繭紫掖模偃疇濠

3. CHONDOGYO VIEWED TH-ROUGH CHURCH DOCTRINE

Chondogyo Viewed Through the Tenets of the Church

   On the fifth day of the fourth month of the founding year of Podeok (1860), Chondogyo? founder and first supreme leader Great Master Su-un had a defining religious experience during which the absolute God Hanulnim first gave him the rule of the heart "My mind is your mind?(osimjeukyeosim, 賧裶劖璉裶). That is to say, through the rule "My mind is your mind?he came to realize the truth that the absolute God or Spirit does not exist somewhere separate from us, but is enshrined within our consciousness, and by extension, our bodies. From this comes the very central religious idea ?"I serve God within me?
    "I serve God within me? stated another way, conveys the meaning that God and Man share the same outlook. In other words, the absolute God Hanulnim exists not in some separate place but within us, providing us with guidance and revelation. "I serve God within me? therefore, means nothing less than that we must listen intently to the voice of God that is the true principle within us and that we must act and live in absolute accordance with it. In addition, through a life of "serving God within me?one comes to realize that God, who is the very essence of the Cosmos, is enshrined within us and that our true selves can therefore be restored to us. Thus the Great Master, through "I serve God within me?provided Chondogyo with the thought that lies at its very core. There is also the spiritual exhortation to "change your body into temperament" (isinhwanseong, 鴗蜰搸僛) elucidated by Revered Teacher Euiam, who carried on the work of the Great Master and Master Haeweol. It too is a teaching having origins in "I serve God within me?
   Expressed in different words, this kind of "i serve God within me?that is the Great Master? teaching is the state or condition of "God and man being one?蜺嬣╪擩). This means the restoration to human beings of their God-given hearts and minds of Heaven originally bestowed on them when they were first brought into the universe. At the same time this speaks of a life that is not separated from one's own life, even in the minutest degree. Thus, "I serve God within me?means the restoration to human beings of the pure heart they were born with. This means that the hear'ts original essence is restored and put into practice.
   The Great Master, through a defining religious experience, came to realize the principle of ? serve God within me? which he revealed to the world and which became the most important teaching of Eastern Learning. With "I serve God within me?as its foundation, Chondogyo's view of humankind is that, by serving the boundless existence that is God within me, ultimately I can become, together with the limitless Cosmos, the ?imitless I.?Further, Chondogyo's view of the Cosmos is that the universe is one vast living organism in which are subsumed all living organisms. The fundamental providence of this Cosmos is to simultaneously function both as God and as the face or countenance of God. This, therefore, is Chondogyo's view of God, which is applicable to Chondogyo values, its views on death and the hereafter, and so on.
   Let us further explore Chondogyo perspectives on God, the Cosmos, human kind, death and the hereafter, and human values, basing our discussion on the principle of "I serve God within me?

God

   Every religion has a different name for the God that is their object of reverence. One can see this by examining the many existing religions of the world. In Korea, for example, this object of reverence is called ?aneunim? ?ananim? ?aneolnim? and so on. The many existing religions that call God by such names as ?aneunim? ?ananim? and ?aneolnim? are all ultimately based on the notion of a place opposite from where humankind lives here on earth, which in this case is haneul(sky, or heaven). Thus these names are derived from the belief that God resides in a distant heaven far removed from this world.
   In a way somewhat different from other religions, Chondogyo refers to God as "Hanulnim? However, the name "Hanulnim?was not derived from the word "haneul? nor does it convey any meaning suggestive of a place opposite or removed from earth. This Hanulnim includes both heaven and earth and contains the concept of the cosmological. Not long after his defining religious experience the Great Master spontaneously sang 'Isn't this the infinite me inside this infinite enclosure??"Song of Heungbi?in Songs of Yongdam). This ?nfinite enclosure?ul, 選) refers to the infinite Cosmos, and from "this infinite enclosure?mugunghan I ul, 鼠掙フ檜選) is derived the Chondogyo name for God.
   Thus this God Hanulnim does not reside in a distant heaven far removed from human beings standing with their feet firmly planted on this earth. Rather, Hanulnim fills both heaven and earth. In other words, this God occupies every part of the universe. Hanulnim fills the Cosmos while also beings oncretely enshrined within my body.?This is the Chondogyo concept of God.
   In accordance with this we have the expression 'I serve Hanulnim, or God, within me?known as "Sicheonju (蒮蘢颸)?All people serve Hanulnim, and by so doing they are one and the same existence as the infinite Hanulnim. From this concept are derived both the Chondogyo principle "treat a human being as you would treat God?sainyeocheon, 瓿嬣濆蘢) and the cardinal tenet "Human beings are God(Innaecheon, 嬣珙蘢). Indeed, Chondogyo, with its important fundamental religious teaching "Human beings are God?Innaecheon, 嬣珙蘢) presented to the world a new concept of God.
   This Chondogyo view of God goes well beyond the two contrasting religious traditions of monotheism and pantheism; the former being the belief in a transcendent one-and-only God existing in a transcendent place, and the latter being the notion that gods or spirits are intrinsic to the myriad things of the world. These conceptions of God are, to use the latest terminology in religious academic circles, panentheism.
   The Chondogyo God Hanulnim, as the foundation of all things, is an ingenious mix of individualist non-conformism, being both transcendent and innate. That is to say, Hanulnim, as the one absolute entity, is the leader of creation who brings all things into being. But Hanulnim is also a God who continuously operates through human beings to create anew and to help them evolve so that they might achieve the purpose for which they were created. Thus Hanulnim is the transcendent entity that created the myriad things of the Cosmos while at the same time, being innate to all things of the universe, Hanulnim is the limitless material form of the Cosmos, forever changing and creating it. This work of creation and evolution is the utterly impartial, omniscient, and omnipotent power that has created and directs all living things in Nature, and the endless creation and evolution of all things in the Cosmos. Furthermore, this creation and evolution is not artificially created but is, through ?hange without action?(muwiihwa, 渼縎儢廐), spontaneously created through the providence of Hanulnim. That is to say, it is a wholly autonomous creation and evolution and not a heteronomous one.
   This Hanulnim, the object of veneration in Chondogyo, is inconceivable and indescribable, for it quite transcends the limitations of human understanding. For this reason, the Great Master, in his explanatory notes to the "Incantation of Twenty-One Letters?found in 'A Discussion on Learning?in Donghak Scripture, withheld descriptive commentary on "Hanulnim,?limiting his definition to one word, namely ?eaven.?br>    However, anyone can receive the enlightenment of Hanulnim and take the reins of Hanulnim? sublime will if he or she moves beyond the limits of human understanding and enters the profound condition of faith and belief. This is because the myriad things of the Cosmos all retain vestiges of the limitless creation and evolution of Hanulnim, and a human being lives by following the will of Hanulnim and serving Hanulnim from within.
   This kind of relationship between Hanulnim and human beings that is Chondogyo? way of perceiving God is neither a simplistic transcendent view nor a pantheistic view. It is one which includes both the transcendent and the intrinsic, and the individualistic and naturalistic. It is the new conception of God that is ?nnaecheon?(Human beings are God), which is based on the principle of "Sicheonju?by which ?uman beings, because they serve Hanulnim, are Hanulnim.?

The Cosmos

   Among Chondogyo canonical writings containing the word "Cosmos?is "The Song of Heungbi?in the Songs of Yongdam, which offers the line "this limitless enclosure.?That is to say, the Cosmos is that which is infinite, having no beginning or end. This Cosmos is completely filled with the "ultimate energy?jigi, 繨悃) that is the vital force of Hanulnim. There is no place where this "ultimate energy?does not interfere and command. That is to say, the "ultimate energy?of Hanulnim constitutes the substance and very foundation of the Cosmos.
   Thus the innumerable manifestations of Nature in the Cosmos are in us and all around us, with everything ultimately brought together in one organic whole by the "ultimate energy?of Hanulnim. Ultimately all is bound up in the limitless Cosmos as "one vast life.? Thus the Chondogyo view of the Cosmos is that of a vast spiritual organism linked by the "utimate energy?of Hanulnim.
   It follows, therefore, that the myriad things of the universe in the infinite Cosmos, commanded by the "ultimate energy?of Hanulnim, ultimately share identical roots and comprise one existing whole. Chondogyo does not stop at a humanity-centered "dignity of man?construct in which human beings stand alone as the most noble entity in the Cosmos, but takes "honoring the three thought,?namely honoring God, honoring human beings, and honoring all things, as its nucleus. That is to say, because the Cosmos is viewed as one vast living organism, all existing things in the Cosmos are from the same source and are, therefore, to be uniformly respected, becoming respect itself.
   This Chondogyo view of the Cosmos promises to be the fundamental principle by which to sagaciously sweep away the afflictions of our modern era, such as the danger of bringing disorder to the universe through the destruction of the environment, and over-development due to the human-centered consciousness that holds sway in the world today.
   In a word, the core Chondogyo view of the universe is one in which the Cosmos is "one vast living organism,?by which all the myriad things of the universe are organically linked and are, therefore, all brethren sharing the same roots. Therefore in such a Cosmos the myriad things of the universe together form a cosmological unity. This is expressive of the ultimate religious ideal of Chondogyo, namely, that we must live in conformity with the cosmological order. In other words, the Cosmos is where all the myriad things of the universe live, while at the same time it represents order in the lives of the myriad things of the universe, and is the fundamental life supporting all other lives. In this lies the fundamental meaning of Chondogyo's view of the Cosmos.

Humankind

   It is a very common phenomenon that human beings are held to be the most noble of all living things, no matter what the religion or philosophy. However, the uniqueness of Chondogyo lies in its view that human beings are not the sole noble living entity, but that they are part of a "limitless existence? together with ?nfinite Hanulnim? In this way, human beings in their "finite existence?come to be seen as God in its "infinite existence? This "infinite existence?is none other than "I serve God within me?Sicheonju, 蒮蘢颸). This is because human beings securely have enshrined within them the limitless, infinite Hanulnim.
   Therefore, in order to more clearly comprehend the Chondogyo view of humankind, the first thing we must do is more closely examine the meaning of "serve(si, 蒮) in "I serve God within me?Sicheonju, 蒮蘢颸).
   In Donghak Scripture the Great Master, in an explicatory passage on the Incantation of Twenty-one Letters, writes of this Chinese character "si?as follows. "That which is 'si?contains, in its inner aspect, the divine spirit, while its outer aspect expresses the vital force in life, and each person in the world, upon realizing this, cannot move away from it.?That is to say, the condition of "serving Hanulnim?is none other than sensing the presence within of a divine spirit and having the sense about oneself of a mystical assimilative power, and once a person becomes conscious of this condition he or she cannot deviate from it.
   So then, what in fact is this "divine spirit?sensed from within that the Great Master speaks of? It is at one and the same time both the substance of "I" and the mind of God. And what is this outer sense of a ?ystical assimilative power? This is the manifestation of the power of the "I" being one with the power of ?"God? This is, therefore, a functioning of the "divine spirit?which is sensed both within and without oneself. That is to say, the divine spirit assumes a place within, which has the function of generating an assimilative force without. Thus, the inner and the outer become indistinguishable, having become one.
   The "divine spirit?operates by expressing the "vital force of life? and this "dital force of life? which drives the "divine spirit? is apprehended by each of us, and cannot be separated from us. The Great Master explains the manifestation of this in our lives with the words "gakjibuli?岍繸楙儦, all understand and do not move from it). Thus, the "si?of "Sicheonju?contains the heart and mind of Hanulnim, which is called the ?ivine spirit? and the manifest life of Hanulnim, which is called "expressing the vital force in life? has the meaning, in accordance with the words "gakjibuli? of life without deviation from this.
   Seen from this perspective, this means living by being ever mindful of the voice of the spirit that is my true being, namely Hanulnim who dwells within me.
   At the same time, the Great Master made this "I serve God within me?Sicheonju, 蒮蘢颸) the core teaching of Chondogyo, for it is only through this "serve?si, 蒮) that one can find the " authentic I?and restore the true substance of one's being that is Hanulnim.
   This condition of "I serve God within me? expressed another way, is a state in which "God and human beings are one? This means that the mind of God(cheonsim, 蘢裶) that human beings were born with when they were brought into the Cosmos, can be restored to them through Sicheonju. To achieve this means to live a life that does not stray even one iota from the mind of God(cheonsim, 蘢裶) within us. Thus Sicheonju means the restoration of the most pure heart and mind(the innate nature of humankind) that human beings were born with, which is realized in our lives.
   Sicheonju means serving the infinite being of Hanulnim within the body and realizing the infinite life of Hanulnim within one's life, so that ultimately "I? being one with the infinite Cosmos, becomes the ?nfinite I? The precise Chondogyo view of humankind lies in conducting one's life so as to achieve the realization of the "infinite I?
   In this way, the Chondogyo view of humankind, achieved through the realization of the ?nfinite I? is the ideal type of human being needed to ultimately open the door to a just and upright world. That is to say, this is the aspect of the ?ranscendent sage on earth?who aspires to a world that "returns to the origin and becomes one?donggwiilche, 婞秎擩鐎). The "transcendent sage on earth? though living in these times of infighting and the selfish pursuit of personal gain, recovers the truth and virtue of Hanulnim and conducts his or her life in accordance with the truth and virtue of Hanulnim.
   This Chondogyo view of humankind, in which a person is seen, in association with Hanulnim, as "infinite being? was never divined by any wise person before, and is a most unique and special revelation of the Great Master. It is precisely on this point that we can identify the unique aspect of this most superior view of humankind elucidated by the Great Master. Furthermore, this Chondogyo view of humankind is highly relevant in its applications to human society. This is because it connotes a fundamental egalitarianism by which all members of society, rather than members of one special class, serve God within themselves and are equal, infinite beings free of such distinctions as "rich and poor?or"high and low?
   Thus, not only does this Chondogyo view of human kind totally circumvent and move beyond ?eudal?society? blatantly discriminatory ?oble-base?class system; it is a view of humankind that is most urgently demanded by contemporary times. The Chondogyo view of humankind amply exceeds the confines of both modern and pre-modern history to not only release the people from the bonds of oppression by affirming that ?ll people, as infinite beings, are and must be equal? but to call them to a consciousness in a different dimension where human beings are infinite, being at one with infinite God.
   This Chondogyo view of humankind, through which one can comprehend both the fundamental equality of all people and, through a qualitative dimensional change, one? existence as an infinite being, can open up a future renewed with hope for all who, owing to their unbalanced lives, currently live in anxiety with no vision for tomorrow.    That is to say, this Chondogyo view of humankind, with its true, authentic, human values, offers humanity new expectations for the future by proposing a new solution that overcomes the modern contradictions that merely focus on the overturning and collapse of values awash in materialism and alienation?
   By realizing within the self the coexistence of the ?nfinite I?that is one with the ?nfinite Cosmos?we master the Chondogyo view of human kind, which, in its promise to establish a new future and a new world, is most acutely demanded in our present times.

After Death

   As mentioned above in our discussion of the view of the Cosmos, the vast Cosmos is a divine living organism. It follows, then, that the Chondogyo view on life is that the basis for the existence of all the myriad things of the universe is found in the one vast life that is the Cosmos; in other words, in Hanulnim. That is to say, all life is God and therefore is derived from the life that is the vast Cosmos. Therefore, if something dies it returns to the vast life that is the Cosmos. In Chondogyo, therefore, dying is referred to as "returning to the place of one? origin?hwanweon, 𤂌磢). It conveys the same meaning of someone dying as the commonly used Korean expression "he(or she) returned?給嬴陛衛棻).
   All life, including a human being's life, having entered and lived in the Cosmos, or Hanulnim, ultimately returns to the vast life of the Cosmos that is nothing other than the infinite life of Hanulnim. However, even before the person we call "I?is born into this world, "I?existed as life in the Cosmos, and after the death of the person called "I? his o"r her life resides in the vast living organism that is the Cosmos. Then, if we comprehend this process, we ultimately come to the realization that there is no distinction between life and death, for this life is eternally one with the infinite Hanulnim and the infinite divine spirit. Chondogyo's view of the future, or the hereafter, is rooted in this very same realization.
   Thus our divine spirit does not, after dying, take a separate path to another world such as Heaven, Paradise, or Hell, as it does in other religions. Instead, immediately following death, the divine spirit returns to the divine spirit of Hanulnim, which is the fundamental life of the Cosmos, while at the same time surviving in the psyche of those who live on after them. Stated further, Chondogyo's view of the hereafter lies in whether or not one realizes heaven or hell within the heart.
   Therefore, when a follower of Chondogyo performs a rite for his ancestors he dispenses with the practice of placing the ancestral tablets on a wall and performing the ritual before them. Rather, he performs the ritual by having the ancestral tablets "facing "I ? This ceremonial practice well illustrates the Chondogyo view of after death, and of the hereafter, for the soul or divine spirit of the departed ancestor has not gone to a separate heaven or otherworld in some other dimension but is enshrined within me.
   Furthermore, Chondogyo does not recognize a separate celestial realm for a heaven or hell existing in a different dimension from this world. The Chondogyo way of understanding death and the hereafter begins with"Sicheonju?and "Innaecheon?Human beings are Heaven), which, when understood by a person previously accustomed to addressing existence as finite, allows him or her to realize the limitlessness of existence that is one with the infinite Hanulnim.
   When the physical aspect of all living things is extinguished, that is to say, when it dies, it does not go to a place in another dimension such as heaven or hell, but returns to the vast life of the Cosmos that constitutes the foundation of its being, where it unites as one with the divine spirits of those that follow, which in turn emerge into this world. This is the Chondogyo view of after death and the hereafter.
   Seen from such a perspective, the "Long life?薞蛺) spoken of in Chondogyo does not refer to a long physical life but to the long life of the divine spirit, which is happily realized as being life at one with the limitless Cosmos.

Values

   In general people establish criteria for behavior and then divide them into good and evil values. That is to say, when "good?and "evil?are divided the must important thing at work is nothing other than these criteria. This is because, when the criteria for values are improperly established the distinction between "good?and "evil?is incorrectly conceptualized. It follows, therefore, that the first order of business is to establish the proper criteria for all values.
   Where are the criteria for establishing values in Cheon-dogyo? In a word, they are in a person? ?ind?sim, 裶) and "energy?gi, 悃). The Great Master quite early and frequently spoke of this "mind?and ?nergy? and we can see this in his criteria for an "upright life and a non-upright life? "good and evil? and the ?erson of virtue and the petty person?
   In this way we have the singing in the "Songs of Yongdam?of the line "the heart distinguishing between good and evil depends on one's "gi? or energy. In Donghak Scripture in "Lamenting Impatience in the Student of the Way?(Tandoyusimgeup, 鬻堀羱裶凊) is the following sentence: Wipe away the blemished energy and raise the child well with clear energy? This informs us that one can immediately recover one? innate nature. The criteria behind the Great Master? human values are to live the upright life, the kind-hearted life, yea, even the person of virtue?(gunja, 珋磾) life by keeping one's energy clean and true so as to restore to oneself his or her original nature. In other words, Chondogyo values are based on the criteria of "mind?and "energy?
   The following passage from "A Discussion on Learning?in Donghak Scripture allows us to understand quite precisely what Chondogyo values are:
   The moral excellence of the man of virtue(gunja, 珋磾) lies in the uprightness of his energy and the steadfastness of his heart and mind, thereby becoming one with the universe in virtue and truth. Because the character of a petty man is not upright, and because his heart and mind wanders, he runs counter to the will of the universe.
   This means that the most desirable and ideal criteria for one's character is that of goodness and kindness, as expressed by the man of virtue, whose energy is one of uprightness and whose heart is steadfast, having never changed from its original state. It also points out that the character of the so-called petty person has an energy that is not upright. The heart of the petty man is fickle and inconstant, and so cannot possess the qualities with which it was born.
   Seen through this teaching of the Great Master, Cheon-dogyo values are to "keep one's? energy pure and upright? and through this upright energy "restore the innate nature of the mind?and "Live remaining steadfast and true to this original mind.?So that one might maintain such energy and mind, the Great Master introduced a new disciplinary religious practice which he called "keeping the good mind and having the right spiritual force?susimjeonggi, 朄裶櫆悃). This discipline teaches us to "maintain our innate good mind?susim, 朄裶) and to "have the right spiritual force?cheonggi, 櫆悃), and to steadfastly practice this in our lives.
   However, Chondogyo values do not stop with "having the right spiritual force?and ?aintaining a steadfast heart and mind? Living in this way one eventually comes to a point when the conduct of ones life makes it possible to be one with the "virtue and truth of heaven and earth? that is, the "universe? Only then will the very highest value be realized. In other words, only by reaching the state of living in absolute perfect unison with the one vast living organism of the Cosmos will the highest value be attained.
   The criteria supporting Chondogyo values are "energy?and "mind?which are upright and steadfast, and these become the highest of values in a life that achieves perfect oneness with the Cosmos. Viewed from this perspective Chondogyo is a religion and belief system that seeks, in this way, the life and values of the Cosmos. It is also a religion that believes and teaches that such conduct is the highest virtue.