Learning Bongwoo Breathing Through His Direct Disciple:

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My Jorney of Finding the Practice and Translating His Teaching.

Master Bongwoo always said, “I am still practicing as a student, so  please do not call me a teacher.”  He called himself a student of Tao even though he achieved high levels of spiritual powers and enlightenment which are beyond the limits of ordinary humans.  Master was very humble.  Following his humble example, all practitioners and meditators following his teachings call themselves students.  You will not find any teacher among dicipers but all his followers consider themselves students. While Master Bongwoo was alive, his students lovingly called him ‘grandpa’.  Master Bongwoo was born in 1900 and passed away in 1994, and now, I humbly believe,  we can finally call him Master BongWoo. In the novel book ‘Dahn’ (FOOTNOTE: Dahn means Energy) by Jeongbin Kim, which is mostly based on Master Bongwoo’s life story, you can read about how the Master’s had achieved Taoist wizardry and his amazing spiritual powers. 

Master Bongwoo learnt breathing meditation at age 6 from his mother and started practicing.  By the time he was teenager, he had already achieved 15 minutes breathing which means 7.5 minutes for inhaling and 7.5 minutes for exhaling. A normal healthy person inhales for 3 seconds and exhales for the same time.  A very healthy person will inhale for 5 seconds and exhale for the same time.  So, Master had succeeded in slowing his breath considerably at the young age of 16 years old.  

There are several fake spiritual teachers who abuse their power and ask their students to bow to them and pay for personal visits and blessings.  But Master Bongwoo did not believe in holding power above his students.  He treated them with respect as friends on the path of Tao. 

I started the Korean Taoism practice in 2005 and was a teacher in an organization.  Out of sheer curiosity, I searched for the roots of Korean Taoism.  Master Bongwoo is the true lineage holder of the original Korean Taoism but I did not know he had written any books on this topic.   A friend who had read the book “Dahn”, guided me to his website in 2019 and I was able to contact the webmaster and express my interest in learning the Bongwoo Tao Breathing method and his books.  I flew to Korea the next year to have a private retreat with a disciple of Master Bongwoo’s.  As soon as I landed in Korea, the country was shutdown due to COVID and my retreat was canceled.  I was pleasantly surprised when he invited me to meet him at a cafe in Seoul.  Over a period of 4 hours, he taught me the Bongwoo Tao Breathing Method for free and also gifted me several books.  He was one of the close disciples of the Master Bongwoo.  He is very intelligent and knowledgeable as he has written and published all the teachings of master Bongwoo.  He was so humble, as I imagine master must have been.  I felt he embodied the teachings of the master and that deeply touched me.  

I have practiced yoga and meditation for over 20 years. While my body is more flexible than an average person,  my meditation practice in the Bongwoo Tao Breathing Method was not even close to the beginner’s level. But my excitement got the better of me and I taught the Bongwoo Method breathing meditation to my yoga friends even though I did not understand it fully. As I practiced, I was convinced that I needed a guide for the level preceding the beginners level. When I mentioned the benefits I was reaping from my practice of the Bongwoo Method, my students and friends asked me to translate the book into English for them. That motivated me to translate Master Bongwoo’s book. I have added background information and explanations for westerners so that they can better understand this method in their own practice. The purpose of this book is to introduce the Bongwoo Method to Western students who are interested in beginning their own practice of this breathing meditation. 

Master Bongwoo wrote <The Secret of Tao - Bongwoo Method> for beginners but if you are new to this method, you will soon realize that the book assumes you already have a certain level of practice and is not written for beginners. There are several levels of understanding according to your consciousness. As your breath deepens and becomes longer, the deeper meaning of his teachings will unfold. Initially, I selectively translated relevant sections of Master Bongwoo’s book for the very beginners. This translation is based on my personal understanding and experience with this method. There are deeper and more advanced translations written by advanced students for you to read some day.  In the meantime, I encourage you to practice everyday and deepen your meditation experiences.  I humbly ask for your forgiveness if you find out that I misinterpreted the teachings of Master Bongwoo’s teaching.  I believe that any failings in this book are due to my current consciousness level so please forgive me. My intention is to introduce Master Bongwoo and his teaching to Westerners who are starting to develop an interest in these teachings.

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