• Journal of the Daesoon Academy of Sciences
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• v.28
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• pp.207-241
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• 2017

In the scripture of Daesoon Jinrihoe, the expression 'Dosu (度數)' is frequently used and Jeungsan, Jeongsan, and Wudang also left behind many teachings related to Dosu. In this paper, the concept of Dosu is analyzed in detail and the achievement of an in-depth understanding of the concept of Dosu is attempted. The term Dosu is often used in traditional literature. In the classics, Dosu was used to mean institutions, standards, rules, law, figures, and the laws of heavenly bodies. In other words, Dosu is used to mean the laws of astronomy and the norms of human society. This meaning is expanded and used as the principle of the universe and nature. This concept of Dosu is related to the mathematical cosmological understanding of numbers as the principle of the universe. This type of mathematical cosmology was systematized by Shao Yong (邵雍). In the Joseon Dynasty, Seo Gyungduk (徐敬德) accepted it positively, and it thereby became an influential trend in Korean thought. In the world view of Daesoon thought, there exists the view that numbers as a principle of the universe, and of course this world view is connected to mathematical cosmology. In Daesoon thought, the concept of Dosu is based on the concept of traditional Dosu and adds an additional meaning which connects it to the Reordering of the Universe (Cheonjigongsa). Also, Dosu is used to mean the process of changing the principles and laws of cosmos through Jeungsan's Reordering of the Universe. It is especially the case that discourse about Dosu is widely used when describing the Reordering of the Universe. Jeungsan corrected, reorganized, and adjusted Dosu, as well as establishing new Dosu. Jeongsan, who succeeded Jeungsan, followed the Reordering of the Universe by Jeungsan, and also realized Dosu. In other words, Jeongsan acted and practiced according to the Dosu that had been enacted by Jeungsan. Also, Dosu means the process of the transformation of principle according to the Reordering of the Universe, and Wudang used the concept of Dosu to describe the historical process of Daesoon Jinrihoe. This means that the foundation of Mugeukdo, the change to Taegukdo, the establishment of Daesoon Jinrihoe, and the contruction of Yeoju headquarters are episodes in a divine history carried out through Dosu. Through this discourse, Daesoon Jinrihoe asserts a legitimacy that distinguishes itself from other sects, and believers can be inspired by the sacred meaning that they are participating in the Dosu of heaven and earth. This empowers their devotion and sincerity.

• Journal of the Daesoon Academy of Sciences
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• v.28
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• pp.37-72
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• 2017

The purpose of this article is to study the prospect of implementing a public common practice of ethics based on the 'Reordering Works of Heaven and Earth.' The 'Reordering Works of Heaven and Earth' demonstrated the prospect of a public common practice of ethics through the shared public action that would connect and mediate both the public domain and the private domain. In addition, the 'Reordering Works of Heaven and Earth' of Gucheon Sangje (九天上帝) provided us with a complete transformation, meaning the opening of a new era, transforming heaven and earth from their state in the Prior World to their optimized state in the Later World. This culminates in a new manifestation of a peaceful world revealed a prosperity and the prospect of common happiness and common order for the public. In addition, the 'Reordering Works of Heaven and Earth' has a public value as a religious culture that responds to social change and social needs. The 'Reordering Works of Heaven and Earth' revealed the prospect of a public common practice of ethics, placed importance on creating a new foundation, and restoring phenomena back to its original order. The 'Reordering Works of Heaven and Earth' presented various multi-faceted, multi-layered outlets of soteriology while exploring solutions to public issues and revealing human dignity. Through the new construction of Heaven and Earth, Gucheon Sangje had intervened in projects for human relief. The public ethical indicators of 'the actor' here are in line with those of the 'Non-action Tao' of Laozi. As the cosmos enters into the new epoch, humans have living together with the previous cosmic principle. Now we can expect the Prior World to open into a different era as humans embrace a cosmic life of 'Non-action Tao.' The active conjunction of the virtues of yin and yang is an idea of horizontal communication related to reordering of the universe. The harmonious union of divine beings and human beings suggests the way of enabling vertical communication. The resolution of grievances for the mutual beneficence of life is an ethics of peace that aims at achieving coexistence and prosperity. The private realization of Tao and the completion of the Tao in the world suggest the prospect of a common practice of ethics as means of implementing human dignity.

• Journal of the Daesoon Academy of Sciences
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• v.30
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• pp.163-199
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• 2018

Jeon-gyeong was published under the command of Dojeon Park Wudang in 1974. The scripture consists of 7 parts and each part has 17 chapters. The earliest record of Gucheon Sangje (1871~1909) can be found in Jeungsan Cheonsa Gongsagi, which was published by Lee Sangho (1888~1967) in 1926. The book was the first oral literature that he created by collecting information and materials on Jeungsan as he personally met with many direct disciples of Gucheon Sangje. In 1929, after three years, Lee complemented the book with additional materials and published the first edition of Daesoon Jeon-gyeong. It was a form of didactic literature stylistically presented as scripture. Lee continued this long journey of work by revising and publishing 6 editions of Daesoon Jeon-gyeong until he published the last one in 1965. The chapter titled, "Cheonji-gongsa (Reordering Works of the Universe)" from Daesoon Jeon-gyeong as the sixth chapter out of a total of 13 chapters in the first edition, but in the last edition, it appears as chapter 4 out of a total of 9 chapters. Here it is shown that the last edition has been shortened when compared to the first edition. Also the number of verses in the chapter has largely increased by almost twice its original size over the 37 years; as it was 81 in the first edition, 94 in the second, 148 in the third, 151 in the fifth, and 175 in the sixth. In this paper, I studied how the verses of "Gongsa (Reordering Works)" from the Jeon-gyeong, which was first published in 1974, have been revised in comparison to the chapter titled "Cheonji-gongsa" from the Daesoon Jeon-gyeong. As the result of comparing each verse of "Gongsa" from the Jeon-gyeong to those of "Cheonji-gongsa" from all six editions of the Daesoon Jeon-gyeong, I could find the following revisions or changes. First, when "Cheonji-gongsa" from the Daesoon Jeon-gyeong is compared to "Gongsa" from the Jeon-gyeong, it can be seen that the number of verses has been changed and some contents have been deleted or added. Second, the sixth edition of the Daesoon Jeon-gyeong has 69 more verses than the Jeon-gyeong, and most of the additions were made in the chapters titled "Haengrok (analects)," "Gyoun (conveyance of teachings)," and "Yesi (forseeing)". These additions show how the verses regarding religious and predictional teachings developed over the years. Third, the verses from "Gongsa" from the Jeon-gyeong contain many descriptions from chapter 2, "Enlightenment of Dao and Miraculous Deeds of Cheonsa (Heavenly Teacher)," chapter 3, "Followers in the Dao School and Precepts," and chapter 5, "Opening of New World and Paradise," from the 6 th edition of the Daesoon Jeon-gyeong. This indicates that "Cheonji-gongsa (Reordering Works of the Universe)" was related to miraculous acts, enlightenment to Dao, teachings given to the followers, the opening of new world, and the building of a paradise. Fourth, some chapters in the section "Cheonji-gongsa" from Daesoon Jeon-gyeong are omitted in "Gongsa" from Jeon-gyeong, and "Gongsa" has some new contents that were not included in previous texts. This shows that there had been adoptions of different materials in the process of transmission.

• Journal of the Daesoon Academy of Sciences
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• v.32
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• pp.175-199
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• 2019

This paper aims to define Kang Jeungsan's Reordering Works of Heaven and Earth through the Hegelian concept of 'labor (arbeit),' which is the fundamental medium in which humans substantialize their own absoluteness in an existentialist context. The Reordering Works of Heaven and Earth performed by Jeungsan enabled Heaven, Earth, and Humanity to communicate with each other through the harmony of Sangsaeng (Mutual Beneficence). As Hegel found the possibility of freedom and emancipation of human subjects through labor and Jeungsan exercised His will to free and emancipate human beings, comparative thinkers are led to recognize a relationship between His Reordering Works of Heaven and Earth and the Hegelian concept of labor. The key point of this paper centers around articulating the meaning of the precise situation wherein labor occurs for the Supreme Being. Labor is a concept that occurs for real-live humans. Human beings can be said to exist between the ideological world and the natural world, or between Heaven and Earth, and this dichotomy creates a specific product given the interplay of infinitude and finitude that it entails. In other words, labor is not a passive deployment but is instead a subjective development. From the point wherein this labor occurs for the Supreme Being, a paradigm shift towards unity begins throughout the universe. The occurrence of God's labor happens at a time of great transformation. These occurrences of God's labor form the communication among Heaven, Earth and Humanity and form a qualitative equality. In other words, the fact that God is far from the world of ideology and has come into the world of finitude means that God conveys His absoluteness to the world of finitude. Therefore, the work of God on Earth builds the world of Heaven on Earth. This can also be seen as the Sangsaeng of Heaven, Earth and Humanity.

• Journal of the Daesoon Academy of Sciences
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• v.47
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• pp.1-37
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• 2023

This essay seeks to answer the question of how best to understand Korean new religious movements (KNRMs). KNRMs have the characteristics of folk religion, ethno-religion, or popular religion. KNRMs are products of the national consciousness promoted by Korean society during the Late Joseon Dynasty at the turning point of modern Yi-Jing Studies. From the perspective of social evolutionary theory of developmental history, during that period, Joseon (Korea), like China, was faced with a double-edged sword consisting of the strength of tradition and the upheaval of modernity. If the strength of tradition depended on the Yi-Jing Studies to promote national enlightenment toward anti-imperialist aims, then it was equally the case that modernity depended on the sense of urgency to guide the people to secure livelihoods and edification regarding anti-feudalism. In this essay, the KNRMs that appeared during this transition period of Yi-Jing Studies will be a significant focus, and the worldview of Daesoon Thought will be the main focus. As one of the central topics, intensive discussion will be dedicated to the issue of the nature of pre-experientialism (先驗主義) which characterized the Great Opening (開闢). The principles of Daesoon Thought have a religious dimension of realistic awareness that guides the people's lives and edifies them. The process of the Great Opening aims to secure an ontological clock that tracks the Great Itineration of the world toward Daesoon Truth. This in turn as a process establishes the epistemological world of the Reordering Works of Heaven and Earth (天地公事) and reaches the axiological boundary of the future world. The links among the Three Realms is characterized by a pre-experientialist line that experiences the space-time nature of the universe as the Great Opening of the Later World (後天) within the framework of Heaven and Earth. Throughout this course, humans look to enjoy the infinite vitality of the universe from within their own finite vitality. Therefore, Daesoon Thought can overcome perceived reality through pre-experientialist channels such as the Great Opening of the Later World and aim for a state of self-awareness such as the Earthly Paradise. This is an attempt to participate and practice in the actual world rather than pursuing a world of transcendental ideas, and therefore, it tends to be proactive in the world rather than exhibit a passive tendency to be worldliness. In conclusion, the truth of Daesoon Thought, which is characterized by the Great Opening of the Later World, contains a future-oriented outlook that longs for a Nextopia full of hope and promise rather than idealistic fancy towards a Utopia or well-founded dread and disdain towards Dystopia.

• Journal of the Daesoon Academy of Sciences
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• v.49
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• pp.93-125
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• 2024

The article takes a critical perspective that reunderstanding the canon of Daesoon Thought is necessary to expand its application to the needs of modern society given the rapid speed of societal changes. The key point is the emergence of a cultural ecologism within Daesoon Thought. What is called the cultural ecologism is focused upon the sustainable horizon of unifying culture and ecology in the organic structure of a total-life culture. A reciprocal unity of culture and ecology is characteristic of a coherent whole with an original unitary process in the circle of Nature. Cultural ecologism, therefore, aims at seeking after the sustainability of culture wherein the value of culture is integrated in the grand stream of the ecological spirit of Nature. In the Late Joseon Dynasty, Daesoon Thought paid attention to the Great Opening (開闢) to secure the people's livelihoods and it offered edification concerning anti-feudalism in a dimension of realistic awareness which guided people's lives. The process of the Great Opening functions as a process for the world of the Reordering Works of Heaven and Earth (天地公事) which culminate in the experience the Earthly Paradise (地上仙境) of the Later World (後天). In the cultural ecologism of Daesoon Thought, this course is equivalent to a process of Haewon (grievance-resolution) in the sense of dissolution and reconciliation. From the wide umbrella of cultural ecologism, consequently, it is possible to say that Daesoon Thought can arrive at the reality of the Earthly Paradise (地上仙境) through the Great Opening of the Later World, in which human beings can enjoy the infinite vitality of the universe from within their own finite vitality.

• Journal of the Daesoon Academy of Sciences
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• v.36
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• pp.153-199
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• 2020

The teachings of Sangje teachings have been spread to humanity and were provided as basis for building the earthly paradise due to His having performed the Reordering Works of the Universe (Cheonjigongsa) for nine years. The work that remains will be completed year by year following the cosmic program that Sangje set for the universe. The chapters titled 'Gyoun (Progress of the Order)' in Jeon-gyeong (The Canonical Scripture) can be summarized into three parts: Viewing Gyoun, Spreading Gyoun, and Establishing the firm ground of Gyoun. Viewing Gyoun is seeing how the teachings would be transmitted from the beginning to end. The work of Gyoun was established by Sangje and promoted as the teachings of Sangje which will ultimately unfold into the realization of an earthly paradise. Spreading Gyoun is performed by disciples who received the teachings from Sangje and then the successor to whom Sangje transmitted the religious authority. Since chapter two of Gyoun is about the hagiography of Doju Jo Jeongsan, it is shown that Doju unfolded and developed Sangje's teachings. Establishing the firm ground of Gyoun is carried out to enable practitioners to understand that Dotong-gunja ('Dao-Empowered Sages,' Earthly Immortals) will be produced as a result of Sangje's Reordering Works of Heaven and Earth and that humans can perfect themselves through cultivating the Dao. In conclusion, Gyoun can be summarized as a process that started during Doju Jo Jeongsan's 50 years (1909~1958) of holy works and spreading of the teachings. Next, it was continued through the time of Dojeon who was bestowed with religious authority through Doju's last words. Dojeon, like Doju before him, spread the teachings. In later times, there will be Dotong-gunjas who transmit Sangje's teachings to the whole world. Although the above characterizations are accurate, I compared some verses from Chapter 1 of Progress of the Order (Gyoun) in The Canonical Scripture (Jeon-gyeong) of Daesoon Jinrihoe to the 6 th edition (1965) of Daesoon Jeongyeong, a key scripture from the earliest strata of Jeungsanist scriptures, and found that there were a few earlier variations of the same content. The use of words and sentences were different though in several of these verses. Also, some of the verses indicated alternative historical dates (years), and some of the verses from Chapter 1 of Progress of the Order from The Canonical Scripture do not appear anywhere in the 6^th edition of Daesoon Jeong-gyeong.

• Journal of the Daesoon Academy of Sciences
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• v.37
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• pp.53-105
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• 2021

The purpose of this study is to clarify the meaning of Gwonji (權智, Authority and Foreknowledge) through the phrases contained in the section, Gwonji of the Jeon-gyeong (known in English as The Canonical Scripture), and to compare the changes that each verse from Gwonji underwent by juxtaposing it against the sixth edition of Daesoon Jeong-gyeong (which was published prior to the Jeon-gyeong) to explore the term's literary meaning. In order to save the world, Sangje descended to human world and performed the Cheonjigongsa (Reordering Works of the Universe) for nine years with the power he exercises over the Three Realms of Heaven, Earth, and Humanity. Based on the plan set by the Cheonjigongsa, Sangje's teachings were spread to humanity and provided as the basis for building the earthly paradise. From this perspective, this study demonstrates its significance by providing a comprehensive approach to the Jeon-gyeong by highlighting the subject of Sangje's authority and wisdom as recorded in the section titled Gwonji. There is also value in the variant verses from Gwonji that the study discovered by comparing and analyzing the phrases from chapters one and two of Gwonji as they appear in the Jeon-gyeong with their equivalents from the sixth edition of Daesoon Jeong-gyeong, which was published in 1965, nearly a decade before Daesoon Jinrihoe's publication of the Jeon-gyeong in 1974. The results of this comparative study of parallel passages related to Gwonji are as follows: First, Gwonji can be understood as the authority and wisdom of Sangje, and this is the core element in realizing the Earthly Paradise through His Cheonjigongsa. Second, phrases related to Sangje's authority and wisdom are spread out in the seven sections of the Jeon-gyeong, and they were written to emphasize the main purpose suggested in each section or chapter. Third, in sections other than Gwonji, the great power of Sangje is exercised to treat matters related to deities and social problems, whereas in Gwonji part, it is dedicated to the performance of Cheonjigongsa. Fourth, there are five sections of the Jeon-gyeong which are organized into chapters. All of these sections and their chapters indicate the year when key events transpired. Fifth, when passages from chapter one of Gwonji is compared to parallel passages from Daesoon Jeon-gyeong, there are several verses that vary in terms of their wording and also sentences that indicate a different dates or times for certain events.

• Journal of the Daesoon Academy of Sciences
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• v.27
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• pp.79-132
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• 2016

The view of life and death in Daesoonjinrihoe includes all the gods of Heaven and Earth, and the human heart is taken as the foundational key. Practitioners can realize their value according to how much they have cultivated themselves. This is regarded as the mythical use of a singularly focused mind (full dedication of one's heart). In other words, it focuses on the potentiality of humans who are able to enter a transcendental area of divinity through their self-cultivation. This view of life and death in Daesoonjinrihoe was established by the religious mission known as "Samgye Gongsa (the Reordering of Three Realms of Heaven, Earth, and Humanity)." Samgye Gongsa indicated a new opening of the Three Realms of Heaven, Earth, and Humanity. This new opening is a return to the original principle of Heavenly operation and also a new order for the universe. Heaven and Earth have their own underlying principle by which they operate. This act was directly initiated and manifested from Dao. Daesoonjinrihoe diagnoses that the underlying principle by which Heaven operates was damaged by human misconduct, and as a result, the human observance of that principle fell out of common usage. Therefore, Daesoonjinrihoe gives priority to the reestablishment of Dao as it existed originally and tries to bring about reconciliation between Heaven and Earth and Humanity. In short, it resolves the grievances accrued since time immemorial by correcting the order of Sindo (Divine Law). Furthermore, it shows that the Dao of Sangsaeng (mutual beneficence) was created by reordering the arrangement of Heaven and Earth so that human beings and divine beings could reach a state of perfection through self-realization. Humans not only communicate with Heaven and Earth, but also communicate with divine beings. Divine beings are transcendent living beings capable of communicating with humans through their heart-minds. In Daesoon thought, human beings are not swayed by the power of divine beings, but instead are able to control divine beings through the transcendent power of their heart-minds. Given this view, the aim of Daesoonjinrihoe lies in participating in the harmony of Heaven and Earth through the cultivation of the human heart. Also, it sees that the human heart-mind can be united with the universal Dao, and thus it is able to be united with the deities of Heaven and Earth. In order to actualize this, one does not rely on exterior rituals or magic but has to focus instead on cultivating the moral ethics of the heart-mind to reach perfection. In other words, one can reach a transcendent level in one's heart-mind through the cultivation of a singularly focused mind and be free from the contradiction of life and death and other such torments. Life and death is an inevitable process for humans. So they do not have to be happy for life and sad for death. They can rather be free from the fear of death by fulfilling the energetic zenith of the human heart-mind via training themselves to transcend their physical bodies. No aging and no death is not a pursuit of radical longevity or immortality for the physical body, but rather a pursuit of the essence of life and the realization of eternity on a spiritual level. Daesoonjinrihoe pursues the state of being unified with Dao by developing "Jeong·Gi·Sin (精·氣·神 the internal energies of essence, pneuma, and spirit)" and trying to reach the transcendent state of non-aging and radical longevity by spurring the practice of self-realization and the discovery one's own innate nature. Through the practice of human ethics, they can access the creative functions of Heaven and Earth and become one with Heavenly Dao thereby achieving harmony between temporal existence and eternity. In this way, humans transcend the life and death of their physical bodies. When "Doins (trainees of Dao)" reach the true state of unification with Dao through singularly focused cultivation, they not only realize self perfection as human beings, but also enable themselves the means to do away with all disasters and forms of suffering. They thereby attain ultimate happiness in their lives.

• Journal of the Daesoon Academy of Sciences
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• v.28
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• pp.73-102
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• 2017

This paper is an attempt to find commonality and complementarity between psychanalysis and Daesoon thought, while understanding the practical meaning of the Haewon-Sangsaeng, which is one of the religious doctrines of Daesoon Jinrihoe, in terms of the theory of desire posited by psychoanalysis. There is a common point between Daesoon thought and psychoanalytic theory since both ideas give importance to desire. The Haewon idea is similar to that of psychoanalytic theory, which emphasizes restoring desire through mourning and realizing it within a structure of inter-subjectivity. Of course, the meaning of desire in Daesoon thought, given its status as a religious doctrine, is polysemous, and the orientation of this type of desire is also different from that of psychoanalysis given psychoanalysis's role as a therapeutic discourse. However, Daesoon thought explains that the pain and unhappiness suffered by human beings occurs because of mutual overcoming which is a relational style wherein desire can not be solved properly for either party involved in an interaction. Mutual overcoming is a state of mutual beneficience beyond the previous state of mutual overcoming. Likewise, psychoanalysis seems to accept the loss of the object through mourning, and in this way, desire is reactivated. Daesoon thought emphasizes the importance of social and cosmic systems like mutual beneficience and the reordering of the Universe and these systems have a commonality with psychoanalysis as psychoanalysis sees desire positively within the structure of inter-subjectivity. The direction of social practice in Daesoon thought and psychoanalysis both aim at the realization of a new universality. The inter-subjectivity structure suggests desire of recognition and recognition of desire as a way of practice because desire is not personal but rather social. In conclusion, we should not stop at resolving our own individual desires, but should instead go forward in solidarity toward the achieving the common good.