ABSTRACT
In early 1860 he was stricken by some strange disease which physicians were unable to cure. Suddenly, while he was resting one day, Ch'oe Che'u had a vision of a spirit who called himself Sangje (Shangti in Chinese), the Ruler of Heaven. This spirit instructed the infirm Korean to go and proclaim a special doctrine to the world. Ch'oe Che'u then asked Sangje if he was to teach Sohak (Western Learning = Roman Catholicism). Sangje replied in the negative and gave Ch'oe Che'u a piece of paper with a cryptic passage of twenty-one characters on it. Ch'oe was then instructed to use the mystic phrase to cure people's diseases. Sangje assured Ch'oe Che'u that constant use of this talisman would assure him of long life. Ch'oe then swallowed the paper and was instantly cured of his disease. His family, who up to this time had opposed his various philosophical ruminations, were converted upon drinking a mixture of water and ashes made from a piece of paper with the original talisman phrase written on it.
