• Journal of the Daesoon Academy of Sciences
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• v.41
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• pp.27-61
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• 2022

Documentation related to Mugeuk-do (Limitless Dao) is rare in comparison to other Korean new religions given that it has been open to the public and translated since the 1970s. Due to its rarity, the documentation has been used uncritically, without there being any comparative study or historical research. It is undeniable that distortions and fallacies are embedded in these documents, and this has resulted in quite a few problems in precisely understanding Mugeuk-do and Daesoon Jinrihoe (The Fellowship of Daesoon Truth), an order that has inherited the legacy of Mugeuk-do. In this regard, this study aims to critically define the characteristics and limitations of the major documents related to Mugeuk-do that were published by the colonial government in the 1920s~1930s and recorded by multiple orders in the 1970s-1980s through comparisons. An attempt to conduct this research allows for the discovery of a solution to the problem of uncritical usage of those materials. The documents produced by the colonial government that can be used as basic texts to study Mugeuk-do are The General Conditions of the Religion Mugeuk-do (無極大道敎槪況) and Unofficial Religions of the Korea (朝鮮の類似宗敎). These can be found through bibliography, comparison, and historical research. Chapters 6, 7, and 8 of The General Conditions of the Religion Mugeuk-do are a possible source on the order that reflects the circumstances of Mugeuk-do until 1925. In the case of Unofficial Religions of the Korea, if the descriptive perspective on unofficial religions is excluded, the articles written about the circumstances post 1925 have credibility. Another document that describes multiple orders and can be used as a basic text is chapter 2 of 'Progress of the Order' in Daesoon Jinrihoe's The Canonical Scripture. This is because its record precisely reflects the conditions of the era, with regard to the fact that it is the freest from distortions caused by changes in the belief system and it is less biased towards certain sects or denominations. Furthermore, the collection period of the articles is the earliest. Accordingly, as basic texts, Chapters 6, 7, and 8 of The General Conditions of the Religion Mugeuk-do and the articles from Unofficial Religions of the Korea after 1925, as well as chapter 2 of 'Progress of the Order' in The Canonical Scripture are appropriate for studying Mugeuk-do. In addition, Overview of Bocheonism, History of Jeungsan-gyo, and The True Scripture of the Great Ultimate can be utilized as references after removing distortions and fallacies through comparative study. Henceforth, relevant documents should be utilized to establish comprehensive data on Mugeuk-do through comparative and historical research.

• Journal of the Daesoon Academy of Sciences
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• v.44
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• pp.1-52
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• 2023

Incantations are reflected in the fundamentals of the Daesoon faith system and are, thus, key to its understanding. Jeungsan, the yeonwon (fountainhead, 淵源) of the Daesoon faith, created new incantations or transformed existing ones that had been used in old religious traditions such as Buddhism and Daoism. However, there has been no in-depth academic research on Jeungsan's incantations until now. This study aims to academically clarify the incantatory archetypes of Jeungsan's incantations based on documents published until the 1970s. Jeungsan's incantations are then compared to those of Mugeuk-do (Limitless Dao) in the 1920s and Taegeuk-do (Great-Ultimate Dao) in the 1950s. Jeongsan's transformed incantations are analyzed through this process. Jeongsan reflected the faith system in Jeungsan's incantations during the period of Mugeuk-do. He transformed the incantations to achieve his goal and realize his wishes by arranging terms that referred to himself before the optative words of the incantations. Jeongsan made several changes to the incantations in the 1950s. First, the majority of incantations used in Mugeuk-do were discarded. This meant making partial changes to the faith system by reflecting awareness because the corresponding incantations were no longer necessary as the Degree Number calibrated by Jeungsan had been realized. Second, Jeongsan organized the incantations in use and institutionalized their instructions. This reflected the essential doctrinal system of the Daesoon faith, namely the completion of the true dharma by Jeongsan. Considering this doctrine, that is, the Fifty Year Holy Work (五十年工夫), the true dharma can be presumed to have been realized before the death of Jeongsan. Accordingly, the institutionalizing and organizing of the incantations were indispensable until the mid-to-late 1950s. Jeongsan, the founder of the Daesoon order, posited himself as the successor of religious orthodox lineage and as the figure who would complete the true dharma by realizing the Degree Number calibrated by Jeungsan. Therefore, Jeongsan interpreted Jeungsan's incantations to be a rough sketch of the Daesoon faith system that had been drawn for him in advance by Jeungsan. Accordingly, Jeongsan transformed Jeungsan's incantations and used them to realize the Degree Number, which Jeungsan had planned. Simultaneously, Jeongsan declared that he would fulfill the Degree Number and establish the true dharma by changing those incantations.