• Journal of the Daesoon Academy of Sciences
• /
• v.34
• /
• pp.293-321
• /
• 2020

The value embodied by "Ascending to Heaven and Being an Immortal" (Yuhua Dengxian in Chinese) implies the core gist of Daoist culture as well as its ultimate value. From the perspective of Philology, each word, "Yu", "Hua", "Deng", and "Xian" benefits us through a philosophy of life, learning skills, the pursuit of the mysteries of Daoist immortality, and the ways of life characteristics and spiritual transcendence. "To become an immortal" is becoming adept at life. "Yuhua" refers to learning transcendental skills, and "Deng" expresses the promotion of life. "Ascending to Heaven and Becoming an Immortal" integrates the goal- oriented values of Daoist Culture, learning transcendental skills, and the state of being alive into a unified whole. Namely, it is the perfect combination of an adept's supreme pursuit of value and zenith of life. By way of contrast, in Daesoon Jinrihoe, the concepts of "Daesoon" and "Perfected Unification with the Dao" not only advocate "physical and mental transformation" and "spiritual development" for Dao cohorts, but also personal cultivation and service to society, and participation in "The Creation of an Earthly Paradise." These are unified under the ideal humanistic value of "the earthly paradise of the Later World."

• Journal of the Daesoon Academy of Sciences
• /
• v.37
• /
• pp.357-384
• /
• 2021

The ethics of Daesoon Jinrihoe is a system of contemporary practical morality, which contains religious features such as "One Dao" (一道), "Two Mountains" (二山, an allusion to Kang Jeungsan 姜甑山, and Jo Jeongson 趙鼎山), "Three Realms" (三界, means the realms of Heaven, Earth, and Humanity." For the purpose of my paper, "One Dao" is the ethical principle of Daesoon as well as the Tenets: "the Virtuous Concordance of Yin and Yang, Harmonious Union between Divine and Human Beings, the Resolution of Grievances for Mutual Beneficence, and Perfected Unification (jingyeong 眞境) with the Dao." "Two Mountains" are the Objects of belief. The Three Realms are the scopes of moral concern. In order to devote the Tenets of the ethical principle, ascetic practice in daily life has been emphasized as "Sincerity, Respectfulness, and Faithfulness" which are collectively called "Three Essential Attitudes." Meanwhile, "Quieting the Mind, Quieting the Body, Reverence for Heaven, and Cultivation (of oneself in accordance with doctrines)" are defined as the "Four Cardinal Mottoes." The ultimate belief is converted into guidelines for ethical conduct and religious rites. Through cultivation an interaction emerges between humankind and divine beings. The ethical ideal in Daesoon Jinrihoe includes personal "Perfected Unification with the Dao," nobility and cooperativity between humans and divine beings, and "the earthly paradise of the Later World." Compared to Buddhism, Christianity, and Daoism, Daesoon Jinrihoe's unique features are embodies by three aspects: the unity of mutual beneficence among the Three Realms, the cooperativity and nobility between humans and divinities, and the transcendental nature of the earthly paradise.

• Journal of the Daesoon Academy of Sciences
• /
• v.34
• /
• pp.107-139
• /
• 2020

This paper primarily focuses on the highest deity, the Upper Thearch of the Nine Heavens (officially translated as 'The Supreme God of the Ninth Heaven'), in the Korean new religious movement (NRM) Daesoon Jinrihoe and the true minister of the myriad spirits in the Taiwanese NRM, Yiguan Dao, the Upper Thearch of Manifest Luminosity. As the two both serve as highly representative "Upper Thearch" beliefs in emerging NRMs, I attempt a comparative analysis of the source of these beliefs, their characteristics, and the links that exist between them. On the basis of ancient Chinese classics and Daoist texts, along with Daesoon Jinrihoe's scriptures and works from Yiguan Dao's Canon, I try to understand the distinguishing features of cosmological ideas from both religious movements. For example, because the Upper Thearch of the Nine Heavens could not bear to see the human realm growing ever more disordered and in order to improve worldly conditions, he traveled to the harmonized realm of deities, and therefore descended into the world to make a great itineration and enlighten the people through his teachings. In the end, he came to Korea and was reborn as Kang Jeungsan (secular name: Kang Il-Sun) in Gaekmang Village. In the Human Realm, he spread his transformative teachings to the people which were later became the doctrines of the Virtuous Concordance of Yin and Yang, Harmonious Union between Divine Beings and Human Beings, the Resolution of Grievances for Mutual Beneficence, and Perfected Unification (jingyeong 真境) with the Dao. Yiguan Dao; however, explains that the source of humanity is the "Heaven of Principle" (Litian 理天), and people are "Buddha's Children of the Original Embryo" (Yuantai Fozi 原胎佛子), created by the Upper Thearch of Manifest Luminosity, who came to world to govern and impart spiritual refinement, before returning to his native place in the Heaven of Principle. Yet, because he became infatuated with the world of mortals, he forgot the path of his return. Therefore, the Eternal Mother sent Maitreya Buddha, the Living Buddha Jigong 濟公, and the Bodhisattva of Moon Wisdom (Yuehui pusa 月慧菩薩) to descend to the human world and teach the people, so that they may acknowledge the Eternal Mother as the root of return, achieve their return to the origin, and go back to the home of the Eternal Mother in the Heaven of Principle. Both Daesoon Jinrihoe and Yiguan Dao refer to their highest deity, the true ministers of the myriad spirits, with the simple title "Upper Thearch." This phenomenon also has some ties to God in the western Biblical tradition but also has some key differences. In investigating the sources of these two deities, we find that they likely took shape during the Yinshang (殷商) period and have some relationship to the Upper Thearch of Chinese antiquity. The questions raised in this research are quite interesting and deserving of deeper comparative study.

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

• Journal of Daesoon Thought and the Religions of East Asia
• /
• v.1 no.1
• /
• pp.127-151
• /
• 2021

The core tenets of Daesoon Jinrihoe in Jeungsanism are encapsulated in the teachings of Eumyang-hapdeok (陰陽合德, Virtuous Concordance of Yin and Yang), Shinin-johwa (神人調化, Harmonious Union between Divine Beings and Human Beings), Haewon-sangsaeng (解寃相生, Resolution of Grievances for Mutual Beneficence) and Dotongjingyeong (道通眞境, Perfected Unification with Dao). Among them, the first three teachings eventually turn towards the prophetic thought of Dotong-jingyeong, which is the process of man becoming a divine figure. While these principles are considered crucial advice for overcoming an unstable life, there are many curious questions that help for better comprehension. What is the reality of Jin-gyeong (眞境) for their followers? How can one reach the ultimate stage under this belief system? Is this ideological concept different from similar perspectives of other major religions? How is this concept related to the idea of Jisang-cheonguk (地上天國, earthly paradise)? This paper analyses these issues of Jin-gyeong from the historical and social narratives of Haengnok (行錄, Acts), Gongsa (公事, Reordering Works), Gyoun (敎運, Progress of the Order), Gyobeop (敎法, Dharma), Gwonji (權智, Authority and Foreknowledge) and Yesi (豫示, Prophetic Elucidations) in The canonical scripture of Jeon-gyeong and also from the ontological approaches of East Asian faiths in order to identify alternative notions of Daesoon cosmology. The paper, based on the sayings of Kang Jeungsan, particularly his philosophy of the Later World, argues the insight that the Jin-gyeong world can be interpreted as created through the Cheonji-gongsa (天地公事, Reordering Works of Heaven and Earth) project in terms of Gaebyeok (開闢, Great Opening) and the earthly paradise as open only for those who achieve the condition of Sin-ingan (新人間, literally means 'new humans' but symbolizing 'being a human-god') by the personal cultivation of Dotong (道通, the unity with Dao).

• Journal of the Daesoon Academy of Sciences
• /
• v.46
• /
• pp.33-68
• /
• 2023

Simwudo (尋牛圖), known as Ox Seeking Pictures, originated in the 11th-12th century and have consistently played a guiding role in the teachings of various religions in East Asia. Some Korean religions that emerged during modern times conveyed their teachings through depictions of ox seeking or herding. Among them, Daesoon Jinrihoe stands out as a representative religion. The belief system of this particular religion elucidates its distinct doctrine and worldview by reimagining Simwudo, into a new set of six panels (seven or nine panels in some variations). The Simwudo of Daesoon Jinrihoe differs from that of Buddhism, particularly in its treatment of meditation (禪), both in terms of context and significance. While they share similarities in the aspect of ox-seeking, the Buddhist Simwudo symbolizes human nature, whereas the Simwudo of Daesoon Jinrihoe represents the great Dao of Heaven and Earth propagated by Kang Jeungsan and brought into completion by Jo Jeongsan. In the Buddhist context, the subject of the search is the Ox, signifying the restoration of a deluded human's pure nature in order to achieve personal salvation and in some version of Simwudo, reenter society to perform salvific actions for others. On the other hand, in the Simwudo of Daesoon Jinrihoe depicts the process of a human attaining immortality and following the teachings of Jeungsan and Jeongsan. This culminates in the final image which is the redemption of the world. The final phase of the Buddhist Simwudo, depending on the version, is either enlightenment (personal salvation) or reentering society to perform salvific actions (as a bodhisattva), whereas the Simwudo of Daesoon Jinrihoe show the simultaneous achievement of the perfection of humanity and the redemption of the world. This distinction highlights the fundamental differences between the Simwudo of these two distinctly different religious traditions. These differences arise from the contrasting purposes pursued by Buddhism and Daesoon Jinrihoe.

• Journal of Daesoon Thought and the Religions of East Asia
• /
• v.2 no.2
• /
• pp.33-50
• /
• 2023

'Fasting of the Mind (心齋, ch. xīn zhāi)' is arguably the most important concept within the practical approach to the spiritual cultivation formulated by the Daoist philosopher, Zhuangzi (莊子). Most scholars have interpreted 'Fasting of the Mind' as an apophatic practice centered around the aim of the 'Dissolution of the Self (喪我, ch. sàng wŎ).' The Korean new religious movement, Daesoon Jinrihoe (大巡眞理會), can be shown to instead consistently utilize cataphatic descriptions of spiritual cultivation based on the 'quieting of the mind (安心, kr. anshim)' and 'quieting of the body (安身, kr. anshin)' with the highest attainable state referred to as the 'Perfected State of Unification with the Dao (道通眞境, kr. Dotong-jingyeong).' While the language used by Zhuangzi and Daesoon Jinrihoe appears quite different on a superficial level, a deeper examination shows that these rhetorical framings are likely negativistic and positivistic descriptions of the same, or at least reasonably similar, phenomena. Zhuangzi, who focused primarily on the body, mind, and internal energy, cautioned practitioners that 'mere listening stops with the ears (聽止於耳, ch. tīng zhǐ yú ěr)' and 'mere recognition stops with the mind (心止於符, ch. xīn zhǐ yú fú).' He therefore encouraged cultivators of the Dao to 'listen with the spirit (聽之以氣 ch. tīng zhī yǐ qì).' The main scripture of Daesoon Jinrihoe states that "The mind is a pivot, gate, and gateway for gods; They, who turn the pivot, open, and close the gate, and go back and forth through the gateway, can be either good or evil (心也者, 鬼神之樞機也, 門戶也,道路也)," and the Supreme God of the Ninth Heaven (九天上帝, kr. Gucheon Sangje) even promises to visit anyone who possesses a 'singularly-focused mind (一心, kr. il-shim).' In both these approaches, there is a sense of what must be kept out of the mind (e.g., external disturbances, strong emotions, malevolent entities) and what the mind should connect with to attain spiritual progress (e.g., spirit, singular focus, the Supreme God). The observations above serve as the main basis for a comparison between the apophatic descriptions of cultivation found in Zhuangzi and their cataphatic counterparts in Daesoon Thought. However, the culmination of this nuanced comparative exploration reveals that while the leanings of Zhuangzi and Daesoon Thought generally hold true, ultimately, both systems of cultivation transcend the categories of apophatic and cataphatic.

• Journal of the Daesoon Academy of Sciences
• /
• v.33
• /
• pp.91-145
• /
• 2019

This study aims to reveal that Daesoon Jinrihoe Yeoju Headquarters Temple Complex is a sacred place of Gaebyeokgongsa (the Reordering Works of the Great Opening) through the logic of the energy of form in Feng-Shui studies. The Headquarters Temple Complex can illuminate the lamp of coexistence, emerge as a place for cultivation, and support the era of human nobility with Gucheonsangje (the Supreme God of the Ninth Heaven) as an object of faith. Virtuous Concordance of Yin and Yang, Harmonious Union between Divine Beings and Human Beings, the Resolution of Grievances for Mutual Beneficence, and Perfected Unification with Dao are the mission statements of this great site. For this purpose, it is necessary to investigate the headquarters according to integral Feng-Shui Theory. Doing so can provide proof that the geographic location, landscape, yin-yang harmonizing, and flowing veins of terrestrial energy at Headquarters Temple Complex are all profoundly auspicious. At the same time, this data also allows further study into the interactions of dragon-veins, energy hubs, surrounding mountains, and watercourses, which reveal how Daesoon Jinrihoe Yeoju Headquarters Temple Complex promotes the basic works of propagation, edification, and cultivation and three societal works of charity aid, social welfare, and education for the purpose of global propagation, saving beings, and building an earthly paradise by reforming humanity and engaging in spiritual civilization. This must be done on site with proper Feng-Shui in order to open up the era of human nobility upon the Great Opening of the Later World. As the center of the religious order, Daesoon Jinrihoe, Yeoju Headquarter Temple Complex has the general Feng-Shui characteristic of Baesanimsu (a back supported by a mountain and a front facing water). Through discussing the Feng-Shui of Daesoon Jinrihoe's Yeoju Headquarters Temple Complex as the center of humankind's resolution of grievances for mutual beneficence, this study would explore growth-supporting land that delivers future rewards through Feng-Shui symbolism and the ethical practice of grateful reciprocation of favors for mutual beneficence. This exploration will reveal how the geographical features and conditions of the Yeoju Headquarters Temple Complex make it a place fit for spiritual cultivation. It is a miraculous luminous court surrounded by mountains, where auspicious signs in eight directions gather. Its veins of terrestrial energy harmonize with clean water energy as it is affectionately situated within its natural environment. Its location corresponds with the Feng-Shui theory of dragon-veins, energy hubs, surrounding mountains, and watercourses. Thus, with regards to the Feng-Shui of Daesoon Jinrihoe's Yeoju Headquarters Temple Complex, this study examines the flows of mountains and waters and focuses on how the site is based on the logic of Feng-Shui. More generally, the geographical features of the surrounding mountains are likewise examined. An analysis of the relationship between Poguk (布局) of Sasinsa (animal symbols of the four directions, four gods, including blue dragon of the east, red phoenix of the south, white tiger of the west, and black tortoise of the north) and the location will be provided while focusing on the Yeoju Headquarters Temple Complex. This study supports the feasibility of further Feng-Shui studies of the Yeoju Headquarters Temple Complex based on traditional geomancy books that focusing on Hyeonggi (Energy of Form) Theory.