¹“None can truly understand my work—not my parents, sibling, child, or wife. I descended to the canopy tower in the Nation of Great Law in the West, and then traveled to survey the world.

²“Eastern Learning’s mantra says, ‘Si-cheon-ju Jo-hwa-jeong.’ ³Spirits in heaven and earth entreated me to address the catastrophic plight of humans and spirits;⁴so, entrusting the affairs of heaven to the high officials of the Imperial Court of Heaven,⁵I descended to the canopy tower in the West, traveled the world, and observed the woes and joys of humanity.

⁶“I have a sacred bond with this Eastern land, so I eventually journeyed here and resided at the Maitreya Shrine of Geumsansa Temple for thirty years. While there, I bestowed upon Choe Su-un a heavenly mandate and spirit teaching.⁷However, the Joseon royal court executed Su-un, so I myself incarnated into the world in 1871, the eighth year from 1864, in accordance with the eight trigrams.

⁸“It is written in ‘Gungeul Lyrics’ that ‘The land of Joseon has auspicious mountains, and so the enlightened master will rise again.’ These words speak of my arrival.

⁹“Since Choe Su-un could not free himself from the decrepit ways of Confucianism, it is my teaching that is the true Eastern Learning.”