¹On June 22, Nae-seong was traveling from Geumsansa Temple after his prayers and was traversing Jeongeup County’s Saejae Hill, his whole body soaked with sweat due to the day’s unusually hot and humid weather.²Upon reaching the hill’s crest, he found the shade of a tree, where Sangjenim, wearing a narrow-brimmed bamboo hat, was seated upon a cool rock.³As Nae-seong took his rest on the same rock to cool himself, memories and waves of regret and repentance engulfed him,⁴and he reflected, “I have journeyed everywhere in search of my father and the Heavenly Teacher, yet I have not gleaned a shred of news. If I cannot find them during this journey, I must return to Qing China.”

⁵Sitting nearby, Sangjenim filled his pipe, lit it, puffed a time while gazing into the distance, then abruptly exclaimed, “What a crazy fool I see before me!”

⁶Nae-seong, who was known as “Ahn the Swift” for his renown as a marketplace enforcer in Jinju and Sacheon counties and who never lost a fight,⁷felt an irritation brewing within him as this man, who seemed much younger than he, sought to provoke a quarrel. However, since Nae-seong was just then returning from the Maitreya Shrine, he composed himself and spoke calmly. “Whom are you addressing in that tone?”

⁸Sangjenim suddenly turned his head toward Nae-seong and thundered, “You fool! Is there anyone else here? I am speaking to you. What a mad fool!”

⁹When Sangjenim’s eyes met his, Nae-seong suddenly felt choked with inexpressible emotion. This piercing gaze and the resplendent qi radiating from Sangjenim sapped all of his strength, and Nae-seong found himself on his knees.

¹⁰Without giving Nae-seong a moment to breathe, Sangjenim shouted, “I am a lunatic, but you are also a complete lunatic! You! You seek your father, do you not? But your father died on the tenth of March—hold memorial offering rituals for him on that date, you fool. ¹¹If you return to Qing China, you might even accomplish something worthwhile. Back to Qing China forever, you demented fool!” Sangjenim’s fierce rebukes sapped Nae-seong of his wits.

¹²These sudden and unexpected rebukes did nothing to stir Nae-seong’s ire, and they instead brought immense relief to Nae-seong, who was baffled that this complete stranger seemed to see all that he harbored deep in his mind. ¹³Suddenly seized with the thought that Sangjenim was the very Heavenly Teacher whom he had so long sought, Nae-seong exclaimed abruptly, “Oh Teacher! I am honored to finally meet you.” With this, he bowed his head before Sangjenim.

¹⁴“Crazy idiot!” Sangjenim snapped. “How am I your Teacher? You bandit!”

¹⁵Sangjenim rose and stalked away down the hill toward Jeongeup County. Nae-seong followed for fear that he might otherwise never see his Teacher again.

¹⁶“You thief!” Sangjenim shouted. “Go back to Qing China!” In a fit of anger, he began hurling roadside boulders at Nae-seong.

¹⁷Having made a vow at the Maitreya Shrine, Nae-seong was determined to follow this Teacher even at the cost of his life, so he did not try to avoid the huge rocks being hurled at him by Sangjenim, and they struck him in the head. ¹⁸As they did so, he felt tremendous jolts and lightning flashed before his eyes, but he was not injured. Rather, his head felt refreshed and his body felt light. Now all the more determined to hold fast to Sangjenim, Nae-seong chased after him.

¹⁹But Sangjenim shouted, “You rogue! I told you not to follow, so why do you persist in being an annoyance by following me?” With this, Sangjenim threw even larger rocks at Nae-seong, one after the other.

²⁰Nae-seong again did not seek to avoid them, and he was struck on his head, shoulders, chest, arms, and legs all the way to Daeheung-ri Village.²¹After arriving at Gyeong-seok’s house, Sangjenim threw everything within his reach at Nae-seong, even his personal wooden headrest, and would by no means allow Nae-seong to enter.

²²These were the circumstances in which Nae-seong finally met Sangjenim, whom he had ardently yearned to find throughout his wanderings. Nae-seong was forty-one years of age at the time.²³From that day forth, Nae-seong followed Sangjenim, who would only say, “That fellow is a lunatic,” and treat Nae-seong harshly, so much so that the disciples naturally held Nae-seong in low esteem.²⁴One day, however, Sangjenim said to the disciples, “I pity that fellow. Let him sleep in my quarters.” Afterward, Sangjenim treated Nae-seong kindly.