¹In the East, the source of life and the way of all change within the universe’s three realms—heaven, earth, and humanity—have been known as dao, and God the Supreme Governor, who rules over this dao, has been known as Je or Sangje.

²The ancients sang:

Glorious Sangjenim,
whose radiant awareness spans all the world below,
watches over the four corners of the earth,
seeking to bestow peace and prosperity upon all people.

³Long ago, Lao Zi asserted the existence of Sangjenim:

Dao is full of emptiness,
yet its fount never runs dry....

I do not know whose offspring dao is,
yet it seems to have preceded Sangjenim.

⁴Zhuang Zi wrote:

The true Supreme Governor of the Universe seems to exist,
yet it is very difficult to behold him.

I have always had faith in his deeds;
however, I have yet to behold his presence.

Is it that he chooses to remain unseen
even as he communes with all of existence?

⁵Daoists have worshiped Sangjenim, who governs the universe, as the highest of the spirits and have invoked him in their prayers, and the people of Joseon have performed offering rituals to Sangjenim since ancient times.