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Who is Nam Sa-go? - The Dao Culture
Who is Nam Sa-go?
(Nam Sa-go 남사고 南師古, 1509~1571)
 Gyeok-am (hermitage of decorum)
Nam Sa-go was a great sholar, an incredibly talented prophet, and a wise man of
the sixteenth century during Korea's Joseon dynasty. He was born in 1509, in a
city called Uljin located in Gyeonsang-do province, and passed away in the year
1571. Sa-go was his given name and his adopted the name "Gyeok-am" symbolized
his prestigious place in the Joseon dynasty. He was deeply studied in the
I-Ching (The Book of Changes) and had a great understanding of the
principles of astronomy, geomancy, and physiognomy. In his later years, he
served in the royal court of the Joseon dynasty at the time of King Myeongjong,
as the chief of the royal astronomical center. It is said that Nam Sa-go
achieved enlightenment at a temple called Bulyeongsa (The temple of Buddha's
shadow) located in his hometown. It was here that he met an old monk who
conveyed esoteric words and teachings to him.
Like many other famous
people in history, there are many anecdotes about Sa-go's life. One day, as he
was walking along the Yeongdong, an eastern mountain range, he unexpectedly
looked up the sky. Suddenly, with a great voice he shouted "Today, a person who
will harm the Joseon dynasty will appear!". This turned out to be the day when
Toyotomi Hideyoshi; who initiated two invasions of Korea in 1592 and again in
1597, was born. In the Year of the Dragon (1592), he stated "When a man
riding a white horse comes over the south sea, that is when our country will
collapse." True to fact, when Japan started its invasion the following year, a
captain named Gato Giyosama rode a white horse after they crossed the south sea.
What is Gyeokamyurok (격암유록, 格庵遺錄)?
-A book of future by Korean
philosopher Nam Sa-go
"Gyeokamyurok (格庵遺錄)� is
written by a famous Korean philosopher Nam Sa-go (南師古, 1509-1571). This book
consists of more than sixty traditional Korean poems and written in both Hangeul(Korean
language) and traditional hanja characters(Chinese characters; Koreans use Hangeul
and hanja combined since old times to now). In this book, Nam Sa-go
prophesied various incidents starting from the end of sixteenth century to the
future of today. He was deeply versed in the Eastern principles of Yeokhak
(I-Ching뾲he science of divination), Pungsu (feng-shui : geomancy), astrology
and physiognomy. He foretold of the future and asked us to prepare with a
sincere mind. Specifically, he explained in detail about a reform of the
spiritual world in heaven, changes to religious belief systems of Korea, the
true title of God, and a method to survive the great change facing humanity at
the time of gaebyeok.
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