Finding the principle of "Breath"

This article is written from a public lecture that Master Chung-San gave in the early 1970's.
Kuksundo the indigenous practice method we now hear in old tales.

I thank you all for being here at the practice center today. I am no orator or lecturer. I just came out to the world and started spreading Kouksundo, a way to take care of health. And some wanted to know how to approach energy, so I often tell them what I've learned.
You may have heard through the radio or newspaper that my hometown is Kyung-gi-do, Su-won. I couldn't go to high school because my family wasn't rich. I learned Buddhist scriptures in Hae-sun-am Temple in Tae-hak Mountain.

I earnestly tried to convert to Buddhism and accidently met my master and learned Sundo. Kouksundo, in our language is Bahk-Dol-Bup, Bahk means the sun and Dol means circulating round and around. In other words, it is the method to adapt to nature's principles of circulation. I didn't know what kind of method it was and just learned. However, as I continued to do it my body changed and many phenomena occurred. So, until today, I've lived healthy and without disease. Therefore, I have nothing other than gratitude. This has been inherited by our people from the idea of worshiping heaven. And to introduce this to you, and in order for you to approach it, I believe you should hear this in a mystical standpoint.

The stories I am about to tell you now are just like the stories about how mountain gods are and how dao people are. When I listened to these I thought they were only old stories. But when I actually saw my master and practiced this method, the boundary of my understanding widened and I realized that humans possess a fountain of infinite power. A human is the son of nature and the only one who can manipulate nature as he/she wants. As I practiced, I felt that the human who possesses that ability is a unique human. And to be that person I thought there must be endless practice and I should continuously not spare my body.

You might have seen the two questions I put into the newspaper ads. What is the correct danjun breathing method of Kouksundo? And, why can you live a long life without disease when you practice Kouksundo?

Nothing in the world can live without breathing. In the east there is danjun breathing. There are many books about breathing, especially from Chinese Daoists, Japanese hermits, and Koreans. I saw many of these books when I travelled around Japan, China, and Taiwan.
But when I read these books, I discovered that their breathing methods were very different from the breathing method I am doing. Also, when I went to India, I found out that their breathing method was very different from ours. Then, what is correct danjun breathing? In our indigenous language, we say 'Dol-Dan place breathing'. Dol-Dan refers to the hard, solid circulating power of nature. Therefore, breathing into the gathering place is 'Dol-Dan place breathing'. But we say danjun from the Yeon-dan-bup which is used in the Chinese Daoist vocabulary. Danjun is used because it had been generally spread and much used.
Dan is the color of fire. The energy of heaven and earth (upwards and downwards), is called Dan. and Jun is said to be the place of gathering. So, in our Dao too, we commonly use the word danjun. So breathe deeply, inhale and exhale. Now then, the word danjun or the dol-dan place breathing which I've learned has a common concept. So, when I came down to society and talked about danjun breathing, I couldn't find any books about it. Even 12 or 13 years ago, I talked about it. But when I started instructing all across the country, from a school in Seoul to all the nation's organizations, the word 'danjun breathing' started to come out.

During that time I gave practical demonstrations at the citizen's hall, Jang-chung gymnasium, and many other places. I showed people that, when one does it correctly, one's body will get great strength like this. And that these phenomena occur when the mind is clear and silent. I've done demonstrations many times because people wouldn't believe it when I told them.
These days I don't give demonstrations that much. But before, I gave countless demonstrations on television. When I say, "Generally when you do this, your body gets healthier, your heart gets clearer, and it is beneficial for living. So try this", people think 'What is he talking about?' But when I give an actual demonstration people say, "Oh, the power seems to come out," and "Hmmm it seems like a good thing." Once or twice they asked me to teach. Starting like this, I opened a small practice center beside piccadilly at jong-ro ga, and then moved to chung-ge-chun, and then here to Baek-goong.

Of course, at that time, I lived in Sam-wang temple on In-wang Mountain with someone who is now a monk. I lived there and instructed 3 people at first. One was a lady, called Chul-sun-nyul. The other two were men I named Shin-ryuk-sa and Tae-ryuk-san. Tae-ryuk-san is an instructor at a practice center in America. I instructed these three, they practiced and said they gained strength just as I did. They became healthier. Later I instructed a boy called Yi-Pan-am and some others along with a man called Chung-gahk.

People started to learn like this, little by little. They too showed the same kind of symptoms. Of course there are differences in learning for each person. But since that time I've gained confidence that every single person can do this in society. I first told these people that I break this rock by hitting it. Later I explained to them the principle that lets the rock just break, and told them to gather the energy in the danjun and break it. And they did it. I also told them to use the Energy Flowing Method to heal disease that is causing trouble anywhere in the body. There were many kids who had bad stomachs and digestion problems and when I told them to do this kind of method, they also succeeded. After giving instructions in many different situations I felt I could probably approach society about this practice.

Practice to be a Sa-Un-Haeng (Thinking-Language-Action) unified, healthy person.


I now live in another rented house. But even in this condition, I want to spread this to the world. I would be honored if only one word out of a hundred helps you. We ask many questions to ourselves such as how to eat, drink, breath, and act correctly. What is the correct way of eating, breathing, and acting? When Sa-Un-Haeng (Thinking-Language-Action) unite, then a person will be righteous in society and will not bring shame to their society, nation, and heaven. Ah, and about the phrase we now use in school 'well rounded human education'. This is an effort to create a human being of extreme stamina, virtue, and mental power. Then there is Dao. Eastern science has many expressions such as Daoist or Dao. Nature is the flexibility of the flow between self and self-arrival where time is not limited by a beginning or end. Humans can follow that self developing nature but sometimes they become stingy about obedience. That stinginess inevitably entails greed. To satisfy that greed we perform many deeds of disobedience toward the flow of nature. Therefore, pain comes to the heart and disease comes to the body.
Then let's conform to nature. Drink naturally, no overeating, and no fasting. There's no such concept as 'fasting' in Dao. No overeating or fasting. Dao is not the kind of thing that one can manipulate and teach.
One should gain enlightenment after looking at the root of a blade of grass. If given too much water the root rots and dies. And if given no water the root dries out and dies. Therefore one should protect the middle. So all Daoists must hold the middle.

In Buddhism this is also the middle way of pain and pleasure and the middle way of life and death. Therefore, it is the way of using the middle. 'Truly getting the middle' in Confucianism is the same concept. 'Embrace the one and protect the middle' of Daoists also guards the middle. When this center is lost then nothing gets accomplished. Therefore, we have to hold the middle, and because of that, one doesn't feel the need to ask if fasting or overeating is good. One goes into the Gahk-jin-guan (realize and see the truth) by oneself, then stands in the middle by realizing 'Let's neither eat too much nor starve.' But when I have eaten too much and the body is aching I realize I've got to stop it.
But the body already has disease. To make it clean, I've got no other choice but to starve. Later, people named this type of starving the fasting method. Originally in Dao there is 'curing disease by Dao'. So when one reaches the stage of curing illness of the heart, one doesn't have to overeat or fast.

Therefore, when one behaves like this, Jung-Un starts to come from the middle energy and we speak right words. Jung-Sa is thinking the right thought, and Jung-Haeng is doing the right action. Therefore we can create a Sa-Un-Haeng (Thinking-Language-Action) unified, righteous human being. Many saints and philosophers studied and researched to find out which practice could do that. They came out with many exercises that have now much spread across the east. These exercises include losing one's delusions and pains through much meditation, the Buddhist practice of realizing, and getting into a state of no thought which helps us forget the distracting thoughts which paralyze us. Likewise, mankind has tried to cultivate practices which create a unified, righteous human being.

Humans should try to practice

 

Some things become so specialized and developed that we can't make our own decision about what is the correct health method for us. Let's take the example of golf as an easy way to explain this. If I hit the ball, should I keep hitting it like this? Does the ecstasy I experience when I see the ball fly away truly give health to me or mankind? Or should I hit the ball the opposite way and lower my body to get better balance? Doesn’t inconsistency appear when I observe myself like this? We play many ball games or other exercises. But are they all advantageous to humans? And do they maintain utmost health for people? Eastern philosophers have done much research on these questions.
The results of the research indicated to not only develop the external body, but also to calm the heart and harmonize the breath. With these, people can find true health. Thinking like this trained our ancestors to adapt the principle law of nature to the body. So we breathe silently. There are many questions about 'When anybody breathes, what kind of breathing are you supposed to do?' But this is the same as asking 'When anybody eats this rice, why do people get digestive problems?' Eating should be moderate and slow. No overeating or fasting. And the same for breathing, it should be done correctly and in harmony. To do this, lose all distracting thoughts and delusions. Then, in that state, silently even the breath. When breathing is done voluntarily the 5 vital organs and 6 viscera organs function well and harmoniously. Therefore, no disease can occur in the body. We obtain a physical constitution that has a clear heart and a strong body. In that state, that person’s words becomes Jung-Un (right language), Jung-Sa (right thinking) and Jung-Haeng (right action).

A right lifestyle is necessary to gain such things. If we are smart we will do nothing but throw disorderliness away. Humans were originally born inside water. The water’s principle is very simple. Water, in eastern science, has the potential of gushing strength and infinite power. But according to eastern science, it can grow when it receives tree energy. We are totally immersed in water for 10 months while we are in inside our mother's belly. We are immersed and grow in water. And we drink mother's milk (the water) after we are born. We cannot exist without water while we live.

Water’s foundation itself tries to maintain equilibrium. Water flows and sways constantly to maintain evenness. It flows until it gets to a certain position where it maintains equilibrium and then accomplishes harmonious joy. But when the father's jung and the mother's blood are not combined harmoniously and a defective child is produced, parents generally think it is the child's fault. But we should think deeply about the horrifying genetic diseases parents transfer to their offspring. For instance, if there is a vortex of war or evil energy manifesting, and the parents manifest an evil heart, then the children, generally, are very evil.

They fall into a state where they burst into laughter after killing, or just walk past any evil incident that happens beside them. Because of this we must think about how parents can accomplish harmony for their children through their heart and actions. And even if we raise only a single child, we should think about the position we are in and how we should manage the body in order to let this child value family and country, serve ancestors, and be a great child. But we disregard our child's diseased condition which resulted from those unknown conditions, and only frighten our children with words such as "Why can't you study well?" or "Why is your body so weak?" These parents don't realize that the child's illness has been passed down from themselves.
Therefore, the most important factor is us, the parents. I repeat again what you know well but, the matter of how each of us (the constitution of our society) manages our health cannot be so carelessly treated. For this reason, many saints and philosophers went into the mountains, fed and fostered themselves with herb roots and tree barks, sacrificed their bodies, and searched for the way of health. These saints and philosophers tried to spread the right view of life to people of this world– which matters socially, nationally, and historically.

Among these there were such forms of Dao as Poong-ryo-doh (a term than has been used on the Korean peninsula since around 600 C.E.), Dao of life, and Dao of Sunbi (virtuous scholar). You may have read about these before. Poong-ryu-doh was given that name for its elegance and splendidness. It is accomplished by truly adapting to nature and gaining the one and all breath of nature. Warm up the body to the state of no trouble, sit and silently inhale energy. We will not get all the overflowing energy of the universe, but some energy of the universe, even if it is only a millionth, is inhaled. And when we exhale, bad energy also comes out. Likewise we cannot see the changes in the universe with our eyes, but we can find its forms, one by one, and unravel its secret. Even when our breathing is disordered, we inhale something that brings true comfort to the heart. That yin-virtue of inhaling has the role of protecting the true life of humans. Where does the unification of yin and yang energy gather? There's no need to say something like 'inside the flesh or the danjun', 'it gathers at the danjun' or 'it gathers at the side of the waist.' Anyway, then, where does it gather? In the future, after one experiences more, realizes and verifies where it gathers, then one will know that it comes from underneath both kidneys. When the danjun is at the kidneys, then it is the source of water. All philosophers and saints, such as So-ja, say the danjun area is the sea of energy, the sea where energy gathers. It is called the gate of life, the time of heaven and earth, and many more names. A mist and dew-like invisible energy gathers at this place which becomes strength, in other words Jung power. As they say in Confucianism and oriental medicine, it is said, that when this liquid substance accumulates to the amount of 2.88 liters, it is most abundant, and occurs when a boy becomes 15 or 16. When the semen is abundant the Jung-power (vigor) is at its utmost. So if we move around as much as kids of 14 do for a whole day, we will get very tired and collapse. Starting in the morning, these kids run and constantly move all day. We may plausibly look like we have great strength but we cannot compete with these kids. We can't run all day long as these kids do.
Therefore, when someone beats a world record, they generally are under the age of 20 when their energy is thriving. By their mid-twenties their energy already starts to decline.
Infants breathe through the patent foramen ovale (egg shaped hole), the dan. This hole is the energy-blood path of the fetus for 10 months. And the fetal gate opens to breathe when the baby is born. At this time it is healthier to wait for 1 or 2 hours before putting clothes on the baby.

Our body is a small universe of mind, body and spirit in harmony.

 

So they say the danjun relies on the kidneys. The size of the danjun is as big as an egg, but it is shapeless. It is the source of power. They say these words, but I have never seen a photograph of that spot. These words are unchanged since they descended from the old days. So what do we have to do to increase this power? When we inhale we receive energy from heaven. We also receive energy from earth. When these heaven and earth energies are combined, Dan energy is generated. This is the source of power. Then what is a good expression, using Chinese characters, to express this heaven and earth energy encounter? Let's use the word ‘Dan’, that means ‘red’, for dan-energy. Thus the word dan had spread widely. Dan energy is the word for the combination of both heaven and earth energy. When we try to find a word for where this dan energy gathers, we use danjun. Jun (farm, field) stands for mother, gathering place, and yin energy. Therefore, Danjun means the place where dan is gathered. So in the east we usually use danjun as standard vocabulary.

In breathing, there are 3 dans, they are called Upper dan, Middle dan, and Lower dan. We also call them sang-han, joong-han and ha-han. When we use danjun breathing, it usually means the lower dan. The Shin exerts upon the heart and it is also the location where the Hon dwells. Hon (active form of Shin), and Young (active form of Ki) are in the physical world. We call the place where the Hon dwells, the heart location, the middle dan. Young is the location where the spiritual body operates. This location is where the brain operates as seeing, listening and thinking. Therefore we say that part is where the Ki exerts upon. In other words, it is the upper dan.

So how do the three danjuns gather? Now here, you should have your own opinions, but I will tell you exactly what I have learned. The word Jung has been created with a special meaning. Jung is the union of heaven energy (Chung for blue) and earth energy (Mi for rice). When this energy called Jung boils up, then this mist and dew-like energy ascends. We refer to this itself as Young. It is the same for its governing part. The Ki and Young have the attribute to move downwards. Therefore, they always press down.

Also, the thing called Hon, which operates through the middle, is the middle way of pain and pleasure, life and death. Thus, this Shin is one Hon and it always tends to ascend. Young tries to descend, Hon tries to ascend, and Jung tries to spread. We call it Baek. Baek tries to spread so we use the term hon-bi-baek-san (hon flies and baek spreads). This is the operation of the physical world. Humans acquire good strength when energy from the food we eat, energy from earth itself and Chung-gi (blue energy) which we inhale all come together and harmonize. But what happens when this system gets destroyed? When the upper danjun, which looks, thinks, and hears, requests that something be lifted up, the lifting action must first be approved by the middle danjun which has the authority of deciding. When the middle danjun approves the decision to lift and you have no jung-power because the system has been destroyed, then you cannot lift. Headquarters told you to lift something up but you have no jung-power, no strength. If you are old you ask someone else to use their jung-power and do the lifting for you. It's like telling a boy to 'do this'. But if we are healthy the process operates simultaneously.

The Jung-Ki-Shin three danjuns operate simultaneously. It can be described in many ways. But when we assume the three danjuns [the source of power (Jung), the authority of decision (Shin), and the thinking organ (Ki)] have become weak and fail to carry out their functions simultaneously, their operations eventually diminish. For instance I'll come into the room and think 'What was I trying to get?' It's a matter of coming in and not knowing what I originally intended to do. And even if I've come in and grabbed it, I'll ask myself ‘why did I bring this?' The determination weakens and eventually I won't even have the power to lift anything. That commonly occurs when a person dies.

Then it becomes certain that we should make these three danjuns strong and healthy to the utmost. To do that, one should silently even his/her breath, breathe correctly, drink correctly and eat well. Then we can begin to feel that the dan is getting stronger.

In order to do that, the question of which breathing method and procedure to use comes up. Many danjun breathing and health methods say that energy is meant to be accumulated inside the danjun. But the accumulated energy must go beyond just accumulating. The energy has to move in order to radiate out as strength. It has to radiate in waves in order to generate strength. I am saying that if energy is only accumulated then it is useless. I am saying that the energy has to be dynamized by circulating energy and blood and circulating energy through the function and control vessels. To do that, one has to practice the operation of sending energy and blood to the hand or somewhere else. When a person can circulate energy through the meridians by his/her will, then the energy and blood become stretched. And when clean and clear blood operate inside the body through one's will, then no germs or viruses can approach me.
Breathing cannot be left out. And then, also, exercise cannot be left out.

The starting point is right here. When the Jung power and the inhaled energy fortify little by little, in other words when the Jung becomes abundant, energy becomes greater. It is similar to when I put a candle next to another candle, the light does not get stronger, but when I put a candle next to a thicker candle, the light gets stronger. Similarly, when I fill the ingredient (Jung) itself, then the energy naturally prospers and the Shin (spirit) naturally gets brighter. The middle dan operates brightly like a command system, so it decides matters brightly and right away.

So this method has been practiced by many saints and philosophers. Daoists have searched for the difference between practicing while living in cities and towns and practicing among mountains in silence with no distracting thoughts. They found out, through this search, that vibrations from body changes automatically come out in the same way in both cases. Even those of you who practice here, many of you who did breathing in practice centers, would know that there are people who tremble, quake, move, or do many other types of vibrations. These things don't only happen in the mountains. And then we'll learn about controlling these vibrating conditions with our will. But this Jung-fulfilling breathing method can be done by yourself while at home or while driving. It is the easiest exercise to do.

Infinite human ability seen on a context beyond common knowledge.

 

Think there is nothing above the belly button and everything is below it. When you inhale, the area below the belly button comes out then it goes in when you exhale. This is the first basic training. If the area above the belly button mainly moves, then we call it whole abdominal breathing. But what we are demanding here is exact danjun breathing. When you inhale, only the area below the belly button comes out. However, the area above the belly button isn't stuck, it moves somewhat together with the lower area. But in this situation, think that this spot (the area below the belly button) is the belly button and do it. Then it comes out when you inhale and goes in when you exhale. You are trying this exercise for the first time here. We should do this in a calm state of mind without any thoughts. If distracting thoughts come then the area above the belly button comes out and strength originates in that area instead of below the belly button.

Breathing seems that easy, but isn't. And eating seems that easy, but isn't. Oh, after I came down from the mountains, and saw Confucian books, they said 'Do not speak while eating and do not speak while sleeping'. This saying is in our Daoism also. It goes as 'reduce words and grow inner energy'. This saying means to talk less and grow inner energy. These Daoist and Confucian phrases are compatible.

Therefore, perfect digestion takes place when you silently feel gratitude for eating the precious food that comes from nature and man's sweat and ultimately becomes my flesh and blood. But hasty thinking about what to do and where to go results in indigestion every time and the nutrition is almost lost. This supports the deep idea of our ancestors that we should know and eat with the idea that every grain of rice is precious. In this way, everything that goes into the body becomes a medicine which vitalizes blood and flesh. There will probably be oriental doctors here. The ingredients of herbology are all about that, aren't they? Almost all herbal medicines are the same as what we do eat.

Rice or barley are medicines to us. These are things we cannot do without. Although we can live without food for many days, we can't live without breathing for a few minutes. When I went into the Hoover Dam in the United States, I did a whole physical checkup. I told them it was okay because we do pore breathing, but they still said no because if I have some trouble and die the United States will have to take responsibility. So I took a bunch of dumbbells and hung them from my waist and finally went in.
They told me they will pull the rope if they see something going wrong. And when I do a demonstration like this, people who know about skin breathing can comprehend what I am doing. But people who don't know about skin breathing will think that I will die of suffocation if I inhale and take in water. They think skin breathing is impossible for humans. But a human is the son of nature and at the same time has the ability to manipulate nature as he/she wants. The phenomena that happen through the infinite potential of a human are beyond common sense and cannot be expressed with words. But some people have actually played among these dimensions that are beyond common sense.
For instance, a weak, feeble lady's house has caught on fire. She goes into the house and starts to lift up and move big chests that I've never heard about. This is an ordinary example of something that we can commonly see. There are also many more cases that show so called superhuman strength.
As I've mentioned before, if people don't comprehend the possibility of these stories, then they get a negative attitude about what I say. If you listen to my words only in a physical context, such as 'if you push the gas pedal the car moves' and vice versa, then my words are only falling on deaf ears.
But we are maintaining our life by the invisible coming and going of air.

There could be other fields, another kind of nut and bolt, which maintains life and raises strength. But how long have we been listening to radios and stuff? We couldn’t even think about radios a few decades ago. But recently we've come to know that with this line plugged in and that thing connected, a radio works. And with a few other strings a television works. Old people's ideas are becoming real these days as science and reality come together. Therefore, I am saying that there are many fields which we can't ignore only because they are unseen. So when we think that the energy we inhale gathers inside and then actually do it, it has an effect. The energy gradually changes into strength. And then doing skin breathing once, after 9 comfortable breaths, actually does work. Because skin breathing works, I can go under water and stay longer than other people. It is not because I did a special practice and got special Dao power. Instead, it is something that happens naturally when you practice danjun breathing past Jin Gi Danbup. You think this is beyond common knowledge, but it isn't. Every human has this ability and this is something that any human can definitely do. At least for people who practice danjun breathing, they will be able to breathe longer than people who haven't practiced.

But when people meet and talk they will place bets on who can breathe longer. Because they get specialized teachings on how to breathe, they can hold for 6-7 seconds while other people can only inhale and exhale for 5 seconds. This is because they have practiced. While normal people, humankind, cannot hold the breath for over 3 minutes, a person who practiced in a practice center can hold it for 6 or 7 minutes. When they tried it they could do it. How can this happen? These kinds of things happen quite frequently.

We should have gratitude toward heaven, earth and man.

 

All mankind should have a great filial heart. From a developmental standpoint, it is clear that man is born as the son of nature. For that reason we, and all mankind, should adapt to nature. Adding to that, it is a common opinion of scholars all around the world that all things in nature should be kept in their original location and not be damaged.

We should have a heart of gratitude at all times. Although we distinguish between ourselves in many ways, eventually there is only one blood vessel that runs through all of us. Many mountains are seen as separated, but there is an invisible body of energy that flows through all of them. Mankind has a blood vessel that runs throughout the 5 vital organs and 6 viscera organs and so does the earth which has an energy vessel that runs throughout the 5 oceans and 6 continents. So actually, if I kill someone, who do I kill? I killed my cousin or I killed my brother. The blood runs through all of us. It is the same with mountains. You can't see it, but a vessel flows through all of them. You and I seem different, but the same blood runs through us. Likewise, Americans and the British are not different.

We get jealous when we see our neighbors buy land. It is important to know whether or not this is a bad characteristic of the Korean race. Such things are not bad characteristics of Koreans. From a geological point of view, Asia, especially the Republic of Korea, is yin-earth. In the human body, yin-earth is the spleen. Therefore this yin-energy, yin-earth, tries to have things that are wider, bigger, and stronger. So the fact that we Koreans tend to get jealous when our neighbors buy land, or try to be the first to possess original things imported from other nations, doesn't mean Korean people are bad. The dispositional dimension of Koreans is already that way.

Chinese people correspond to the stomach which is yang-earth. They’re Man-man-di (phrase that represents Chinese people). 'Bring it here, we'll eat as much as you can bring'. Like this, they've got a wider point of view. So it's not the mistakes or sins of Chinese or Koreans. But if we know and realize these dispositional dimensions, think about them and change our hearts, we can gain the humaneness that produces ripe fruit.

Wouldn’t humaneness be about giving? Unlimited giving to others is called humaneness. If you try giving to others when you have nothing, you are in ignorance and chaos, but taking from someone when you have a justifiable cause is not coercion and suppression. Taking without giving anything is coercion and suppression, but to create harmony between the forms of humaneness and justice requires a great filial heart. We've got to have the idea of adapting to nature because we are the sons of nature. We have already received our body materially from our ancestors. So we should not lose the attitude of respecting our ancestors and serving the heavens. With that heart, we will not be orphans, but instead we will become right philosophers.

To see the wider picture, we say like this in Dao. When we unravel the secret scriptures, they say that the Jung-Doh-ryung sets his capital at Gae-ryong Mountain (located in South Korea) or Keum-gang Mountain (located in North Korea). What is Gae-ryong Mountain? Gae means chicken and Ryong means dragon. After a dragon dwells in water for three thousand years and on land for thirty-six hundred years, it ascends to heaven. What is the meaning of mountain? It means everything except human.

A long time ago this place, in the city of Seoul, was a tyrant's hunting field. It was a mountain area where animals and savage beasts roamed. But saying that one place is a mountain and another place is land is not how we see things in Daoism. Therefore, seen as a whole vision, we are one and not separate. Today, a lot of 一 Il-hwa ginseng tea is being sold. But the word 一 Il-hwa (harmony as one) actually refers to thousands of things interacting in true harmony and then echoing out. That is what Il-hwa means. 一 Il-hwa is from the Tae-Geuk Jin-Li Neung-Hwa (Tae-Geuk means the great absolute and the source of the dual principle of yin-yang. Jin-Li means the true principle. And Neung-hwa means to become able). So the dimension of yin and yang evolves into a single seed, and when this becomes a single seed, this process is called 一 Il-hwa.

So in Daoism we often say that we should go into the stage of Il-hwa. Even though you are listening to many words here, the most important thing is to calm your heart down. From now on calm your hasty heart down and try to move your body. Don't tell the young ones to pick this or that up. If possible get up and pick things up yourself. When cleaning your house, don't make the young ones do all of it. It's beneficial for you to make your body do some work while you make your heart comfortable.
Then you will spontaneously know by yourself whether or not Kouksundo danjun breathing is correct . You should practice making the abdominal area below the belly button come out when inhaling and go in when exhaling. Keep working at this little by little. If you discover something unusual or wrong, give us a call. The instructors always answer if I am not there.

When I came into society it made me sad that I had to borrow money in order to obtain a practice center. It takes more than tens of millions of won (tens of thousands of dollars) for an initial deposit for a practice space and several millions of won for monthly rent. And I can't resist feeling heavy when I talk about money. I wouldn't take a penny if I could teach people in the mountains. Why on earth should a person take money for teaching Dao? I feel most ashamed about taking money for teaching. Except for this, I have nothing in the whole world to be ashamed of. But I have to borrow this, pay the rent, and sometimes have instructors teach and take my place because I can't be here all the time. I also have to hand over the teaching part and take care of my family.
Likewise, teaching in society is very complicated. There are many times when living in this mundane world makes me swear inside. However, it was inevitable for me to do this job. If anyone has a good intention of setting up a tent in the mountains then I will instruct for free. I am eagerly waiting for the day when I can put an ad in the newspapers that says Kouksundo takes no membership fee. I am ashamed when I hear people say that I give these talks and lectures to make money and recruit new people. When people say that instructors, including myself, run centers to make money, I feel so ashamed.
But if someone puts up a tent close by then I would instruct there for free.

You can abandon the idea of practicing in centers and only practice at home. When you practice with that attitude in your heart, then you are living in the heart of Dao.. When that heart is applied inside Dao you should think about your health for the sake of your offspring. You should think about the consequences when something goes wrong and of not having anyone beside you when you go through death. Therefore you must know well how to take care of and protect your body by yourself. To do that, when you practice by yourself, you should always keep in mind that the area below the belly button comes out when you inhale and goes in when you exhale. Then someday you will realize 'yes, it was right.' You accidentally heard about this somewhere or heard about it in a lecture and fortunately practiced. Then you will certainly say you've gained advantages from it.
We are out of time and this is the end of the lecture.