Page:Korean folk tales- imps, ghosts and fairies (IA koreanfolktalesi00impaiala).pdf/34



[ has been one of the great religions of Korea. Its main thought is expressed in the phrase su-sim yon-song, "to correct the mind and reform the nature"; while Buddhism's is myongsim kyon-song, "to enlighten the heart and see the soul,"

The desire of all Taoists is "eternal life," chang-saing pul-sa; that of the Buddhists, 10 rid oneself of fleshly being. In the Taoist world of the genii, there are three great divisions: the upper genii, who live with God; the midway genii, who have to do with the world of angels and spirits; and the lower genii, who rule in sacred places on the earth, among the hills, just as we find in the story of Chang To-ryong.]

In the days of King Chung-jong (A.D. 1507–1526) there lived a beggar in Seoul, whose face was extremely ugly and always dirty. He was forty years of age or so, but still wore his hair down his back like an unmarried boy. He carried