Master Woo Myung Question and Answer – What kind of a person does the word sage or dō-in refer to?
People try to become sages by gaining enlightenment about something, but a complete sage is a person without any greed. Therefore, it is extremely difficult to become a sage if one is not walking down the right path or dō. It is easy to misunderstand that a person who speaks of extraordinary things is a sage, when actually he is a person who is possessed.
A true sage must not only clearly know Truth, he must be Truth itself. In order for man to become a sage, he must have a master or teacher; without a master there is no knowing how long it will take, if it is even possible. Not all sages are of the same level. A sage of the highest level is a person who does not dwell in life even as he lives; he who does not have any of his own individual mind. Everything exists amidst nothing, and while everything exists, the mind of self does not exist. People practiced in a cave or in the mountains because they did not know the true dō or path, but it is difficult to become enlightened in this way. In fact, no one has ever done so. The fastest way to become a sage is to find a proper master.
From The Book of Wisdom
-Woo Myung-
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