Copying the Classics · Donguibogam
Passages on how to treat body and mind
A medical book compiled over sixteen years by Heo Jun, a physician of Joseon. It is inscribed in UNESCO's Memory of the World.
A book whose name many have heard, but few know what it actually says.
We chose only passages about how to treat body and mind, not remedies. Please read them as the thinking of people long ago, not as today's medical knowledge.
How it works
- One passage per sheet — first read the classical Chinese original with your eyes.
- Read the original aloud following the pronunciation guide, then slowly take in the Korean meaning.
- Read the explanation of one word and the short question, then think of where it touches your life.
- Copy it by hand on the blank lines, and hold on to the sentence that stays with you today.
When · with whom
Suits a time when your body keeps sending signals. It's fine to write slowly, one sheet at a time.
Passages chosen from the Donguibogam
- To cure the illness, you must first tend to the mind. / Before caring for your body, what part of your mind do you need to govern first?
- The human body is a little heaven and earth. / In the small universe that is your body, what needs the most attention these days?
- Where it flows, there is no pain; where there is pain, it does not flow. / Where in your body or mind does something feel blocked?
- Mending the body with medicine is no match for mending it with food. / What could you care for with what you eat every day, before turning to medicine?
- Essence · energy · spirit: these three sustain a person. / Of the three forces that sustain you, which has weakened lately?
- Speak little and nourish the energy within. / What words will you hold back today, to speak less and nourish the energy within?
- When thinking goes too far, the energy knots up. / How would you like to loosen a heart knotted by too much thinking?
- After you've eaten, don't lie down right away; walk slowly and let your energy settle. / What daily rhythm do you want to even out, walking slowly after a meal?