Reordering Works 1
1. There is an unrelated colloquialism ´gaebok-jang´, but ´Gaebyeok-jang, Lord of the Great Opening,´ in this context is one who presides with great power over the Three Realms of Heaven, Earth, and Humanity and saves divine beings and human beings during a calamity caused by an obstruction between Heaven and Earth. After finishing a Holy Work at Great Court Temple (Daewon-sa) in the winter of the Shinchuk Year (1901), Sangje did not re-paper any screens to patch holes and did not make any fires in the heating furnace. He changed into clean clothes and, abstaining from all food, He started the Reordering Work of Heaven and Earth for a period of nine days. In the meantime, no birds flew over the yard on which rice was being dried, and people were reluctant to pass in front of Sangje´s house.
2. In the fourth month of the following year, Sangje conducted a Reordering Work to greatly open the Three Realms of the World at Kim Hyeong-Ryeol´s house. At that time, Sangje said to him, “We should not follow what others have done but start anew. Figuratively speaking, you have to gauge your parents´ mood whenever asking about their wealth even if the wealth is entirely the family´s. If you decided to keep living in an old house, you would live in fear that the house could fall down. Therefore, we should perform a Great Opening. My Reordering Works were unprecedented in the past and still are in the present, they were neither inherited from others nor do they belong to destiny, they are works that I make on My own. Presiding over the Three Realms with great power, I will recalibrate the Degree Number of the Former World and open the destined pathway to limitless divine immortality in the Later World to establish a paradise.” Sangje added, “You should trust Me and work diligently towards this goal.”
3. Sangje said to Kim Hyeong-Ryeol, “In the Former World, as all creations were ruled by the principle of mutual contention (sanggeuk 相克), grievances and grudges have been accumulating, condensing, and filling up the Three Realms. Heaven and Earth, losing the constant Dao, are overwhelmed with all kinds of disasters and calamities, and the world has fallen into wretchedness. To save all the people in the world, I will resolve the grievances and grudges accumulated from time immemorial by recalibrating the Degree Number of Heaven and Earth, harmonizing divine beings, and establishing the Later World´s paradisiacal land of immortals which will be based on the principle of mutual beneficence (sangsaeng 相生). The grievances must be resolved by the Dao of gods in every small and large matter. If first I solidify and harmonize Degree Numbers, then human affairs shall naturally unfold in accordance with that action. This is indeed the Reordering Works of the Three Realms.” Then Sangje undertook part of the Reordering Works of Myeongbu (the spirit world).
4. Sangje wielded great authority over the Three Realms and could act upon this power at any time. In order to stop a heavy rainfall, He ordered His disciples to spin a fireball or to turn a glass of wine over a furnace or He used His own words. In this manner, He practiced great authority over Heaven via wind, rain, frost, snow, thunder, and lightning. For other authoritative acts, there likewise was not necessarily a fixed methodology.
5. Sangje said, “Due to the disturbance caused by misjudgment in Myeongbu (the spirit world), the whole world has been cast into turmoil. When the Reordering Works of Myeongbu are completed, all the affairs in the world shall be resolved.” After giving those words, each day Sangje wrote something on paper and burned it.
6. Some wine, meat, and sweet rice drink were sometimes used in the Reordering Works, and Sangje ate them with His disciples.
7. Sangje conducted the Reordering Works of Myeongbu (the spirit world) at Kim Hyeong-Ryeol´s house, having Kim Hyeong-Ryeol attend to Him. Sangje said to Hyeong-Ryeol, “I will make Jeon Myeong-Suk (Jeon Bong-Jun) head of the Myeongbu for Joseon (Korea), Kim Il-Bu head of the Myeongbu for Qing (China), and Choi Suwun (Choe Je-u) head of the Myeongbu for Japan.” He added, “The major flow of the world shall be realigned overnight.” Then Sangje wrote something on paper and burned it.
8. On a day in the autumn of the Imihn Year (1902), Sangje said to Kim Hyeong-Ryeol, “Pile up some grass on one spot, bring a cow´s tail from Dragon Rock (Yongam) Village of Golden Ditch (Geumgu) County, and get some rice wine. Then set a fire on the piled grass and whirl the tail over the fire a couple of times.” After doing so, He said to Hyeong-Ryeol, “Look up at the sun.” Hyeong-Ryeol told Him that a ring had appeared around the sun. Hearing him, Sangje said, “As the present circumstances of the world are like a boil on the body, I lanced it,” and He drank with Hyeong-Ryeol.
9. One day Sangje said to His disciples, “I did not intend to take responsibility for the Reordering Works. The divine beings in Heaven and Earth gathered and petitioned Me stating that Heaven and Earth could not be rectified if not for Me. Thus, I had no choice but to undertake the work even though it distresses Me greatly.”
10. In the first month of the Gyemyo Year (1903), Sangje wrote or drew talismans on two or three pieces of paper every day. Then He wet His hand or a radish with ink and stamped it on the paper and burned it. When His disciples asked Him about the meaning, He said, “It is a sign for calling out divine beings to the Reordering Works of Heaven and Earth.”
11. One day, Sangje said to His disciples gathered around Him, “The Works of old heaven have only resulted in killing people. From now on, all daily necessities shall deplete, making it impossible for them to live on. Therefore, it is imperative to renovate the world.” He kept practicing a Reordering Work for the following three days. After finishing the Reordering Work, Sangje said, “People shall barely sustain their lives. But as the young shall not be able to fill their stomachs, their cries of hunger shall extend to the Ninth Heaven.”
12. Sangje said to Kim Byeong-Wuk, “Now the national state of affairs is deteriorating day by day. Because the government depends on foreign powers for each matter, different opinions and solutions arise, splitting into factions: some are in favor of ties with Japan and others are in favor of a close relationship with Russia. What do you think of this situation?” He answered, “Due to the racial discrimination and the distinction between the East and the West, I think we should be closer with Japan.” Sangje said, “You are right indeed,” and He carried out a Reordering Work of divine beings to drive out Western powers.
13. As the whole situation in the East was a dire extremity in terms of life or death, Sangje did the Reordering Work in order to keep the power from transferring to the West.
14. This happened in the Eulsa Year (1905) when Sangje stayed in All Joy (Hamyeol) County. Leading some disciples including Hyeong-Ryeol, He went to Jeong Chun-Sim´s house in Middle-of-All (Manjung) Village, Added Mountain (Iksan) County and ordered him, “I am going to offer a sacrificial rite for ships, so bring Me a cow´s head.” Sangje then cut a bundle of blank paper lengthwise and glued all the pieces into a sequence. He rolled up each half to make two scrolls and put them into two bowls. At night, Sangje pierced two holes into the front paper screen, boiled the cow´s head, and put it in front of the door. He had Hyeong-Ryeol and Gwang-Chan exit the doorway and unroll each of the scrolls to go through each hole. Inside the door, Sangje started to re-roll the paper again. Thus, both Hyeong-Ryeol and Gwang-Chan´s scrolls were unrolled. All of a sudden, a ship´s horn blew like thunder. Hearing the sound, even the neighbors were startled.
15. Then Sangje had Jeong Seong-Baek, son of Chun-Sim, set a fire in the kitchen furnace with a load of wet firewood that made the smoke rise like a steamship funnel. Then He said, “As an anchor cable was unrolled, now I will pull it up.” All of a sudden, all the disciples who were in the room fell dizzy, some felt giddy, some vomited, and others fainted. The disciples who participated in this Reordering Work were So Jin-Seop, Kim Deok-Yu, Kim Gwang-Chan, Kim Hyeong-Ryeol, Kim Gap-Chil, and Jeong Seong-Baek and his family. Deok-Yu fell down outside the door and had diarrhea, Seong-Baek´s family all collapsed inside the inner room, Gap-Chil lost his consciousness, barely breathing. Looking at this, Sangje poured some fresh water into Gap-Chil´s mouth Himself, and when He called out Gap-Chil´s name, he regained consciousness right away. As Sangje sprinkled fresh water on their faces or poured it into their mouth, all the disciples and their family recovered one after another. Deok-Yu, who had been suffering from a serious lung disease, was completely restored after this event. Nobody knew what Reordering Work had occurred. However, it was said to have been a ritual to invoke the spirit of Jin-Muk.
16. On the third day of the first month in the Byeongoh Year (1906), Kim Hyeong-Ryeol, and Kim Seong-Hwa and Kim Bo-Gyeong both accompanied by their respective sons, and Kim Gwang-Chan accompanied by his nephew came to Copper Valley (Donggok) Village and served Sangje. They did not say a word or smoke all day long as they had been ordered. Two days later, Sangje had a dozen of His disciples sit around and asked, “The god of laughter shall come today, so do not laugh. If anyone of you laughs, the god will not take part in this Reordering Work and will just go back. If the god leaves, it is hard to know when that god will show up again. Thus, keep that in mind and be cautious.” Listening to Him, the disciples were careful not to laugh. However, as Seong-Baek suddenly burst into a big laughter, the rest of them all laughed along with him. That afternoon, Seong-Baek caught a sudden chill and stayed in bed for three days, feeling extreme pain. Then, when Sangje laid Seong-Baek before Him and read a line of writing, he got better immediately. Every day Sangje wrote characters and drew a rough map like a picture on a piece of paper and then burned it.
17. Many disciples including Kim Gwang-Chan, Shin Won-Il, Jeong Seong-Baek, Kim Seon-Gyeong, Kim Bo-Gyeong, Kim Gap-Chil, and Kim Bong-Gyu, gathered at Copper Valley (Donggok) Village on the last day of the second month. On the second day of the third month, Sangje left for Seoul to conduct the Reordering Works, saying, “A warship shall sail back to Pure Prosperity (Sunchang) County. Hyeong-Ryeol should keep an eye on the province.” Sangje ordered each of His disciples to write a wish on paper. When they gave Sangje the papers on which they had written their wishes, He wrapped a pair of glasses with the paper and ordered Nam-Gi, Gap-Chil, Seong-Baek, Byeong-Seon, and Gwang-Chan to go to Cluster-of-Mountains (Gunsan) Harbor to take a steamer with Him while ordering the rest of His disciples to ride on a train in Daejeon (Great Field). Afterward, Sangje called it the parallel advance both by sea and by land. And Sangje ordered Won-Il, “When you enter Seoul, first write down fairly ´A Son of Heaven Floating upon the Sea´ on a piece of paper and attach it to the South Great Gate (Namdaemun).” Won-Il left for Daejeon with several people soon after.
18. Before Sangje left for Cluster-of-Mountains (Gunsan) Harbor, He ordered Byeong-Seon to recite, “An eternal flower blooms in the positions of Geon (乾, sky) and Gon (坤, earth), and the great sun and the great moon shine upon the offices of Gan (艮, mountain) and Tae (兌, lake) [永世花長乾坤位 大方日月艮兌宮].” He asked His disciples at Cluster-of-Mountains Harbor, “Should we sail after the wind subsides or just sail as is?” Gwang-Chan answered, “I think sailing as is might be better.” Then Sangje told each of His disciples to prepare five smoked dried plums. He boarded the ship and His disciples went after Him. As a fierce wind rose up at sea, the ship pitched and tossed a great deal. When His disciples felt seriously seasick, Sangje said, “Each of you put the plums in your mouth.” And He had Gap-Chil throw the paper-wrapped glasses into the sea towards the north from the deck, but he was standing hesitantly, unable to distinguish which direction was north. Sangje called Gap-Chil out again and scolded him, saying, “Why do you not throw them quickly?” Gap-Chil replied he could not recognize the right direction. As Sangje said, “Throw them in the direction where the lightning struck,” Gap-Chil climbed onto the deck again and found that there was an area where thunderbolt had struck on one side just as He had said. Then he threw the glasses towards that direction.
19. The next day, when the ship arrived in Incheon (Benevolence-Stream), the party disembarked and transferred to a train for Seoul. Gwang-Chan accompanied Sangje to the house of his younger cousin, Kim Yeong-Seon, who lived near the Yellow Bridge (Hwanggyo). Won-Il was already there after posting the writing on the South Great Gate (Namdaemun).
20. While staying in Seoul for roughly a dozen days, Sangje conducted many Reordering Works. Yeong-Seon´s neighbor, Oh Ui-Gwan, was suffering from severe asthma and had not slept well for the last three years. Hearing of Sangje´s divinity, Ui-Gwan begged Yeong-Seon to let him have an audience with Sangje. When Yeong-Seon told Sangje about it, Sangje allowed Ui-Gwan to meet Him and gave him a writing while instructing him, “Keep this in the room that you sleep in.” Ui-Gwan humbly received it and did as he was told. He was pleased because he could sleep that night and before long his asthma cleared up.
21. Gap-Chil tried to endure his diarrhea from the time he left Jeonju (Perfected Territory) County, but in the end he told Sangje about it. Sangje said, “From now on, the diarrhea shall dissipate, and you shall recover your appetite,” laughing out loud. Gap-Chil´s confidence in Sangje´s divinity stopped his diarrhea. One day when Sangje was practicing many Reordering Works in Seoul, the wife of Oh Ui-Gwan, who recovered from asthma, was blind as a bat due to amaurosis, a chronic eye disease. She begged Sangje to treat her disease as well. While in the yard, He went to the window of the room in which the woman stayed, stood face-to-face with her, and then drew a circle on the ground with the point of a parasol. Then He came back. After that, her eyesight was restored. Oh Ui-Gwan and his wife were moved to tears and they went on to serve Sangje with all their hearts.
22. One day, Sangje buried a talisman for thunderbolt and said to His disciples, “All of you, go back to each of your homes. You shall see Me in ten years. The ten years is ten years, 20 years is also ten years, and 30 years is ten years as well.” Someone asked Him, “Is 40 years not ten years?” Sangje replied, “40 years is ten years as well, but it shall not be over 40 years.” Then He sent all of them back home. After Sangje stayed with Gwang-Chan for a few more days, Sangje gave him 100 nyang of money and said, “Go to Myriad Furrows (Man-gyeong) ahead of Me and wait for My signal.”
23. One day in the fourth month, Hyeong-Ryeol listened to Sangje´s words. He said, “I will use the Fire Art of Transformation (Hwa-dun 火遁). If your house catches fire, the entire village shall burn down. The energy of the Fire shall get stronger and bring a terrible disaster to the world.” Surprised by what Sangje said, Hyeong-Ryeol made his family store their matches and exercise extra caution with the furnace all day long.
24. Sangje came back to Copper Valley (Donggok) Village on the last day of the fourth month. The next day, He went with Hyeong-Ryeol to Myriad Furrows (Man-gyeong) County, where Kim Gwang-Chan was staying. Around that time, Choi Ik-Hyeon raised volunteer troops in Great Benevolence (Taein) County. This was the time the farmers should be planting rice seedlings, but, as the drought persisted for a long period, the public sentiment worsened, and people were unable to concentrate on their work. As a result, the number of people who joined the voluntary army was increasing day-by-day, and the military forces became more powerful. While Sangje stayed in Myriad Furrows for a few days, He made the rain fall enough to bring the drought to an end. The people were so relieved that many of them went back to farming. At the time, Choi Ik-Hyeon was arrested in Pure Prosperity (Sunchang) County due to suddenly weakened military forces. Hearing the news, Sangje left from Myriad Furrows for Jeong Chun-Sim´s house that was located in Middle-of-All (Manjung) Village in Added Mountain (Iksan) County. Sangje said, “At the time of Choi Ik-Hyeon´s uprising, the reason that the divine beings actively helped him can only be attributed to his sincere devotion. His ability and nature are insufficient to achieve success despite the disastrous drought. These things will make innocent people lose their lives. Now, this time stands at the crossroad of rising and falling, so I cleared a path to life for our people and recalled the voluntary army.”
25. When Sangje was with His disciples, He asked Kim Gwang-Chan, “What kind of man do you think I am?” Gwang-Chan answered, “I consider You a rural gentleman (yangban).” Again, Sangje asked him, “What would a rural gentleman call you?” He answered back, “He would call me a low-ranking town official (ajeon).” Listening to his answer, Sangje said, “Both a rural gentleman and town official call each other bastards. If you and I reconcile with each other, all the world´s grievances shall be resolved.”
26. Sangje enjoyed dog meat and said it is superior peoples´ meat. A disciple asked Him about the reason and He answered, “This meat is enjoyed by mangryangs (魍魎, sprites and goblins) in Heaven and Earth. In the Former World, cultivators of the Dao abstained from dog meat, so mangryangs did not accede to them.”
27. Sangje visited Park Jang-Geun´s house at Chest-Rock (Nongam) Hamlet in Pure Prosperity (Sunchang) County and said to His disciples, “There is tremendous energy buried at this place. I shall release and harness it. Previously Jeon Myeong-Suk (Jeon Bong-Jun) and Choi Ik-Hyeon were here for a while but they were unworthy of it. This is why the Eastern Learning and the voluntary army could not succeed.”
28. One day, Sangje had His disciples practice the Five Incantations and asked them, “Will the crops from seven counties be sufficient?” The disciples said, “It depends on how we use them.” Sangje said again, “Even so, the barn should not be alternately filled and emptied. It should have no limit regardless of how much grain is used.” Knowing the disciples did not understand what He said, Sangje explained it to them by drawing the plans for a reservoir and waterway on paper and burned it: “Here is Cloud Mountain (Wunsan). Even if the flow of Cloud-Rock (Wunam) River is partially redirected to the fields of Golden Embankment (Gimje) and Myriad Furrows (Man-gyeong), there shall be no resentment from people in the downstream areas. At this course, the body of water will not dry up despite a big drought. It will surely be enough to weigh the water against the sky. Jiang Taigong eliminated a drought that affected one county in the State of Qi, but I will eliminate the poor harvest affecting seven counties in North Jeolla Province.”
29. One day, Sangje said to His disciples, “People who die without descendants become spirits of Jungcheon (中天). These spirits grieve since they are only treated to rice and water by spirits of the Yellow Spring (Hwangcheon 黃泉, underworld) because they had no descendants to depend on for sustenance. These spirits have petitioned Me, and I will give them blessings in order to resolve their grievances and grudges from now on.”
30. Sangje wrote on paper: The Yellow River Chart and the Luo River Inscription. The model of recognizing others accurately is Kim Hyeong-Ryeol, the man who can be as a good general as a minister is Kim Gwang-Chan, the one who is ambiguous and uncertain is Choi Nae-Gyeong, the one who will be unchanging in his faith throughout life is Ahn Nae-Seong, and the one who will fulfill nothing is Kim Song-Hwan [河圖洛書知人之鑑金亨烈 出將入相金光贊 旣然未然崔乃敬 平生不變安乃成 萬事不成金松煥]. Then He burned the paper. When darkness fell, He made some disciples send ten mal of rice each for Deok-Chan and Hyeong-Ryeol.
31. And Sangje said, “In the upcoming good world, it shall be possible to cook rice without making a fire and to farm without touching the soil. And a light tower shall be set up at every Dao empoweree´s house, brightening the whole village like sunlight. Today´s electric lamps are just prototypes. Doorknobs and clothes racks shall be made of gold and golden shoes shall be worn.”
32. Sangje said to Park Gong-Wu, “Now is an era of grievance resolution. I removed the distinction between men and women so they can do as they like. However, I will re-establish propriety by correcting the positions of Geon (乾, sky) and Gon (坤, earth) in due time.” When Gong-Wu was accompanying Sangje through the downtown area of Great Benevolence (Taein), two elderly women were about to cross His path. Then Sangje stepped aside to let them through.
33. When Sangje headed for Wellspring-Town (Jeongeup) County with Gong-Wu, He said, “Find astrology and geomancy (cheonmun jiri 天文地理) in your mind.” Gong-Wu thought seriously about the creation of the wind and clouds. Sangje suddenly looked back at him and said, “You are thinking wrong. Find it once again.” Gong-Wu was so surprised that he did not know what to do. He regretted that he had conceived a wrong thought. While he was finding astrology and geomancy again, he reached Wellspring-Town County. That night, when Sangje saw the snow and rain falling out there, He reproached Gong-Wu, “Your one fallacious idea caused the weather to be inconsistent.”
34. One day, Sangje´s disciples wrote down their names while thinking about the all-time greatest generals in accordance with His orders. Gyeong-Seok asked Sangje, “Is the founder of a dynasty one of the greatest generals as well?” Sangje said, “Yes, he is.” Gyeong-Seok enumerated the generals from the Yellow Emperor, King Tang, King Wu of Zhou, Jiang Taigong and Emperor Gaozu of Han, to others, ending with Jeon Myeong-Suk (Jeon Bong-Jun). Then he gave the paper to Sangje. Sangje asked him, “Why did you put Jeon Myeong-Suk at the end?” Gyeong-Seok replied, “Jeon Myeong-Suk is the first if read from the left.” Sangje agreed with him and said to His disciples, “Jeon Myeong-Suk is one of the greatest generals of all ages. He was a poor scholar without a government position, yet he moved the world.”
35. One day, Sangje said to Gyeong-Seok, “You have followed My words before, but I will follow yours when conducting today´s Reordering Works. Thus, think carefully and answer My questions as you are asked.” Sangje asked him, “Which one is right, between leaving the facilities of civilization invented by the Westerners as they are or getting rid of them?” Gyeong-Seok answered, “To be left just as they are will be good for the people.” Sangje said he was right, adding that “Their machines have been modeled after those in Heaven.” He asked him more questions and then decided on the Reordering Works.
36. To encourage His disciples for the future, Sangje said: “When playing baduk, you can win the game even by being just one move ahead. You should learn deeply and profoundly the things that other people do not know. Even though wise men such as Zhang Liang and Zhuge Liang pour into the world, you shall not know where they are and who they are. Since the Great Opening of the Former World, catastrophes like floods, droughts, and wars have consistently devastated this world, but there has not been an extinction-level disease so far. From now on, catastrophic diseases shall sweep the world, incurring unprecedented calamities. However, there is no way to save the people from the great pandemic. Therefore, you should not myopically focus on various distinguished methods and rare medicines but should instead thoroughly learn our dharma of Presiding over Cures (Ui-tong 醫統). Since I took care of the Reordering Works of Heaven and Earth, I have defeated all other disasters in this nation aside from catastrophic disease. As it will surge like a torrent, you shall have no time to get away from it.”
