Find Yourself

From ancient times to the present, people who seek to cultivate their minds or learn secret techniques have always believed that the secret lies with the master. Of course, this might be because they are trying to create something out of nothing. However, a master's responsibility is only to show the disciple where to go, and that they must start from a certain point, pass through various places, cross mountains and rivers to reach their destination.

In other words, the master's role is to guide the disciple along the long and arduous path, but whether the disciple succeeds or fails is not the master's responsibility. It is always the disciple's responsibility to walk the path well; although they may seek help from the master, ultimate success or failure depends on themselves.

Find yourself.

Even the secret practice that can astonish heaven and shake the earth all originate from one's own sincere heart; that single heart determines success or failure. Of course, if the path taught by the master is incorrect, then the master is responsible.

However, the success or failure of one's studies depends on one's own sincere effort and lies within oneself. This is an eternal and unchanging law, the truth.

In ordinary academic studies, even if one is not very intelligent, one can reach a basic level of understanding with the help of teachers or friends. However, in spiritual cultivation, even if a divine being or Buddha guides you, if you yourself lack sincerity, you will achieve nothing.

You cannot find anything outside of yourself.

Find yourself within.

If you find yourself within yourself, you can become a divine being or a Buddha.

There is a saying by Choi Su-un, the founder of Donghak, which states, "Innaecheon" (There is Heaven within human). Human is heaven itself; human's heart is the heart of heaven, and human's actions are the will of heaven.

Understand this.

Heaven, Earth, and human. Heaven, Earth, and human are oneness. If you want to understand heaven, you must begin by studying yourself, the closest thing to you. Through this, you can understand both heaven and earth. This is the fundamental principle.

The nature of human and the nature of heaven and earth are controlled by the same principle. The birth, growth, harvest, and return of all creatures are also controlled by this principle.

The highest is heaven, the lowest is earth, and that which possesses both high and low simultaneously is human.

Here, "possessing" means that as an intermediary being between heaven and earth, human, by cultivating his wisdom, possesses the potential to understand both heaven and earth.

Therefore, to connect with heaven above and earth below, you must seek your true self within yourself. If you seek yourself outside of yourself, you are seeking something other than yourself.

In today's highly advanced materialistic society, people boast of the omnipotence of science. But if someone with insight were to observe this, it would be like watching a flea jumping around on a floor, boasting of its bravery, while a person watches from the sidelines.

Our spiritual practice also has no limits. Everyone has gone as far as they can, but no one has yet reached their destination.

Everyone has gone as far as they can, and beyond that, they must continue to cultivate themselves for countless eons.

The ancients said that from the perspective of the universe, our lives are as short as a spark that flashes when two stones strike each other, and spatially, we are as insignificant as a grain of rice floating on the boundless ocean.

What can we do in the midst of all this?

However, we cannot simply let time pass by idly, tossed about by the wind and rain. Even in the midst of fleeting moments, if we maintain an unwavering attitude and seek ourselves within ourselves, this will be the path of a learner: "living in accordance with nature, accepting everything, and diligently striving without ceasing." A thousand, ten thousand words and writings are all inferior to action.

Find yourself within.

There is no self outside of yourself.

Only when you find and obtain yourself within yourself can you truly understand others. To not know yourself but to claim to know others is to be a sinner to yourself and to others.

People in the world know others well but do not know themselves. This is why people cannot become like heaven. Therefore, people remain in the state of being merely human.

To think that you can control others when you cannot even control a part of your own mind—what else could be called a wrongdoing?

Having been born as a human being, even if you cannot establish virtue or merit, you must at least not become a wrongdoer.

Find yourself.

Find yourself within.

<Announcement to the Baekdoosan Mountain Tribe> written by Master Bongwoo Taehoon Kwon>

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