• Journal of the Daesoon Academy of Sciences
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• v.33
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• pp.1-30
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• 2019

There have been three trends in the study of the view of humanity in Daesoon Thought: insider theology, outsider theology, and religious studies. This article is intended to interpret the view of humanity in Daesoon Thought from the perspective of Mircea Eliade's New Humanism. We find similarities between Daesoon Thought and Eliade's New Humanism. Daesoon Thought deals with the complexities of life as being labyrinth-like and puts Jeungsan's view of humanity at the center of a Daesoon worldview. Jeungsan examines the existential problems which humans face in the Former World, and gives the religious remedies of Haewonsangsaeng (the resolution of grievances for mutual beneficence) and Boeunsangsaeng (the grateful reciprocation of favors for mutual beneficence) to transform humanity's worldview for usage in the Later World. Jeungsan suggests a way of peace instead of the revolution of Donghak. Through the Reordering Works of Heaven and Earth, Jeungsan changes the mutual contention of the Former World into the mutual beneficence of the Later World. The cosmology of Daesoon Thought recovers the relationship between divine beings and human beings in the three realms, and proposes a system of ethics that promotes virtue and reproves vices and human-centericism. In conclusion, the view of humanity in Daesoon Thought is an unapologetic view of homo-religiosus from within a new humanism.

• Journal of the Daesoon Academy of Sciences
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• v.39
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• pp.99-136
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• 2021

Grievance-resolution pursues reconciliation, mutual beneficence, and consolidation. Accordingly, the concept of grievance-resolution is a norm, a principle, as well as an ideology that aims to realize an ideal society and satisfy human desires. Such ideological thought transcended into religious doctrine and was systemized by Jeungsan, Kang Il-sun. He focused on grudges that represented the intrinsic sentiment of Korea and apprehended that grudges are the grounds and reason for the devastation of the world. Furthermore, Jeungsan was a figure who reinterpreted the concept of grievance-resolution via a religious perspective through an in-depth study which transformed into a doctrinal system. He practiced the Reordering Works of grievance-resolution on a universal dimension to religiously redeem all things. Jeungsan completely resolved all the grudges and grievances that filled up the Three Realms (Heaven, Earth, and Humanity) through the concept of grievance-resolution and emphasized that he would establish an ideal society on earth to complete the redemption of human beings. Jeungsan apprehended that the essential characteristics of grudges and grievances were the fundamental reason for the destruction of the world. In this regard, he insisted that the redemption of the world should be achieved through the grievance-resolution. Grievance-resolution is an essential aspect and principle of Jeungsan's system of thought. In addition, it is a concrete approach to establish the earthly paradise of the Later World. Jeungsan implemented a method to redeem humankind by systemizing the intrinsic sentiments common in Korea - namely, the concept of grievance-resolution- and he suggested it as a religious practice which was the principle behind the Reordering Works of Heaven and Earth. Jeungsan defined that his own era was a time of grievance-resolution. In addition, he insisted that grievances and grudges had existed from the beginning of humankind. Jeungsan also said that there were grievances and grudges in heavenly planes, human planes, and underworldly planes. It was thereby necessary to do beneficial deeds for others and reciprocate beneficence in order to resolve grievances. He emphasized that a process wherein all human desires could be satisfied was essential. Furthermore, Jeungsan stressed that this present time should focus on the process of grievance-resolution on a practical level.

• Journal of the Daesoon Academy of Sciences
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• v.37
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• pp.229-262
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• 2021

The debate on the treatment of animals has accelerated as a social issue in the West since the 1970s. In 1975, Peter Singers argued in his book, Animal Liberation, that speciesism should be banned. This led to an explosion in research on animal welfare in the philosophical and social sciences. Following Singer, Tom Regan suggested considering the animal rights as being on the same level as human rights. Their arguments were that animals should be imbued with some intrinsic weight sufficient enough to remind humans of their social responsibility to animals at least to a certain degree. In this regard, social responsibility for animal welfare as well as animal rights has formed an axis that organizes human morality in modern society. Such arguments regarding animal welfare can be perceived as an active and creative effort which accords with the free will of human beings who in Daesoon Thought are understood as facing the era of human nobility. This argumentation also aligns with the doctrine of grievance-resolution for mutual beneficence as a practical creed due to the way in which modern bioethics implies that animal welfare could become a practical communal morality integrated into legal systems prior to adoption as a system of individual morality. From within this context, this study discusses the nature and limits of modern animal welfare and animal rights from the perspective of the grievance-resolution which Kang Jeungsan promised to animals.

• Journal of the Daesoon Academy of Sciences
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• v.29
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• pp.209-239
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• 2017

This study focuses on reviewing the concepts, roles, meanings, and values ascribed to females and femininity as observable in Daesoon thought and in Feminist theory. Especially with regards to the process of achieving gender equality through the resolution of grievance for females in Daesoon thought, the study draws positive and desirable roles within this practice by specifically examining good deeds performed by females and practical roles that females play. By doing so, this study finds a way to go from the world of mutual contention to the world of resolving grievances that have arisen due to the oppression of yin and the encouragement of yang. First wave feminism can be summarized as the inclination for equality. In Daesoon thought concerning this and from standpoint of females, the most ideal image of woman is one of a female Perfected Being who is unified with Dao and has thereby achieved perfection of her humanity apart from gender. In the Later World (Hucheon), people can get results based on their hard work regardless of gender. The enlightenment of Dao is such that it is not important to distinguish between males and females. Both of them can be 'unified with dao'. Therefore, despite the similarity, the concepts of equality in first wave feminism and the resolution of grievance for women have differences in terms of their ideal vision of equality. The representative claim in second wave feminism is 'consideration' and, in this context, 'consideration' has pronounced feminine characteristics. In Daesoon thought, this sense of 'consideration' is related to the concept of 'Jamojijeong', a term that refers to motherly affection. However, it is not simply a virtue of females and mothers, but rather the value of 'Yin (pronounced in Sino-Korean as 'Eum')' called 'Eumdeok (hidden virtue)'. Jamojijeong means that people should behave in a modest way and this helps them achieve their aims. It is also closely related with 'femininity' in the sense of Eum. One of processes spreading it socially is to propagate virtue (Podeok) and if harmony is achieved through it, then 'right yin and right yang' emerge as the precondition by which Pyeong Do (Pacification of Tao) can be realized. Furthermore, because the aspect of Pyeong is a cosmic process, it has distinct differences from the social aims of feminism and the worldly aims of other numerous ideologies. In proceeding from the Former World (Seoncheon), an era of mutual contention, to the Later World, an era of mutual beneficence, it is essential to emphasize the connection between 'harmony (Hwa)' and 'propagating virtue' as the starting point from which the perspective of Daesoon thought aiming at the principle of 'Pyeong' and 'Hwa' emerges. Herein one can discover that the realization of Daesoon thought is based on the vitalization of the feminine value of 'Jamojijeong'.

• Journal of the Daesoon Academy of Sciences
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• v.24_1
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• pp.145-208
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• 2014

아시아 국가들은 근대사에 들어 서양 제국주의와 식민지주의로 인해 정치·사회적 과도기를 경험하였다. 지역종교들도 이러한 영향에서 예외는 아니었는데 19-20세기에 나타난 신종교들이 그 좋은 사례들이다. 한국도 이러한 지구적인 현상에 포함되었다. 주변국들의 문화적 계몽주의와 조선왕조의 쇄국정책 사이의 정치적 혼란은 방향 감각 없는 국가적 위기를 초례했고, 정치·사회적 부패와 국가적 불안정은 중·하류층 시민들로 하여금 고통스러운 삶을 극복하기 위해 새로운 진리나 믿음을 찾게 동요하였다. 근대사에 근원을 둔 대순진리회는 한국에서 가장 영향력 있고 성공적인 신종교일 뿐 아니라 현대사회의 기존 종교들에게도 많은 도전을 주고 있다. 그렇다면 이 신종교운동의 근원은 어디에 있을까? 그들의 교리나 가르침은 어떤 것일까? 다른 신종교적 현상들과 어떻게 구별될까? 이 논문은 창시자인 강증산의 역사적인 출현과 업적을 "성취관념"에서 분석해 볼 뿐 아니라 대순진리회가 기존의 유교, 불교, 도교의 가르침을 단순히 혼합한 것이 아니라 음양합덕, 신인조화, 해원상생, 도통진경의 특유한 가르침들은 미륵사상, 천지공사, 인존사상과 함께 그들의 최고신인 구천상제가 후천세계를 위해 성취한 완전한 미션을 반영하는 창조적인 사상임을 논증할 것이다.

• Journal of the Daesoon Academy of Sciences
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• v.35
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• pp.477-508
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• 2020

Awareness of grievances and the concept of "grievances (冤)" itself are both universal and essential among East Asian countries. Grievances have become a cultural symbol that has repeatedly appeared in the Han culture of later generations. The way new religious groups interpret "grievances" and face disasters, which are seen as having been brought by grievances, reflects the circumstances and historical backgrounds that Eastern nations hold in common. This paper aims to discuss the concept of "grievances" in Taiwan's Weixin Shengjiao and Korea's Daesoon Jinrihoe, which are represented doctrinally as "The Resolution of Grievances and Altruism" (in Weixin Shengjiao) and "The Resolution of Grievances for Mutual Beneficence" (in Daesoon Jinrihoe). How these two tenets are fulfilled in modern society will likewise be examined. Weixin Shengjiao takes solving the hatred among the Three Ancestors as a premise for achieving world peace and commits to stabilizing people's lives amid the capitalistic design of modern society. Daesoon Jinrihoe deems the "Reordering Works" to be the only way to unify the earthly energies to achieve balance in the universe. They also developed the "Three Major Works" to contribute to modern society. These two new religious orders share many similarities, but are distinct in their interpretations and practices. Both orders demonstrate the features and meaning of "Solving Grievances" as it relates to the process of modernization in East Asia.

• Journal of the Daesoon Academy of Sciences
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• v.28
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• pp.133-163
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• 2017

It is the aim of this paper to elucidate the meaning of 'Sangsaeng' in Daesoon Thought on the basis of its relation to Life and Spirit in the philosophy of Hegel. To achieve this aim, this article compares three important concepts from Daesoon Thought, namely the 'gods of heaven and earth,' 'Haewon', and 'Sangsaeng' with Hegel's 'Life,' 'Spirit,' and the 'struggle for recognition.' This paper will clarify the commonalities as well as the differences between Daesoon Thought and Hegelian philosophy. The comparison between Hegel's concept of 'life' and the 'gods of heaven and earth' shows a specific relationship between a life and a soul which is characterized by duality. The point of similarity is that the two thoughts regards the soul as the basis of all things in nature including the life itself and spirit. This is the duality of the soul in nature and spirit as the truth of nature. But the difference is that Hegel does not reduce all things in nature including life itself to the soul as the truth of nature. This paper will argue that Hegel's idea of spirit returning from nature to itself has a similarity with the essence of Haewon in Haewon-sangsaeng. Hegel insists that spirit submerges initially in nature just as human beings in Daesoon Thought have inherent Won. The realization of the spirit in the Subjective Spirit shows that the spirit sublimates this initial submergence in nature und reveals itself in corporeality. This study will suggest that this realization of spirit including the struggle for recognition may be interpreted as the meaning of Sangsaeng.

• Journal of the Daesoon Academy of Sciences
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• v.27
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• pp.135-169
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• 2016

While examining the religious ideas implied by Jeungsan's Great Works of the Reordering of Universe, we find special ideas which cannot be found in any other religions, and these ideas are presented in diverse ways. Most of all, the representative idea is that of human nobility; a distinctive idea which makes Daesoonjinrihoe different from other religions. Thus, this research focuses on the following questions: when was Human Nobility concretely realized? What kind of organic relationship does human nobility have between the divine world and the world of humanity? In light of the forthcoming Era of Human Nobility, what are some concrete images which can be drawn from the interaction between the realms of heaven and humanity wherein preordinations are plotted in heaven and then carried out by humankind? Prior to formulating my own sense of the subject matter, I consulted 43 previous discussions and dissertations and arranged them chronologically so as to examine their correlation. From these sources and my own insights, I was able to gain a sense of the starting point of the era of human nobility and its tenor. I have found the following problems in previous research on the uniqueness and distinctness of human nobility: ①The conceptual undertones of human nobility have not been adequately gleaned. ②There do not seem to be any dissertations which examine the way in which human nobility is connected with the doctrines of the creative conjunction between yin and yang, the harmonious union of divine beings and human beings, and the resolution of grievances for mutual beneficence. ③In most dissertations, not only is the starting point of the Era of Human Nobility regarded as concurrent with the start of the 50,000 years of earthly paradise in the Later World, but also the point of division between the former world and the later world is widely disputed. ④In-depth and fully realized studies dealing with the subject of human nobility are not easily found. ⑤There is little sense of progression in the research on human nobility because scholars are not sufficiently engage with one another to achieve common consensus. Therefore, in this dissertation, I have provided answers to the problems I discovered in previous research. I have developed my own tenor as follows: ①By giving priority to the Jeongyeong, I have closely investigated the period which divides the Former World and the Later World. Then, I produced a chronological timeline to demonstrate the progression: the Former World → the Era of the Resolution of Grievances → the Later World. This aids in the comprehension of human nobility. ②The Era of Human Nobility was preceeded by the opening of the Era of the Resolution of Grievances of human world which began in 1901. Human nobility is stipulated as a regulatory system for the universe set in motion by the opening the Era of Resolution of Grievances. ③While synthetically examining the aspects of transition which enable the Ear of Human Nobility to be realized, the period to be studied is stipulated as beginning from 1901 and ending at the start of the Later World. The subjects are defined as the flowing from Jeungsan, the first leader of human nobility, to the noble individuals empowered by Dao and the noble populace. In the Era of Human Nobility, studying the transition process by which human nobility is realized requires delving into the resolution of grievances. Although this method is essential to understanding Daesoon ideas, in actuality it does not hinge upon speculative exegetical theorizing but instead it was gained through eisegetical rigor.

• Journal of the Daesoon Academy of Sciences
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• v.19
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• pp.1-20
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• 2005

In spite of the ethics of sangsaeng is based on Daesoon thoughts, we can regard it as a moral theory independent on religion. Like other reasonable moral theories, It has three levels, moral standard, moral rules and moral acts or judgements. Sangsaeng is moral standard in the ethics of sangsaeng. moral rules are derived from it and could justify many particular moral judgements and acts. The ethics of sangsaeng belongs to metaphysical ethics and holistic ethics because it is derived holistic, sangsaeng's world view of Daesoon thoughts. The ethics of sangsaeng, first of all, extends the realm of moral community to all beings of world. Therefore it might works well on as a solution for environmental problem recently issued. Secondly, because beings are fundamentally all equal in holistic world, the principle of equality is basic principle in the ethics of sangsaeng. Finally, in relation to the principle of equality, the ethics of sangsaeng needs 'Haewon' as the first moral rule because it is a practical method for solution to various social inequality - racism, sexism, regionalism and so on.

• Journal of the Daesoon Academy of Sciences
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• v.18
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• pp.25-52
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• 2004

The history of the mankind, that is the history of the war, have been continued with the consecutive of the struggle and confrontation. In the history of many war, the most important factor of them is just the religion. so that today, for the mankind to long for the peace, all believers are charged with very important mission. Confronting with the 21th century, yet the war is not ceasing in an earth one side. At this time if we are to investigate the problem of real peace, we need to present uprightly the direction of basic religious factor and solution. In Korea, which is keeping deep religious mind, the Daesoon thought that appears newly at the modern times is proposing the 'Haewonsangsaeng'(eliminating resentment and helping one another) as new peace idea of 21th century. In this thought, we can discover the reason of the conflict to appear in the history of mankind. And there is a new idea of peace, that is to say, which is called 'sangsaeng'(mutual aid and cooperation). In this article, centering upon Sangsaeng idea, I try to introduce the new viewpoint of Daesoon thought about the conflict and peace.