The Winds of Change
Yusoph D. Mama II
09 September 2013
It was an auspicious meeting in Manila, sometime in the early quarters of 2009, with other gentlemen and ladies representing other religious and spiritual backgrounds that started my engagement with Jeung San Do. I had been invited as one of the guests and resource person for an interfaith dialogue within an organization active in the cooperation-circles of the international United Religions Initiative (URI). It was during that same event of vibrant and constructive theological and philosophical exchange that an organizer and good friend back in my college university, named Sarah, formally introduced me to one of the guests named Mr. Sang Kyu Lee. He was there as a resource person and he talked about Jeung San Do (JSD). Although Mr. Lee discussed with brevity his spiritual background, as required by the time, his digested points into the topics concerning Eastern spirituality and Cosmology easily caught my attention.
The JSD teachings, to be sure, were somehow intriguingly new but eloquently spoke on major spiritual themes encompassing every other religious system, currently known, in such profound manner such as the importance of mutual-life giving, the modelling of the universe and the Cosmic cycle, the purpose of humankind, the need to honor ancestors, the existence of sempiternal realities, and even the development and place of Science-- it really seemed to unify a whole range of metaphysical and epistemological doctrines. And my impression at that time was that Jeung San Do differed entirely from more familiar Taoist doctrines that put more emphasis on Early Heaven (Yang energy) principles. It covered in its entirety both an understanding of Yin and Yang dynamics and even beyond.
I, therefore, intuited at the time that Jeung San Do is not your usual Daoist organization and I would not, in fact, be disappointed later on.
It will take another two years of casual meetings with Mr. Lee along with other friends to discuss in more depth the general topics taught by Jeung San Do. The first JSD material I read was the “Dance of the Dragon and Phoenix”. It was a wonderful read and I understood better the main precepts of Jeung San Do, the importance of meditation and the meditative life, the theme of mutual-life giving, and the logical program of its progenitor and spiritual founder, Jeung San Sangjeh-nim, for the human race. I also skimmed over the holy book Dojeon and, at first glance, it confronted me with very fundamental existential questions, including the unfolding of human history, that have long been a quandary to my person. This is understandable because my religious background and university training, offering liberal education, needed an immense complement to fully satisfy and encompass the exponential advances taking place in human civilization in the contemporary era. The pulse of the times begs the question where and with whom humanity can find that syncretic or unifying knowledge to properly explain the place and ultimate direction of our specie in relation to other beings within the fabric of the Universal Drama at this incoming period of Cosmic Autumn. Also, the abysmal gap between religion and science needs to be reconciled and properly resolved in a competent, meaningful context outside speculative thinking. I never expected my existential angst to be answered in so many ways, and it may be best addressed in the following words which explain the essence of the process of Gae-byuk and Jeung San Do:
“Through the process of Gae-byuk, through the process of change, through the process of opening new time in the future, which involves healing the past, engaging the present as well as opening up the future, we come together as one family. We open up the coming new time through the process of Gae-byuk. That is what Jeung San Do is.” - Ahn Gyung-juhn Jongdosa-nim (Dawning of the New Age of Cosmic Autumn, p.60)
In addition, it was my personal observation of the transformative power of the Mantrayoga practices that made me re-appraise the value of Jeung San Do teachings in whole. It is said that the Taeeulju Mantra with its twenty-three characters is the conclusion of all the teachings of Jeung San Do and even human understanding itself, being the Medicine of Life. This assertion must not be taken lightly considering the spiritual wisdom and mystical history behind it. The first time I joined my friends along with Lee Pojongnim and performed mantrayoga before the Shindan, a lot of noteworthy observations became apparent. It was indescribable within my level of reasoning and logic at that time period. How could a condensing of spiritual energy and a clearing of the mind, if not the salving of worldly problems, be possible in only thirty minutes of focused, sincere meditations and a succession of beautiful chanting through the Taeeulju mantra? I used to ask myself that question afterwards.
Looking back, all the narrations taught in the book “The Dao of Gaebyok” by Ahn Gyung-juhn Jongdosa-nim are all true and this demands humble acceptance and honest appraisal from researchers and seekers of spiritual truths. Moreover, only through the providence of Heaven can such things be accomplished no doubt.
Notwithstanding a young man’s predictable attraction to career ambition, it took two years before I would actually consider undergoing tutelage with Pojongnim Lee’s permission. Having digested the preliminary teachings of Jeung San Do earlier through its main book, the Dojeon or the Holy Book of Dao, I believed it was time to begin a more serious apprenticeship during the third quarter of the year 2012. My spiritual aspirations and karmic attraction to Jeung San Do could no longer be delayed. We conducted a twenty-one day intensive meditation at the Manila Dojang and immediately there were both physiological and virtue-developments already taking place. It was succeeded by a second cycle of twenty-one days and all of a sudden, some close friends and family members began to observe changes to my aura although they could not easily point what it is that has changed my persona. To my mind, however, I believe it was the transformative and healing power of meditation, especially through the Taeeulju Mantra, along with a continuous development of Il-Shim or “One-Mind” and the tremendous patience and kind guidance of Pojongnim Lee that has assisted me to fix my karma, heal my aura, and finally prepare me further to be an Il-ggon or “Worker” should I be deemed worthy.
Right now, I am tremendously inspired by the example and stories of Sangjeh-nim’s holy work and disciples, which includes their devotion and participation in the continuing unfolding of Sangjeh-nim’s Chun-Ji-Guhng-Sa or the divine “work of renewing heaven and earth”, and the humble contributions we can partake with in order to effect its realization. I also continue to study and reflect further on the Dojeon texts. I believe that under the pretext of a continually evolving and changing state of nature, either in the individual or in the cosmic strata, the doctrine of Gae-byuk emphasized in Jeung San Do will also definitely find its proper place and true relevance in the world at large. The teachings of Jeung San Do has surely changed me for the better and I plan to turn the JSD practices into a living component in my life, hopefully as a humble and worthy model for others who are seeking out Truth and God in their lives, in service to mankind.
The Dao of the Later Heaven, as revealed and taught by the Holy Father Jeung-sahn Sangjeh-nim, is geared towards the development of a culture of enlightenment and a culture of healing much needed at this point in time of human history. It answers the most important spiritual questions of the times and it is the winds of change that will renew the world in the best possible way.
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