• Journal of the Daesoon Academy of Sciences
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• v.33
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• pp.219-255
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• 2019

'Dao' is an important research subject as it is the main term for 'ultimate reality' in East Asian religious thought. Understanding the concept of 'Dao' is essential to reach the state of 'Perfected Unification with Dao,' the ultimate aspiration in Daesoon Thought. The meaning of 'Dao' can vary such as 'Dao' meaning 'way', which was first introduced in Jinwen. There is also the 'Dao' of yin and yang, and Dao used to mean human obligation, or Dao meaning the way of Heaven. These can also be classified into five categories: Constant Dao, Heavenly Dao, Divine Dao, Human Dao, and the Dao of Sangsaeng. Every natural phenomenon of birth, growth, and death in the universe operates under the patterns of Heaven and Earth. Therefore, Constant Dao in Daesoon Thought is the ultimate pattern underlying human action and the operations of Heaven and Earth. These apply not only to the natural and the divine world but also to the human world. It can be said that 'Rather than natural law or moral symbol of the world, 'Heavenly Dao' means the great Dao that saves the world through the Daesoon Truth of Sangje, Supreme God of the Ninth Heaven. Divine Dao can be said to be 'the Dao by which man must complete his work according to the law and the will of God,' that is, 'the Dao by which God and man are united together by Sangje's heavenly order and teaching, which aims for humanity, righteousness, propriety, and wisdom.' When the world is in a state of calamity and crisis, the request for the saint's Dao can symbolized by the kings, Yao and Shun, in The Canonical Scripture (Jeon-gyeong). The saint's Dao saves the dying world and people's lives and is called 'saving lives by curing the world (濟生醫世)'. It can be regarded as a characteristic of Human Dao in Daesoon Thought, which is the human obligation to follow Sangje's order, the great Dao to save the world. The Dao of Sangsaeng is the true dharma that rectifies the world full of mutual conflict through the ethics of the Later World, which is to promote the betterment of others and to practice the human Dao that saves the world and rebuilds the Constant Dao. Thus, The concept of Dao in Daesoon Thought is Daesoon Truth which applies to and operates throughout all realms of Heaven, Earth, Humanity, and the Divine world. Dao in Daesoon Thought was influenced by the historical background in which it emerged and this can be seen in its ideological features. It embraces the traditional concept of Dao, which refers to the Chinese classics and represents the main schools of thought in East Asia: Confucianism, Buddhism, and Daoism. And it is unique in that it implies the will of Sangje as a religious object, a supreme being. It can be seen that Daesoon Thought has developed through the process of defining the concept of Dao by harmonizing both the universality and specificity of modern Korean religious thought.

• Korean Journal of Heritage: History & Science
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• v.43 no.4
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• pp.24-55
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• 2010

Jangmyeongdeung Lantern (貞陵長明燈) refers to the stone lantern placed in front of the royal tomb. It serves both symbolic and decorative purposes; symbolic because it is supposed to guard and illuminate the buried, and decorative because it is a work of sculpture that adorns the entire graveyard. The Jangmyeongdeung of Jeongneung was the earliest stone lantern to be produced during the Joseon period. Its square shape is unique among those from the early to mid-Joseon period. The three major parts of Jangmyeongdeung - the stand, the lantern, and the roof-shaped cover parts - are square in shape, differing from the octagonal shaped Jangmyeongdeung. The stand consists of three single stone blocks, the Hadaeseok(下臺石), Ganjuseok(竿柱石), and Sangdaeseok(上臺石). The Hwasaseok(火舍石), or the lantern part, is also a single stone block. Jangmyeongdeung of Jeongneung succeeds the style of those of Hyeon-neung and Jeongneung(玄正陵) of the Goryeo period and is of a better artistic quality. As the first Jangmyeongdeung lantern, it is a refined work of art that marks the foundation of the Joseon Kingdom. This paper tries to ascertain the stylistic origin of the square-shaped Jangmyeongdeung of Jeongneung and compare it with those of Buddhist temples. Consequently, similarities were found among the stone lanterns of Zen priests 'Jigong'(指空) and 'Nawong'(懶翁) in the Hweamsa Temple(檜巖寺) site from the late Goryeo period, those of Zen priest 'Muhak'(無學) of the Hweamsa Temple site, and those of national priest 'Bogak'(普覺) of Cheongnyongsa Temple(靑龍寺) from the early Joseon period. Primarily, this is because the three components(the stand, the lantern part, and the roof-shaped cover) are essentially square-shaped. Second, as the Ganjuseok(one of the components of the stand) became shorter, the stand took a more stable form. Third, the Hwasaseok(the lantern part) consists of two stone blocks joined together. Fourth, the roof-shaped cover is also in square in shape. Similarly, the Jangmyeongdeung of Jeongneung contains Buddhist elements as well. The three-bead pattern that decorates the Ganjuseok stand is an example. The three-bead pattern is one of the symbolic elements related to Tantric Buddhism. It is found on the diadems worn by Bodhisattvas from the Goryeo and early Joseon periods. The Jangmyeongdeung of Jeongneung in early Joseon directly influenced the production of the square-shaped stone lanterns used to decorate the tombs during the Joseon period. After the latter half of the 15th century, however, the octagonal-shaped Jangmyeongdeung style began to prevail. The Jangmyeongdeung of Jeongneung reflects the succession of the tradition of royal tombs from Goryeo to Joseon, the introduction of square-shaped stone lanterns to Buddhist temples, and the influence of the Buddhist philosophy of the time. It is a living testimony to various elements of each time and corresponding cultural trends.