As you live in this turbulent and wicked world, you must keep your mind true, refine your qi, earnestly cultivate and purify yourself with dao, and attend to your peace of mind and peace of body, for this is the way to attain the qi of life. (Sangjenim, Dojeon 7:20)
Through these words, presented in the Dojeon, Sangjenim revealed to humanity the means of overcoming the quagmires of this world and attaining the qi of life in order to transform ourselves and enter the magnificent world of the Later Heaven.
Moreover, the words of Sangjenim and Taemonim in the Dojeon provide us various ways to achieve our personal gaebyeok—our personal renewal.
Honor Your Ancestors
The ancestral spirits of every family lineage garner virtue by offering their devotion to me; and by doing so, they are granted descendants and thus set their descendants upon the path of life. Your ancestors are your God. (Sangjenim, Dojeon 7:14)
Family: The Root of All Blessings
The union of husband and wife is the starting point of the dao of humanity and the root of all blessings. Therefore, when a husband and wife base their family upon harmony, it has repercussions for the entire world; when a husband and wife base their family upon discord, this too has repercussions for the entire world. (Sangjenim, Dojeon 9:56)
Surrender Your Sins
To live a life of sin is to live a life of torment. Happiness arrives when your sins have been cleansed away, so tell me, from the depths of your heart, all the sins you have committed. I will forgive each and every one of them. Whenever and wherever you may be, pray to me in your heart with the deepest of sincerity, and I will accept your prayers. (Sangjenim, Dojeon 8:29)
Do Not Cause Vengeful Qi
Do not instill bitterness in others, for you will reap their bitterness as vengeful qi. Do not hate others, for the spirits guarding them will know of it and repay your hate with vengeful qi. (Sangjenim, Dojeon 2:81)
Reform Your Mind
You must reform your mind. If you reform your mind, nothing will lie beyond your reach. To reform your mind, you must possess the virtue of benevolence; the virtue of benevolence is required to attain luminous enlightenment. (Taemonim, Dojeon 11:201)
A Life of Righteousness
One day, a disciple asked, “How can one forsake iniquity and live a life of righteousness?”
“Is the way not sincerity, awakenedness, and faithfulness?” Sangjenim answered. “Do not deceive your mind, and harm no life. Do not transgress against human bonds, and never misguide people. Do not commit adultery or covet material possessions.”
Sangjenim further declared, “Rejoice in what life provides you by wholeheartedly embracing your lot in life, and faithfully devote yourself to the practice of cultivating and purifying your mind. Never let your mind falter in its sincerity, not even for a single moment; and strive to share your benevolence with more and more people every single day. (Dojeon 9:3)
Meditation Practice
On a day clear, sunny, windless, and tranquil, if you drop a stone into deep water, it will sink straight to the bottom. If you can maintain such a mind for even one hour, your meditation practice will have advanced. (Sangjenim, Dojeon 9:92)
The correct way to chant a mantra is to preserve a right mind, sit serenely, and apply yourself with sincerity, awakenedness, and faithfulness. (Sangjenim, Dojeon 9:90)