1. What is Kouk Sun-Do?
Kouk Sun-Do is the Korean traditional method of training
the mind and body which has descended from the Korean founding fathers
about 9,700 years ago. It is the secret of preserving one's health, remaining
free from disease, in good health, and in full vigor.
Our good old ancestors, having learned this method, taught it to
the general public. Kouk Sun-Do flourished in the Three Kingdoms Era (around
A.D. 300 - A.D. 700). However, Kouk Sun-Do was forced to leave the public and
go into the mountains due to political persecution during the Chosun Dynasty
and Japanese ruling periods. Thus, Kouk Sun-Do descended secretly in the mountains
until Master Chungsan revealed again it to the public in 1967.
At the age of twelve, Chungsan met Master Chungwoon at the Tae Hahk
Mountain in a strange twist of fate and received lessons in Kouk Sun-Do from
the Master for more than 20 years. Mastering Kouk Sun-Do, he left the mountain
in 1967 and started to spread it to the public. He wanted people all over the
world, regardless of religion, race, and nationality, to be healthy and enjoy
a better quality of life through the Kouk Sun-Do practice. In April, 1970, he
opened the Kouk Sun-Do Training Center in Seoul, Korea. Since then, a
great number of people, including people of various nationalities as well as
Koreans, have practiced it, and have enjoyed a better life.
The practice of Kouk Sun-Do involves lower abdominal breathing along
with special postures. The breathing practice improves and revitalizes the autonomic
nervous system and self-healing and restoring forces of our body. Hence,
all diseases disappear spontaneously. Continuous lifetime training results in
genuine health of both body and mind.
The major advantage of Kouk Sun-Do over other practices is that
it is the safest way. This is because Kouk Sun-Do has a scientific training
system. Kouk Sun-Do has three practicing stages: the Chung Gahk Do stage, the
Tong Ki Bup stage, and the Sun Do Bup stage. In the Chung Gahk Do stage, we
mainly focus on body training (of course we do the simultaneous training of
body and mind). In the Tong Ki Bup stage, we concentrate on spiritual training.
In the Sun Do Bup stage, we practice to unify mind and body completely
with the universe.
Without having a complete and healthy body, it is hard to
reach a high level of spiritual training. Because lifestyles today are very
complicated and lead to the weak body condition, it is not desirable to consider
the body as the shadow of the mind and regard only the spiritual practice as
of great importance. It thus may be harmful to train just the mind or to suppress
the body desire through
fasting and penance. Practices, which use the brief and simple methods of expelling
the impure fumes (toxins and wastes) of the body and then directly enter the
spiritual practice, are not appropriate to us today with our weakened body conditions
from living in our complicated society.
Since we practice first the Chung Gahk Do stage in Kouk Sun-Do,
which mainly focuses on body training, and then enter the Tong Ki Bup stage,
in which we train the spirit intensively, Kouk Sun-Do is the safest and most
appropriate method for us today. Moreover, Kouk Sun-Do has nothing to do with
religion. It does not promote any religious position or faith. Therefore, regardless
of religion or faith, anyone can practice Kouk Sun-Do.