Chapter Fourteen : Prospects 4

When the Founding Master was first establishing the headquarters in Iksan, he asked the few disciples who had assembled in some small thatched houses, “What might our order be compared to now?” Kwon Taeho said, “It is like a seed-bed for rice farming.” The Master asked, “Why so?” Taeho answered, “Because, although only a few score of disciples in small houses like these currently revere and rejoice in the dharma of our order, this will serve as the foundation upon which this dharma will pervade the entire world in the future.” The Founding Master said, “You’re right. Just as farming those large fields begins with planting seeds in small seedbeds, so too will we today be recognized in the future as the ancestors of a great, worldwide order. Some people may smirk at these words, but after only the first thirty-six-year cycle, there will be increasing numbers of people who will yearn for and seek out this dharma. After a few decades, this dharma will be sought out throughout our country, and throughout the world after a few centuries. Once this happens, not only will there be numberless people who will regret not having met me, but you who are among the first one hundred disciples and who also are those who participated in this order during this first thirty-six-year cycle will be envied and revered to no end.”