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

• The Journal of Korea Institute of Information, Electronics, and Communication Technology
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.58-66
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• 2016

The purpose of this study is to consider of fasting cure as natural healing and holistic medicine. As a study method, this author conducted a literature review to figure out the history and meaning of fasting found in religious thoughts and studied the cases applying fasting to either mental or physical healing analytically. According to the study results, first, in terms of religious thoughts, fasting plays significant roles mentally, and the act of fasting influences mankind's mind considerably. Second, fasting as a means of humans' mental and physical healing has been playing significant roles as the medical act of natural healing that has been transmitted from a long time ago. As a result, this author has found that fasting cure has great value as holistic medicine based on natural healing. Based on the implications of this study, this researcher expects that this study will be used as fundamental material to provide the directions and grounds of fasting cure as efficient healing in the aspects of holistic medicine exerting effects on chronic disease resulted from habits or diseases caused by stress, a factor that results in many different kinds of diseases in this age.

• Asian Journal for Public Opinion Research
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• v.2 no.2
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• pp.121-139
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• 2015

"Living in the present moment," a Buddhist concept, was applied in this research. This concept urges the patients to cling neither to the past nor the future as well as being mindful of their body, feelings, mind, and mental qualities. The purpose of the study was to develop a "living in the present moment" model and to evaluate the power of "living in the present moment" in terms of physical and mental results. The study used non-participatory action research with quasi-experimental research design that included 3 camps composed of 6 main activities. The percentages, SD, and paired t-test statistics were used to analyze and compare 17 purposively selected diabetic patients from Pak Thong Chai Hospital before and after they attended the 3 camps. The patients improved significantly in terms of waistline, body weight, body mass index (BMI) and blood pressure (SBP and DBP). The mean of fasting plasma glucose (FPG) level was also changed considerably. The results revealed that the treatment helped the patients to gain self-awareness and self-realization (Yonisomanasikara), as well as knowledge and increased support from friends (Kalyanamitta). They also let go of their attachment to their physical and mental oppressions. This helped the patients to relieve their daily pain, fatigue, insomnia, and diabetes-related complications. About 75% of all patients were able to achieve lifestyle modifications. Therefore, implementation of the model should be expanded and utilized in other diabetic centers. The model might also be expanded to pre-diabetes.