• Journal of the Daesoon Academy of Sciences
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• v.37
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• pp.1-52
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• 2021

The Naejeong, the inner court, which is one of the structures found in the temple complexes of Daesoon Jinrihoe. It serves the function of leading and controlling the operation and direction of Korean religions in general. Considering that the dictionary meaning of 'Naejeong' is 'a place to manage the affairs of the state from inside a palace,' the name and function of the structure appear to be in harmony. However, in the Daesoon Jinrihoe context, it is said that the name 'Naejeong (內庭 'Neiting' in Chinese)' is related to a verse from a Daoist scripture. It has not been revealed whether or not the scripture is historical, and what contents or contextual meanings it contains. This study tries to pursue this matter and introduce the original source of the Naejeong in Daesoon Jinrihoe as likely coming from Qianbapinxianjing (前八品仙經, The Former Scripture of the Eight Phases That Reveal the Means to Acquire Immortality). This scripture was compiled in Lüzu-quanshu(呂祖全書, The Entire Collection of Ancestor Lü). This text and its contextual meanings will also be examined. The origin of Qianbapinxianjing dates back to either the late Ming Dynasty or the early Qing. In those days, there existed a group of literati who worshipped Ancestor Lü because he had saved people and taught the art of immortality. The group organized Daoist Spirit-Writing Altars (鸞壇道敎) and invoked the spirit of Ancestor Lü. They were said to have been taught through messages received from spirit-writing sessions (降乩) with Ancestor Lü and several Daoist scriptures were composed by them in this manner. At Immortals-Gathering Pavilion (集仙樓) of Wandian (萬店) in Guangling (廣陵), China, some literati in that group conducted a spirit-writing session with Ancestor Lü between 1589 and 1626, and they produced a scripture which contained the passage, "A crow and a rabbit gather in the middle valley (烏兎結中谷) while a turtle entwined with a snake is in the inner court (龜蛇盤內庭)." They titled the scripture, The Five Movements and Filial Piety (五行端孝). This passage symbolically expresses the accomplishment of immortality in Neidan (internal alchemy) which, within the human body, combines the two energies of yin and yang which are Water and Fire in the Five Movements scheme. This kind of cultivation is said to be achieved only by maintaining the highest possible degree of filial piety. In this context, the Naejeong where a turtle is entwined with a snake (龜蛇合體) was a term that symbolically depicted a place wherein one transforms into an immortal through cultivation. The Five Movements and Filial Piety was included in Qianbapinxianjing after it had been compiled with the other scriptures containing Ancestor Lü's teachings. In 1744, Qianbapinxianjing was included in Lüzu-quanshu, the entire 32-volume collection of Ancestor Lü and printed for the first time. This underlies the belief in Ancestor Lü (呂祖信仰) which embraces the idea of the redemption of people, teaches the arts of immortality, and features Daoist Spirit-Writing Altars, filial piety, the art of Neidan, and the combination of Water and Fire.