• Journal of the Daesoon Academy of Sciences
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• v.20
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• pp.25-66
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• 2009

This paper checked the trend of exiting researches on Jeungsan's thought and investigated the academic problems of Daesun's thought as an basic work to form the deep academic discussions on Daesun's thought. Grouping into the scriptures of Jeungsangyo, its theses and papers, I synthesized the present state of researches. In the case of papers, I divided into three periods, before 1990, 1990s' and after 2000. Grouping into three fields, the periods, the researchers and the themes, I investigated the characteristics of the researches of Jeungsan's thought through the main scriptures, theses and papers, and reports of actual state. In conclusion, I brought up the ten problems about academic questions of Daesun's thought.

• Journal of the Daesoon Academy of Sciences
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• v.25_1
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• pp.157-187
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• 2015

In this paper, I will study the common point between Korean buddhist thought and Daesoon thought. In 2 chapter, I will illuminate Kang Jeungsan to be familiar with buddhist culture. Daewonsa(大院寺) was the place Kang Jeungsan's to enlighten Path. Kang Jeungsan said Śākyamuni to the people to follow himself. And Kang Jeungsan burned Thousand-Hands Sutra(千手經) as one of Chenjigongsa(天地公事). In 3 chapter I study the unfolding of Korean Maitreya thought and the interpenetration of the three teachings. In 4 chapter I study the idea of Maitreya Buddha and the unity of the three teachings in Daesoon thought. Maitreya has the origin in India. Korea accepted this Maitreya via China. In Silla era, the people accepted Maitreya in relation to Hwarang(花郞). In Unified Silla era, Beopsang jong(法相宗) accepted Maitreya devotion positively and the typical person is Jinpyo(眞表). In Goryeo era, Beopsang jong devoted Maitreya, on the other hand Maitreya devotion changed the popular devotion. In Joseon era, Maitreya devotion changed the popular devotion more and more. In this background, Kang Jeungsan accepted the idea of Maitreya Buddha. And Kang Jeungsan insisted that he is the existence to give Heaven's decree to Choe Jeu(崔濟愚) of Donghak and to combine Jesus of Christianity. The interpenetration of the three teachings is one of the stream of Joseon era's buddhim. We can read this in Hamheo Deuktong(涵虛得通)'s Hyeonjeongron(顯正論) and Yuseokjiluiron (儒釋質疑論) to pretend Hamheo Deuktong and Cheongheo Hyujeong(淸虛休靜)'s Samgagwigam(三家龜鑑). This interpenetration of the three teachings of Joseon era influenced Daesoon thought. The unity of the three teachings in Daesoon thought is divided into three. The first is the unity of the three teachings of Gwanwang(冠旺)'s standpoint, the second is the unity of the three teachings of Sungyo(仙敎) superior standpoint, the third is the unity of the three teachings of Jinmuk(震黙)'s anecdote. The interpenetration of the three teachings of Joseon era is connected with the unity of the three teachings of Jinmuk's anecdote. Thus Joseon era's buddhist thought and Daesoon thought have the common point in the idea of Maitreya Buddha and the interpenetration(unity) of the three teachings.

• Journal of the Daesoon Academy of Sciences
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• v.26
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• pp.45-75
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• 2016

The aim of this study is to explain characteristics of Maitreya and Maitreya belief from a point of view that 'Jeungsan is the very Maitreya(甑山卽彌勒)'. In 『Jeon-gyeong』, Maitreya is mentioned several times. Thus, new religions of Jeungsan of Daesoonjinrihoe take 'Jeungsan is the very Maitreya' belief for truth. Due to the fact that characteristics of Maitreya are so multi-layered and complicated, it is necessary to explain clearly what kind of feature Maitreya has in 『Jeon-gyeong』. If believing and following 'Jeungsan is the very Maitreya' without clarifying it, they will be faced with a problem that they regard Jeungsan of Supreme being of the Ninth Heaven as one of Maitreya and take its belief for truth. Furthermore, with respect to the characteristics of 'Jeungsan is the very Maitreya' belief, while believing in Mireukasaeng, longed-for Millenarian movement by people through Messianism and Mireukasaeng belief is found in Daesoon Thought, whereas there is a need how to understand the point that we cannot finped Messianism and Millenarian movement in Daesoon Thought. To solve this problem, I draw a conclusion that 'Jeungsan is the very Maitreya' in 『Jeon-gyeong』 has to be understood with two meanings by four demonstrations. First of all, the people perceived late Joseon dynasty as the age of decadence but Maitreya's divinity which is desired by the people is not divinity of Maitreya Sutra(Mileuggyeong). Maitreya's divinity is reflected in the people's cherished desire and it is newly created as the Messiah. Thus, the idea of Jeungsan being the very Maitreya was developed in a way that the people desired the Messiah, encompassing this inclination. That is the Messiah of the people and the divinity of Jeungsan. Although Jeungsan as Supreme being of the Ninth Heaven satisfied the people's desire, it shows a different way to salvation from the way in Maitreya Sutra(Mileuggyeong). It is 'the Great Reordering of the Universe' and 'the Great Reordering of the Three Realms'. Reordering in Jeungsan shows that divinity of Jeungsan is not limited to the people's Messiah. In other words, divinity of Jeungsan is established as The Messiah, surpassing divinity of Maitreya Sutra(Mileuggyeong). And following statements prove this divinity of Jeungsan. Jeungsan's emphasis is not only the people's desire and the Gods' appeal. Jeungsan's emphasis is that only does Supreme being of the Ninth Heaven correct heaven and earth, which is the Gods' appeal. Therefore, 'Jeungsan is the very Maitreya' belief embraces the people's Messianism and at the same time it runs with he Gods' appeal. Thus, Reordering through the Great Reordering of the Universe and the Great Reordering of the Three Realms builds up a new ideal world.

• 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.16
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• pp.1-23
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• 2003

The Jeungsan(1871-1909)'s revelation is the important meaning. Jeungsan hands down the two revelation for solution of Chosun postscript problem and presentation of Utopia. One time Suwun(1824~1864) is handed down and afterwords Jeongsan(1895-1958) after Jeungsan's Hwachon at 1917. Two revelations accomplish the day of the Jeungsan in public but the character is the countenance. The Jeungsan's revelation to Suwun solves present generation problems, the Jeungsan revelation to Jeongsan is continuously to do the day of the Jeungsan even after Hwachon. The Jeungsan stepped on the failure of the Donghak and on the upper lifestyle with the Cham-Donghag it opened the different side. The Cham-Donghag is concerned about the future Chosun to be the first-class country and Chosun Haewon is related with Danju Haewon. Danju Haewon is to be a fifty years religous study of Jeongsan. The Jeungsan's Gangse is to accomplish the Sungsajaein and it actualizes the appearance of Dotonggunja. Jeongsan is trying to do the religious activity about Sungsajaein and Dotonggunja as the Daedumok. The Jeungsan starts from revelation to the Suwun, to accomplish thought of the Cham-Donghag after Hwachon. The Jeungsan continuously has handed revelation led from religion activity, let Jeongsan do fifty years religious study. In the long run, it completes the fact that it accomplishes the outer space and the Chosun society of new setup, and a sacred religious work has been arranged the advocate of the Cham-Donghag through the Jeongsan by Woodang(1917-1996)'s Daesoonjinrihoe(1969).

• Journal of the Daesoon Academy of Sciences
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• v.30
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• pp.235-270
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• 2018

The term, Degree Number, was religiously re-interpreted by Jeungsan (甑山) Kang Il-Sun (姜一淳, 1871~1909) and used by him to imply 'the principle of ruling the world.' It was especially the case that his usage of Degree Number referred to the new law that will rule during the Later World, and the significance of this was promoted during Jeungsan's Reordering Works of Heaven and Earth. And Jeongsan (鼎山) Jo Cheol-Je (趙哲濟, 1895~1958), who received a revelation from Jeungsan, established new religious movements including Mugeuk-do and Taegeuk-do and gave a broader meaning to the term Degree Number which he adopted from Jeungsan. He endowed it with the additional meaning of 'all the religious activities performed to achieve an ideal world.' In the history of Korean religions, Degree Number was newly interpreted by the religiously-gifted Jeungsan, who appeared at the end of the Joseon Dynasty. The lineage of religious thought related to Degree Numbers was constantly transmitted through Mugeuk-do and Taegeuk-do both of which were founded by Jeongsan Jo Cheol-Je. Later, Park Han-Gyeong (朴漢慶, 1917~1996) succeeded this lineage when he established Daesoon Jinrihoe in 1969. Religious thought related to Degree Numbers came from Jeungsan's self-realization that he was 'Sangje (the Supreme God).' The thought was also formed by his religious declaration wherein he changed the Degree Number of mutual contention in the Former World to that of mutual beneficence in the Later World. What Jeungsan emphasized was the fluidity of Degree Numbers. Just like human beings are never able to escape from the bonds of their destiny, in Jeungsan's thought, forced or ordained cosmic orders do not exist. In the outworn world of the past, which has been defined as the Former World, the Degree Number was recognized as the ordained law and norm, but as the Later World was coming, Jeungsan recalibrated the Degree Number and defined it anew through his own authority and power as the Supreme God. Jeongsan recalibrated many Degree Numbers throughout his life. The number of Degree Numbers which Jeungsan recalibrated is relatively fewer than that of Jeongsan, who inherited the thought of Jeungsan, and then went on to categorize almost every major religious activity he performed a Degree Number. In this context, Jeungsan's 'Degree Number' became expanded and broadened in terms of its scope.

• Journal of the Daesoon Academy of Sciences
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• v.23
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• pp.109-152
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• 2014

This paper deals with the artistic expression of religious thought in terms of the uniqueness of different images and creativity. The relationship between religion and art is complicated but popular in modern society. Film becomes the icon of modern culture to enhance the knowledge of religious traditions. Among many Korean religious films, Kang Daejin's work, The Way of Peace (1984) contains the life and thought of Kang Jeungsan(1871-1909), the highest god of Daesoonjinrihoe. First, the film, The Way of Peace, pays attention to the legitimacy of succession from Kang Jeungsan to Cho Jeongsan(1895-1958). Korea was beset with trouble both at home and abroad. China, Japan, Russia, and the US had the colonial desire to conquer the lands of Korea and to explore natural resources. Though the people of Eastern Learning(東學) protested government and Japanese colonialists, Jeungsan applied the principle of non-violence to the world. In order to save all the living beings of the world, he reordered the universe and renewed the harmonic relationship of human beings and their spirit. Second, The Way of Peace proposed the soteriology of peace and change to audience regardless of seekers(道人) or not. Jeungsan transformed the closed society to the open society, changed divided religions to the transcendent truth(道). He empowered the marginalized people such as women, the lowly, the elderly, and the sick, who were oppressed in the Confucian society. And he redeemed the people from the disease by healing all diseases and correcting disorders. In conclusion, The Way of Peace is a good resource of religious education by which we can overcome the religious illiteracy. The knowledge of new religious movements and Daesoonjinrihoe is necessary for us to understand the diversity of human nature. In the near future, the new images of Jeungsan should be created through multi-media and cultural contents for the new generation.

• Journal of the Daesoon Academy of Sciences
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• v.38
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• pp.115-151
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• 2021

According to Lee Young-geum, the ideas of grievance resolution and mutual beneficence were already present in shamanism. She also insists that Jeungsan merely theorized upon these ideas by inheriting them and his religious activities must be identified from within a shamanistic worldview. Contrary to Lee's claim, Cha Seon-keun argues that the grievance resolution of Jeungsan is far beyond the contents and level of development found in shamanism. He also insists that Jeungsan's religious activities must be identified as having a certain orderly uniqueness distinct from shamanism. The argument between these two different perspectives has not attracted other researchers besides those who are directly involved. However, this debate deserves attention with regard to the problem of how one approaches a given religion and which academic perspective should be applied. Based on the perspective of the Daesoon Jinrihoe, this study examines their debate by considering four issues. Firstly, whether Jeungsan inherited or expanded upon the subject of grievance resolution and its range remains undetermined. Secondly, the ethics of mutual beneficence and grateful reciprocation in Jeungsan's concept of grievance resolution should be analyzed as to whether that idea reasserts the ethics of shamanism. Thirdly, it is necessary to study whether his method of grievance resolution fully embraced the methods of grievance resolution that exist in shamanism. Lastly, it should be determined whether or not Jeungsan's religious activities and system of thought should be identified within a shamanistic worldview. Through this review, Lee and Cha can be shown to have different opinions on the academic approach to research on religion. Accordingly, this study concludes that Lee's method of only interpreting Jeungsan's religious thought via a shamanic worldview is incompatible with academic methodology. A scholar of religious studies should discuss Jeungsan on his own merits rather than just imply that Jeungsan thoroughly reflects the worldview of shamanism, doctrinal studies of Buddhism, and Daoist thought as well as other theologies. In other words, if certain tangible and intangible elements found in shamanism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Daoism, and Christianity are also observed in Jeungsan's religious thought, it is necessary to comprehend how different or similar those elements are or whether they are re-interpreted in any manner. In the case of Lee, her method of overemphasizing similarities is now criticized as outdated. Nowadays, it is necessary to demonstrate awareness of modern religious studies tendency to pay equal attention to similarities and differences.

• Journal of the Daesoon Academy of Sciences
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• v.25_2
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• pp.45-70
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• 2015

Master Jeungsan understood a general view of Pungsu but actually he used the theory of Pungsu in his own religious perspective, transcending it. The theory of Pungsu is different. But the fact that it is premised on the principle of 'in and yang', the five-element principle, the Book of Changes, energy thought, and To chugi piyung, etc. is generally recognized. The three important elements of Pungsu are mountain, water, and direction or man. Pungsu has formal principles such as Gallyongbeop, Jangpungbeop, Deuksubeop, Jeonghyeolbeop, Jwahyangbeop, and Hyeongukron. etc. In the late of Joseon, Jeungsan established a new traditional thought, understanding Bibopungsu, Gukdopungsu, Minganpungsu, etc. However, he reinterpreted them to be suitable to his religious ideal and let his followers understand them as well. In particular, Jeungsan overcame the previous view on earth and expressed a new perspective to enhance earth up to the level of heaven. In the perspective of the traditional world, earth is lower than heaven, but Jeungsan made it a status equal to heaven. He mentioned that in the past, the culture and history of man was influenced by earth's energy but today, at the age of man respect, he put passive man influenced by earth-condition on the more subjective and active status. Even though he mentioned different Pungsu, Hyeongguk, and Hyeolmyeong, he expressed the shape of Pungsu within the construction of three worlds, the one of heaven and earth transcending good or ill luck or a favorable change in fortune. He practised the expedient of Pungsu from the stand of the construction of heaven and earth instead of the usage of Bibopungsu, Gukdopungsu, and Minganpungsu. He diagnosed that the division of the world is caused by the one of earth and tried to solve it. Moreover, he said that Myeongdang(a propitious site) must be the man-orientation rather than the earth-orientation. It means that Pungsu, stressing the energy of earth and turning one's luck, is changing into the world of man-orientation. In other words, Jeungsan diagnosed the world of Pungsu but he ultimately used Pungsu theory in building up his own view of religious world transcending such a theory.

• Journal of the Daesoon Academy of Sciences
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• v.36
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• pp.1-34
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• 2020

It has been suggested that Jeungsan's prophetic poem that starts with the verse "For about seven or eight years, there will be a castle in the ancient country [七八年間古國城] ⋯" originally comes from Prophecies of Jeong Gam (鄭鑑錄). Despite Jeungsan, himself, obviously having been critical of that text, this claim has become the basic grounds for discourse suggesting that Jeungsan was not only interested in Prophecies of Jeong Gam but also considerably influenced by the text. However, the claim itself was formulated due to misunderstandings of the Chinese poems that had been included in A Compilation of Secret Prophecies Hidden in the Family-clan of Seogye (西溪家臧訣). These poems pursue a different ideological orientation than the poem from Prophecies of Jeong Gam. Ultimately, the Chinese poem in the verse 84 the chapter titled, Prophetic Elucidations in The Canonical Scripture of Daesoon Jinrihoe cannot provide a basis for the claim that Jeungsan was strongly influenced by Prophecies of Jeong Gam. This claim that Prophecies of Jeong Gam made a deep impact on Jeungsan and Daesoon Thought was based on three other texts outside of those that appear within verse 84 of Prophetic Elucidations. The first supposedly-related line is: "Heaven opens at the period of the Rat (Ja 子), Earth opens at the period of the Ox (Chuk 丑), humankind starts at the period of the Tiger (Ihn 寅)." This line comes from from Shao Kangjie's Book of Supreme World Ordering Principles (皇極經世), and the line could be quoted idiomatically as an expression in the Joseon Dynasty. Accordingly, attempts to relate Daesoon Thought to Prophecies of Jeong Gam are a distortion that arise from the assumption that Jeungsan had a significant interest in Prophecies of Jeong Gam. The second related line is "At the foot of Mount Mother (母岳山), a golden icon of Buddha has the ability to speak [母岳山下 金佛能言]." That line is nearly identical to the verse "On the summit of Mount Mother, a golden icon of Buddha has the ability to speak [母岳山頭 金佛能言]." Yet, Jeungsan changed '頭 (du, the summit)' to '下 (ha, the foot or under)' and express his own unique religious prophecy. This allusion to the prophecies of Jeong Gam is actually a criticism designed to disprove the earlier prophecy. Third, is the verse, "The form of Buddhism, creation of daoism, and propriety of Confucianism [佛之形體仙之造化儒之凡節]," which is characteristically related to Daesoon Thought. This verse can only be found in the prophetic text, Prophecies of Chochang (蕉蒼訣), and it is provided a main source when alleging that Prophecies of Jeong Gam was an influence on Daesoon Thought. However, considering the context of Prophecies of Chochang and the year of its publication (it is assumed to be compiled after 1950s), this does not hold water as Jeungsan had already passed into Heaven several decades before that time. This disqualifies the verse from being a basis for asserting Prophecies of Jeong Gam as an influence on Daesoon Thought. Contrary to the original assertion, there is a considerable amount of evidence that Prophecies of Chochang absorbed aspects of Daesoon Thought, which were simply revised in a novel way. There is no truly compelling evidence underpinning the argument that Prophecies of Jeong Gam had a unilateral impact on Daesoon Thought. There seems to be a great deal of confusion and numerous misinterpretations on this matter. Therefore, the claim that Daesoon Thought, as developed by Jeungsan, was influenced by the discourse on dynastic revolution and feng shui contained in Prophecies of Jeong Gam should be re-examined at the level of its very premise.