¹Ahn Nae-seong, whose original given name was Nae-seon, was born in Haman County in Gyeongsangnam-do Province.²When he was about six years old, his father sought to teach him to read and write, but Nae-seong spent his time wrestling and fighting with other children rather than studying.

³His grandfather counseled his father, “Leave the child be. That boy is not meant to learn reading and writing.”⁴The father could not act against the grandfather’s wishes, but was so disheartened that he one day left the house never to return.

⁵When Nae-seong was eight, his grandfather died. The following year, Nae-seong began wandering the country in search of his missing father.

⁶During his wanderings, Nae-seong worked as a servant at a temple on Geumgangsan Mountain for three years, and there he learned Buddhist sutras from the monks.⁷While at the temple, he was inspired by the tidings that the world would become glorious only with the advent of Holy Maitreya Buddha, and so he again took to the road to resume his search for his father and a spiritual teacher.

⁸Reciting the sutras in his mind with a sincere yearning for Holy Maitreya Buddha, Nae-seong wandered throughout the country, and after hearing of an enlightened master in Beijing, he journeyed to that city without a thought to the vast distance.⁹Upon reaching Beijing, however, he learned that the master had moved to Nanjing.¹⁰He immediately traveled to Nanjing, but there he discovered that the enlightened one had returned to Beijing. Nae-seong journeyed to Beijing once again and this time finally found the master.

¹¹The enlightened master said to him, “The Heavenly Teacher destined to deliver the world comes forth in Joseon. Do not needlessly wander in this land—return to your country.”

¹²At that moment, Nae-seong developed a firm conviction that the Heavenly Teacher destined to deliver the world would surely be the incarnation of Maitreya, and he quickly journeyed back to Joseon, jubilant over the unexpected revelation he had received from the master.