person must use it well if he is to become its function. You must continually study the unsurpassed, great path of the Buddha, and just as the Diamond Mountains stand out among all the other mountains in the world, so too will you then be warmly received by others, while making our order exemplary among all other orders. If so, our natural surroundings and our people will together shine with brilliant radiance.¡±
7.
When the Founding Master was visiting Chŏnju, Mun Chŏnggyu, Pak Hojang, and others came to pay their respects. The Founding Master said, ¡°On my way here, I witnessed many ludicrous things. When I was passing one place this morning, there were some people who were still sound asleep without realizing that daybreak had already come, even though it was noisy all around from the activities of myriad things. I saw some people sowing seeds amid the cold breeze and ice, and others still wearing their summer clothes and shivering in the cold.¡± Chŏnggyu understood his words and asked, ¡°How long will it take before people sleeping in the broad daylight wake up and come out into the world? How long will it take before those sowing seeds amid the ice and wearing summer clothes in winter understand the right time to do their work?¡± The Founding Master said, ¡°The person who is presently sound asleep without realizing the day has already broken will definitely awaken from his sleep when the sound of the myriad things moving outside continues for a long time. When he wakes up and opens his door, he will know right away that the day is already bright and, realizing this, he will get up and do his work. Those who are sowing seeds amid the ice or wearing summer clothes in winter do not understand the right time to do their work, and so they will definitely fail. After failing at their work and experiencing much suffering and many obstacles, they will awaken in their own minds by observing people who understand the right season; thus, they will gradually become those who understand the right season.¡±
8.
Kim Kich¡¯ŏn asked, ¡°These days many people establish their own sects and insist that they are right, everywhere designating themselves masters. However, when I examine their qualifications, I see nothing that makes them worthy of being called masters. Can we call them true masters?¡± The Founding Master said, ¡°Yes, they are true masters.¡± Kich¡¯ŏn asked, ¡°Why do you say so?¡± The Founding Master said, ¡°Since you say you have learned about someone¡¯s pretenses and truth through them, wouldn¡¯t that be enough for them to be called true masters?¡± Kich¡¯ŏn asked again, ¡°Maybe so, but when would they qualify on their own as true masters?¡± The Founding Master said, ¡°When pretenses are exhausted, substance returns; when one awakens to falsity, truth appears. By examining over and over again both pretenses and substance, truth and falsity, phony masters can thereby naturally transform themselves into authentic masters.¡±
9.
The Founding Master said, ¡°When you observe people¡¯s sentiments today, the world is full of people who fantasize about having penetration of the Way without ever practicing, wish to attain success without making any effort, await the time without preparing, abuse the great Way with perverted arts, or slander righteousness with tricky plots. They each go around making a great fuss as if they had some sort of great ability. These are what you might call ¡®daytime goblins.¡¯ However, as our era becomes brighter, these groups will have nowhere to stand. Only the vital dharma of the human Way and justice will remain standing in this world. Such a world is what we call the ¡®heaven and earth of great radiance.¡¯¡±
10.
When the Founding Master was visiting Seoul, he was strolling one day through Namsan Park. Several youths, recognizing the extraordinary dignity of the Founding Master, came over, greeted him, and handed him their name cards, so the Founding Master also gave them his card. Quoting a recent newspaper article that criticized a new religious order that had caused a great scandal in society at the time, the youths said, ¡°This religious order has committed many misdeeds, so our youth association is planning to go down to the spot and eradicate them.¡± The Founding Master said, ¡°What are their misdeeds?¡± One young man replied, ¡°They cheat poor farmers out of their property by deceiving them through superstitious words. If we leave them alone for long, they will exert much evil influence in the world. Therefore, we are going to eradicate them.¡± The Founding Master said, ¡°I see what you mean. Yet, in any matter, when a person is willing to die in pursuit of his goals, others will not be able to stop him however hard they try. So, how would you manage to dissuade them?¡± The youths asked, ¡°Do you mean, then, that that order will continue forever without ever being eradicated?¡± The Founding Master said, ¡°I only meant that one cannot forcibly stop someone who is determined to do something; I wasn¡¯t saying whether that order would continue, or not. All people like what is advantageous and hate what is disadvantageous; hence, if a relationship is advantageous there will be long-lasting intimacy; but if disadvantages ensue, that intimacy will not last long. What we call the right path may appear at first to be disadvantageous, but eventually becomes advantageous. A perverted path may appear at first to be advantageous but ultimately proves harmful. If that order is a right path, then no matter how hard you try to eradicate it, you will not succeed; if it is a perverted path, then even if you do not eradicate it, it naturally will be unable to endure.¡±
11.
The youths asked again, ¡°What, then, do you, oh teacher, think is the best way to edify the world forever?¡± The Founding Master said, ¡°There is no specific method, but let me give you an analogy. Suppose, a person farming a large field knows the proper methods of farming well and also diligently works so that his harvest is far superior to that of others; then, all other farmers working in the fields will watch him and follow his example. However, if one has poor harvests but only tells others what to do, then obviously others will not follow him. Therefore, I always say that practicing first oneself is the means of edifying others.¡± The youths said, ¡°You, oh teacher, edify the world with your consummate dharma, but that other religious order brings misery to our citizens with its bad conduct. So shouldn¡¯t it be snuffed out?¡± The Founding Master said, ¡°That order is engaged in work on behalf of the world, just as you are.¡± The youths asked again, ¡°Why do you say that that order is engaged in such work?¡± The Founding Master said, ¡°That order is like a hunting retriever: without the retrievers retrieving, how can the hunters find what they are hunting? Now is a time when we should construct a new world out of the old. The people of this world do not realize this situation and are still in deep slumber without any aspirations. Different varieties of religions like that order have arisen in all the four directions, waking people from their slumber and inspiring their minds; and only thus will all kinds of talented people appear in this world and experience things both true and false. Both victimizing, and being victimized by, others, they come to understand the truth and falsity, right and wrong of all things in the world. Finally, coming across the right religion and right people, they will accomplish right work. This is the merit that derives from different varieties of religions serving as retrievers. How can we say that they are not working on behalf of the world?¡± The youths asked again, ¡°We understand, but then why do you say that we also are engaged in worldly work?¡± The Founding Master said, ¡°You scrutinize the conduct of the various religions, and when you see their good deeds you reveal them to the world; and when you see their bad deeds, you advocate censuring them. Anybody will be vexed when criticized; and when one is vexed, one will buck up one¡¯s spirits and work hard to avoid criticism. You are all entrepreneurs who give strength to and demand self-reflection from the religions that are the entrepreneurs of the world. If you were not around, these religions would not gain the power to progress. Thus, I say that your merit is also great.¡± Deeply impressed, the youths bowed and said, ¡°Your teaching is indeed well rounded, without a single obstruction anywhere.¡±
12.
A person asked, ¡°I believe that your teachings are not only appropriate for our times but are also the right dharma. However, since your order was founded only a short time ago, its roots are shallow. I wonder what will become of it in later generations?¡± The Founding Master said, ¡°Since you say you already recognize this dharma to be the right dharma, you need not worry about whether it will expand in successive generations. Look! In this world, the act of stealing is considered an evil dharma, so countries try to eliminate it and societies reject it. However, its seed never disappears, but remains and keeps pestering us, because there are some groups who feel the need for even such a bad dharma. How much more would this be the case, then, for the right dharma of the human Way and justice that all people need? To give you one more example, when the people of this world manage their lives by making use of various goods and technologies, they are not using them for the sake of the inventors but in consideration of their own convenience. Hence, as long as something is convenient to someone, then no matter how much you tell him not to use it, he will naturally end up using it. In the same way, if any dharma brings benefit to the many people trusting in, and practicing it, then no matter how much you tell them not to believe in it, inevitably they will. And when there are many believers, wouldn¡¯t this dharma also expand widely?¡±
13.
A person asked, ¡°In both East and West there are quite a few established religions that have been quarreling with each other for thousands of years. Meanwhile, there also have been various new religions in recent years that have arisen in all the four directions, each advocating its own beliefs while denying others¡¯, thus creating still more disputes. What does the future hold in the religious realm?¡± The Founding Master said, ¡°Suppose a man, after living in Seoul with his family and children, were to go on an excursion to various countries in the world. While staying for several years in each of the several countries he visited, he lived with women from those countries and had children by them before returning home to Seoul. Subsequently, each of his children grew up in their respective countries, but one day, they all sought out their father and gathered in one place. How can those offspring, with different faces, languages, customs, and behaviors, become close and friendly with each other right away? After spending several years together, however, they would gradually mature and gain understanding, so that each others¡¯ languages and customs would become familiar to one another and they would learn the background of their kinship. Then, they would definitely realize that they are of one flesh and blood and would come to live in harmony. The background to the different developments of all the religions, and the reason why they are originally one, are just like this. Therefore, when people¡¯s intelligence has advanced further and the radiance of the Way and its power shines everywhere, all the religions will form a single household, interfused and harmonizing with one another.¡±
14.
When Cho Songgwang first came to visit, the Founding Master said, ¡°You seem to have qualities different than ordinary people. What is your faith?¡± Songgwang replied, ¡°I am an elder at a Protestant church and have been worshiping God for several decades.¡± The Founding Master said, ¡°You say that you have worshiped God for several decades; so can you tell me where God is?¡± Songgwang said, ¡°It is said that God is omniscient, omnipotent, and omnipresent, so there is nowhere He does not exist.¡± The Founding Master said, ¡°Then, have you routinely seen Him, listened to His words, and received His teachings?¡± Songgwang replied, ¡°So far, I have not seen or talked to Him.¡± The Founding Master said, ¡°If so, then you haven¡¯t yet become a disciple who has truly known Jesus, have you?¡± Songgwang said, ¡°What shall I do to enable me to meet God and receive His teachings?¡± The Founding Master said, ¡°You may accomplish that by practicing well and becoming a disciple who truly knows Jesus.¡± Songgwang asked again, ¡°In the Bible, it is said that Jesus will return during the degenerate age but will come like a thief, and many signs of his return will appear at that time. Will there really be a day when He returns?¡± The Founding Master said, ¡°Sages are not deceitful. If you practice well and your spiritual mind opens, then you will also understand Jesus¡¯ coming and going.¡± Songgwang said, ¡°I have been waiting for a long time for a great teacher who would give me personal guidance. Meeting you today, my mind is satisfied, and I would like to become your disciple right away. But at the same time I have qualms of conscience because it seems like apostasy.¡± The Founding Master said, ¡°If a Christian becomes a disciple who truly knows Jesus, he will come also to understand what I am doing; and, if one becomes a disciple who truly understands me, he will come to understand what Jesus accomplished. Therefore, ignorant people maintain gaps between this and that religion and so think themselves to be apostate, thereby becoming hostile to other religions. However, those with real understanding know that these religions have different names merely according to the time and place, and come to view them all as belonging to a single household. Thus, you should use your own discretion whether you stay or go.¡± Songgwang rose to his feet, bowed, and vowed anew to become his disciple. The Founding Master assented and said, ¡°Even after you have become my disciple, you will be a true disciple of mine only when your reverence for God grows stronger.¡±
15.
The Founding Master said, ¡°One day I was reading a Buddhist sūtra and saw the following story. A disciple asked the Buddha, ¡®When we have an audience with you, oh Buddha, and listen to your dharma talk, we are filled with limitless reverence and joy. But there are some people who instead slander and criticize you, even interfering with people coming to you. You, oh Buddha, always teach us out of your loving-kindness and compassion. I would like to know the reason why those sentient beings behave that way.¡¯ The Buddha answered, ¡®When the sun rises in the east, it first shines on the highest point of the tallest mountain, Mount Sumeru, then on the high plateaus, then finally on all the flatlands of this great earth. It is not because the sun has a sense of discrimination that it shines on the tallest mountain first and the flatlands later. The sun merely shines with no-mind but, depending on whether land is high or low, such discriminations as first and last occur. The dharma teachings of the Tathāgata are also like this: the radiance of infinite wisdom shines without discrimination, but according to each person¡¯s spiritual ability, some understand this dharma first and others last. Even if you all listen to the same dharma teaching at one place, the bodhisattvas will understand it first, then the pratyekabuddhas (solitary buddhas), śrāvakas (disciples), and those with kuśalamūla (determinate wholesome faculties); and only at the end will those sentient beings who have no affinities gradually receive the light of his wisdom. And benighted sentient beings defame the buddhadharma even while their lives are being sustained by the Buddha¡¯s gracious light, just like a blind man who, because he cannot see the sun, says it offers no benefits, even while his life is being sustained by the sun. Hence, you had better mind your own business, never hating those foolish sentient beings, nor feeling discouraged or dejected. How, after all, would there not be differences in people¡¯s understanding?¡¯ Don¡¯t listen casually to these words, but continue your practice by taking them as a precious mirror for your own futures. Never be too mindful of others¡¯ faults or of their indifference toward you. The vicissitudes of this world are no different than the changes of day and night. When light comes to this age of darkness, all sentient beings everywhere will realize the Buddha¡¯s grace and work hard together to repay his grace.¡±
16.
Ch¡¯oe Tohwa asked, ¡°In this world there are many people who yearn for the advent of Maitreya Buddha and the establishment of his order of the Dragon-Flower. What kind of Buddha is Maitreya, and what kind of order is the Dragon-Flower Order?¡± The Founding Master said, ¡°¡®Maitreya Buddha¡¯ refers to the wide manifestation of the truth of the Dharmakāya Buddha. The Dragon-Flower Order means that this world becomes greatly radiant. That is, the gist of ¡®Everywhere a buddha image, every act a buddha offering¡¯ will be widely practiced.¡± Chang Chŏkcho asked, ¡°When will such a world come about?¡± The Founding Master said, ¡°It is gradually developing even now.¡± Chŏng Sewol asked, ¡°But even so, wouldn¡¯t there be a first master?¡± The Founding Master said, ¡°Whoever awakens to the truth bit by bit will become one of the masters.¡±
17.
Pak Sasihwa asked, ¡°Some sects these days are advocating that Maitreya Buddha has already appeared and established his Dragon-Flower Order. So which of these sects is the true Dragon-Flower Order?¡± The Founding Master said, ¡°An order does not become the true Dragon- Flower Order simply by saying it is. Even if an order does not make such a claim, if it first awakens to the true meaning of Maitreya Buddha and then carries out his works, then it will naturally become the Dragon-Flower Order and you will be able to see Maitreya Buddha in person.¡±
18.
Sŏ Taewon asked, ¡°What will the world be like when the era of Maitreya Buddha has fully arrived and the Dragon-Flower Order has been for the most part established?¡± The Founding Master said, ¡°During that era, people¡¯s intelligence will become much more advanced, so that there will be no mutual harm between things. By distinguishing pretense and substance, truth and falsity, the practice of praying before buddha images for longevity and blessings will gradually disappear, but will be extended to include heaven and earth, the myriad things in heaven and earth, and the dharma realm of empty space. We will sow our merits according to situations and circumstances over the whole range of the myriad things in heaven and earth and the dharma realm of empty space, whether praying for wealth, honor, or longevity. Each and every person will become a living buddha and deliver one another; each and every person will realize that he or she possesses the authority of a buddha; and every household will have buddhas living among them. There will be no need to designate a specific place as the site of the order, for one will come to the Dragon-Flower Order wherever one goes. How can such grandeur be fully described with words and letters? In a world where this order has been established, the buddhadharma will pervade everywhere under heaven, the differentiation between monk and layperson will vanish, secular laws and the Way and its power will not be mutually obstructive, spiritual practice and mundane life will not be mutually obstructive, and the myriad living things will all be edified through its virtue.¡±
19.
The Founding Master said, ¡°These days some people say that this world has entered the degenerate age, where there is no other path but complete destruction. However, I say this is not the case. The traces of the sages have vanished for a long time and righteousness and morality have become opaque, so it is true that this is a degenerate age. But this world will not be destroyed for that reason. The new world that is coming will truly be a world of great civilization and morality. Therefore, now is the end of an old era, but is also the beginning of a new one, so that it is extremely difficult to guess the road ahead. But how can a person who anticipates the civilization of this coming era not be confident and happy?¡±
20.
The Founding Master continued, ¡°The sentiments of all people in this coming era will be as follows. Nowadays, for the most part, we are all too eager to take over another¡¯s possessions, prevail over others, or deliver misfortunes to others. In the coming era, however, we will be all too eager to provide for others, to have others prevail over us, and to offer charity to others. In this era, for the most part, we are all too eager to promote our own benefit, and worry about not attaining a position of unusual power or achieving eminence. In the coming era, however, we will be all too eager to perform public service, and will worry that we may not have time for spiritual cultivation if an opportunity for achieving eminence or powerful position comes our way. In this era, for the most part, people are inclined to commit transgressions, so there are jails for punishing those transgressions, while individuals, families, societies, and nations, place boundaries around each group, put up fences and walls and all focus on their own defense. In the coming era, however, we will despise committing transgressions, and individuals, families, societies, and nations will open their boundaries and mutually accommodate one other. In this era, material civilization controls the world. In the coming era, however, the unsurpassed Way and its power will become greatly developed and will enlighten the spirits of the human race while controlling material civilization, which will aid moral culture, so that soon enough we will witness a truly civilized world, in which there will be no thieves in the hills and no one who will pick up items lost on the road.¡±
21.
The Founding Master continued, ¡°The stage the world has reached today is that moment when the dark night has passed and the bright sun is about to rise in the east. The fact that modern civilization first flourished in the West is like the sun that rises in the east illuminating first the sky in the west; but when the sun reaches the zenith, its radiance will shine equally throughout the worlds of the ten directions. That era will certainly be a great world of the Way and its power and a world of true civilization.¡±
22.
The Founding Master said, ¡°Since the past world was immature and dark, powerful and knowledgeable people sustained their lives by unjustly exploiting the weak and ignorant. However, the coming world will be full of wisdom and light, so that even if a person holds a high position, he will not be able to confiscate other¡¯s property arbitrarily, without abiding by the proper law. Therefore, the lives of the bad and false will gradually become poor, while the lives of the upright and truthful will naturally become prosperous.¡±
23.
The Founding Master said, ¡°Since Korea began to modernize, there has been much improvement in people¡¯s ways of living, their obdurate views have softened a lot, and, in areas where we are still deficient, we will see further progress in the future. From a spiritual perspective, our nation will become the leader of the many nations of this world. Nowadays our nation is gradually going through the process of ¡®a fish turning into a dragon.¡¯¡±
24.
The Founding Master continued, ¡°The people in the coming era will create wonderful parks by planting various trees and plants on the pleasant summits of tall mountains, creating ponds for fish farming, and nicely arranging exotic rocks and old trees around them. They will build houses by digging into the ground, which will take in sunlight in the daytime and use electric lights at night. Apart from this, those people will go on living splendid lives, lacking nothing. When they step out of their houses and look around, they will see forests full of trees. When they climb above the forests, they will have views of various kinds of birds and insects singing and dancing amid flourishing blooms of beautiful flowers and plants. In this country, too, in such famous mountains as the Diamond Mountains and Chiri Mountain, as well as in places like Kusu Mountain, only people with great power will be able to build homes and live. Otherwise, people will create man-made mountains where they can build their homes. In construction, they will use natural stone when building their homes, unlike people nowadays who prefer synthetic materials. In this and other ways, people generally will love natural beauty and seek it out.¡±
25.
The Founding Master continued, ¡°Religious orders with sufficient funds will build airports and parks at the tops of tall mountains. They will build elaborate and magnificent shrine halls to enshrine the portraits and chronicles of the public-spirited, so that many spectators from all directions will come to visit, and even the highest dignitaries will have to pay homage and gaze at them. Renowned dharma masters will pursue their cultivation in scenic retreat centers in the respective areas. On occasion, they will go down to temples in the secular world to deliver their dharma talks, and the assembly¡¯s shouts of welcome will shake the mountains. All the laity will escort the dharma masters and their entourages into the temple and, after offering a meal, they will politely request a dharma talk. The dharma masters will then expound on the essential dharma regarding the Way of humanity necessary for leading secular lives, on the dharma regarding the retribution and response of cause and effect, or on esoteric principles of the nature. When their dharma teachings are finished, the congregation will offer large sums as honoraria, which the dharma masters will donate back to those temples. They will receive the same kind of treatment when they go to other temples.¡±
26.
The Founding Master continued, ¡°There will not only be educational institutions in every district and county, but in every town there will also be erected religious centers and public halls where people will attend regular services. People will all gather there conveniently to carry out such ceremonies as coming of age, marriage, funeral and ancestral worship, special dharma meetings by dharma masters, or to hold any other meetings. Because all religious groups today are unable adequately to train their adherents, one does not for the most part enjoy special confidence for being a religious person; but, in the coming age, the edification work of all religious groups will have been sufficiently developed, so that members of every religious group will each receive substantial spiritual training, thereby naturally possessing an integrity lacking in ordinary people without training. Therefore, in selecting people for government, public office, or public-sector positions, people will definitely seek out the adherents of various religions.¡±
27.
The Founding Master continued, ¡°Even now, there are employment agencies in big cities, but in the coming era a great many more will open up everywhere, providing greater convenience to those seeking jobs. What is more, there will be matchmaking services, and those who wish to marry will seek out those agencies. Daycare centers will appear everywhere, so that mothers can go to their jobs without worrying about their children. Senior citizens who have no one to rely on will be taken care of in old-age homes built by governments, public organizations, or philanthropists, so that they can live the remainder of their lives peacefully, without any real worries. It is inconvenient now to try to live in the remote countryside, but in the future there will be all kinds of facilities providing unlimited conveniences even in the remotest countryside. There will also be cheap restaurants; hence, people will be able to enjoy convenient meals that suit their living standards without having to cook every meal at home. Many clothing stores and laundries will open, so those who are busy will not have problems finding clothes or having them laundered.¡±
28.
The Founding Master said, ¡°In the past, people thought it customary to bestow their property, whether large or small, only to their own children. If one did not have children of one¡¯s own, then one would adopt so that an individual would definitely receive that inheritance. Thus, descendents definitely expected to claim their parents¡¯ inheritance. In the coming era, however, people will provide their children with proper education and some basic wherewithal for a self-supporting life, but use the remainder of their assets for the spiritual edification, education, charity, and other enterprises for society as a whole. People today generally gain benefits for themselves by exploiting others, but people in the coming era will gain benefits for themselves by benefiting others. This is because, as people¡¯s intelligence advances, they come to experience for themselves the principle that one is harmed as much as one harms others and one is benefited as much as one benefits others.¡±
29.
When the Founding Master gave a dharma talk, he conveyed the impression that his awesome virtue was vanquishing the trichiliocosm while everything in the six destinies and the four types of birth was rejoicing together in one place. At moments like this, such disciples as Pak Sasihwa, Mun Chŏnggyu, and Kim Namch¡¯ŏn danced with their gray hair flying in the air, while Chŏn Samsam, Ch¡¯oe Tohwa, No Tŏksongok, and others rose to their feet and prostrated repeatedly, uplifting the air inside the hall and promoting the supreme joy in the dharma. It seemed as if the worlds in the ten directions were elated. With a smile on his sage¡¯s countenance, the Founding Master said, ¡°For a great order to be established, it is customary for the buddhas and bodhisattvas to hold an advance meeting in the Hidden Realm to decide on their responsibilities when they appear in this world. Thus, aren¡¯t they bodhisattvas who came to this world with the responsibility to dance and prostrate? Nowadays, only a few of us are rejoicing like this, but in the future, the triple world in the ten directions, the six destinies, and the four types of birth will rejoice together equally.¡±
30.
A disciple asked, ¡°I can surmise that our order has been established during a cycle of great fortune. However, I would like to know for how many thousands of years will our order¡¯s cycle of fortune last?¡± The Founding Master said, ¡°This order is different than those of the past, for it is not an order that frequently comes into being, but appears in concert with a new cycle of the great chiliocosm. So its good fortune is unlimited.¡±
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