On March First 1999 he signed the Korean Declaration of Independence as a representative of the Buddhist community, and was consequently incarcerated by the Japanese colonial government for eighteen months. After his release from prison on March 1921 he established Daegakkyo 大覺教 and a translation center called Samjang yeokhoe 三藏譯會, and devoted most of his time to the translation of Buddhist scriptures. He also organized a Buddhist chorus and composed a hymn called the “Gwonsega.” In 1928 he published the journal Mua 無我 and with Hanyeong Jeongho (漢永鼎鎬; 1870–1948) he also published the journal Buril 佛日.
In May 1929 he and 127 other monks submitted a petition to the colonial government asking for the restoration of a celibate Buddhist tradition in Korea. He also stressed the need for self-sustenance among Buddhist monks (Seonnong byeonghaeng 禪農竝行) as a way of revitalizing the Buddhist tradition from within the Korean Buddhist community.

In accordance with his plan for self-sustenance of the Buddhist clergy, he participated in the management of a mine in the Hamgyeongdo province, and in 1922 he bought some land in Manchuria and ran a farm in the compounds of a branch of Daegakkyo. Beginning with the Ten Thousand Day Assiduous Meditation Society (Chamseon man-il gyeolsa hoe) that he started at Chilbulsa 七佛寺, he acquired many followers also at Mangwolsa 望月寺 in Dobongsan and at Naewonsa 內院寺 in Cheonseongsan 千聖山. He passed away at the age of 77 on February 24, 1940. He was a prolific writer who left many works such as his Gwiwon jeongjong 歸源正宗, Gakhaeillyun 覺海一輪, Susimnon 修心論, Cheonggong won'il 晴空圓日, and many others.