Jeung San Do (), occasionally called

Jeungsanism Jeungsanism (증산교 Jeungsangyo) is an English word with two different uses: as a synonym of Jeung San Do (증산도), a Korean new religious movement, or to designate a family of more than 100 Korean new religious movements that recognize Kang ...

( ''Jeungsangyo''), meaning "The Dao/ Tao of Jeung-san", although this term is better reserved for a larger family of movements, is a

new religious movement A new religious movement (NRM), also known as alternative spirituality or a new religion, is a religious or Spirituality, spiritual group that has modern origins and is peripheral to its society's dominant religious culture. NRMs can be novel in ...

founded in

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

in 1974. It is one of more than 100 Korean religious movements that recognize Gang Il-sun (강일순) (Kang Jeungsan, or Chungsan), an early 20th century religious leader, as the incarnation and personification of

Sangje Haneunim or Hanunim (하느님 "Heavenly Lord"/"Lord of Heaven") is the sky God of Cheondoism and Jeungsanism. In the more Buddhist-aligned parts of these religions, he is identified with Indra. In the more Taoist-aligned parts of these religions ...

nim (上帝任, the "governing spirit of the universe") and performed a "reordering of the universe" through his mission and rituals. The religion is characterised by a universal message,

millenarianism Millenarianism or millenarism (from Latin , "containing a thousand") is the belief by a religious, social, or political group or movement in a coming fundamental transformation of society, after which "all things will be changed". Millenarian ...

, and a method of healing meditation.

History

A number of branches of

trace their origins to Goh Pan-Lye (Subu, literally "Head Lady," 1880-1935, although in Kang's circle there was more than one "Subu"), a female disciple of Kang Jeungsan. Around September 1911, Goh gathered around her a number of Kang's followers. Eventually, Goh's male cousin, Cha Gyeong-Seok (1880-1936), a leading disciple of Kang, became the leader of Goh's branch. Dissatisfied with this situation, Goh separated from Cha in 1919 and established her own new religion. In the 1920s, Cha's branch, known as

Bocheon-gyo Bocheonism (Korean: 보천교 ''Bocheongyo'' or ''Pochonkyo'', "religion of the vault of heaven/firmament") was one among more than 100 new religious movements of Korea of the family of religions called Jeungsanism, rooted in Korean shamanism and ...

, became the largest Korean new religious movement and possibly the largest religion in Korea, with some 6 million followers. It declined rapidly after Cha's death in 1936, and fragmented into several competing group, as did Goh's organization. Jeung San Do is the largest among the branches claiming a lineage originating from Goh. It was founded by Ahn Un-san (born in 1922), who established his first religious organization in 1945. After further divisions, Ahn founded Jeung San Do in 1974 together with his son, Ahn Gyeong-jeon (b. 1954). Jeung San Do believes that, as Kang was God the Father, Goh, revered with the title of Tae-mo-nim, was God the mother and between 1926 and 1935 performed her own reordering of the universe. Jeung San Do is the movement within Jeungsanism with the most visible presence abroad, although it is not the largest branch in Korea. The central text of Jeungsanism, the

Dojeon A sacred text of Jeungism, the original Dojeon was published in Korean on October 25, 1992. The Dojeon has been translated into eight languages, including Korean, English, Japanese, German, Spanish, French, Russian and Chinese. Background Over ...

, was first published in Korean in 1992. The name "Dojeon" is used by other branches of Jeungsanism for their own, different sacred texts. Jeung San Do's version contains detailed description of Jeungsan

nim's and Taemonim's ("Great Mother") lives and of ''Cheonjigongsa'', the "Renewal of Heaven and Earth". The Jeungsanist theory stresses the concept of Tao, the way of nature. Jeungsanism is often understood as having stemmed from Korean Sinism and Chinese millenarian

Taoism Taoism (, ) or Daoism () refers to either a school of philosophical thought (道家; ''daojia'') or to a religion (道教; ''daojiao''), both of which share ideas and concepts of Chinese origin and emphasize living in harmony with the '' Ta ...

, and is defined as one of the Korean

indigenous religion Indigenous religions is a category used in the study of religion to demarcate the religious belief systems of communities described as being " indigenous". This category is often juxtaposed against others such as the " world religions" and " ne ...

Etymology

''Jeung San Do'' means "the Way Tao'',_道.html" ;"title="'dao/do/ Tao'', 道">'dao/do/ Tao'', 道of the ''Jeung''(甑) 'siru''''San''(山) ountain. The word "''jeung''" is ''siru'' in Korean, which is Korean food streamer vessel for cooking Korean rice cakes, ''

Tteok ''Tteok'' ( ko, 떡) is a class of Korean rice cakes made with steamed flour made of various grains, including glutinous or non-glutinous rice. Steamed flour can also be pounded, shaped, or pan-fried to make ''tteok''. In some cases, ''tte ...

''(떡). It signifies a vast vessel by metaphor that can contain everything in the world. To conclude, "''jeung''" (甑) denotes the process of rising, maturation, fruition or growth. "''Jeung san''" is also a traditional Korean descriptive term for the highest mountain in a region or "steamer mountain". "''Do''" (道) denotes Tao, the way. Considered as a whole, therefore, the name "''Jeung San Do''" signifies the highest truth that surpasses all existing religions and teachings.

Teachings

Sangjenim Haneunim or Hanunim (하느님 "Heavenly Lord"/"Lord of Heaven") is the sky God of Cheondoism and Jeungsanism. In the more Buddhist-aligned parts of these religions, he is identified with Indra. In the more Taoist-aligned parts of these religions ...

means "Highest Emperor", and is cognate of the Chinese ''

Shangdi Shangdi (), also written simply, "Emperor" (), is the Chinese term for "Supreme Deity" or "Highest Deity" in the theology of the classical texts, especially deriving from Shang theology and finding an equivalent in the later '' Tian'' ("Heave ...

''. It is the governing spirit of the universe, and Jeung San Do believe he was incarnated as Gang Il-sun., although God for Jeung San Do also exists as God the mother, incarnated on earth as Goh Pan-Lye. Jeung San Do teaches that, at the age of seven, Sangjenim attained a sudden spiritual awakening while watching a performance of traditional music and dance. When he was twenty-four, he witnessed the tumultuous events of the

Donghak Donghak (formerly spelled Tonghak; ) was an academic movement in Korean Neo-Confucianism founded in 1860 by Choe Je-u. The Donghak movement arose as a reaction to seohak (), and called for a return to the "Way of Heaven". While Donghak origin ...

(Eastern Learning) Uprising in which an ill-equipped but determined army of farmers fought the troops of both the Korean government and the Japanese. This insurrection sparked a war between

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...

and

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...

fought on the

Korean peninsula Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic ...

and ended with the crushing defeat of the farmers and Japan's annexation of the country. After observing the death and misery brought on by these events, Jeung San Sangjenim resolved to save the world from suffering. He traveled for three years to observe human behavior and the shape, qi, and spirit of the land. In 1901, after a period of intensive meditation he attained perfect enlightenment into the affairs of Heaven, Earth, and humanity. About this he said: In that year, Sangjenim began a spiritual work that cannot be easily explained or understood. It was called the work of renewing Heaven and Earth (天地公事). For 9 years, he conducted works of renewal in the form of rituals, proclamations, and conversations with humans and spirits and utilized the ''qi'' of various places and people. He established a federation of gods called the Creative Government, composed of regional gods, the founding spirits of family lines, gods that founded and advanced civilizations, enlightened spirits, spirits with unresolved bitterness and grief, and the spirits of revolutionaries. With this assembly of spirits, he intended to correct the wrongs of the past and chart a new course for the future. His work of renewing Heaven and Earth shifted the course of Heaven, Earth, and humanity and planted the seeds for a new enlightened and harmonious world of humans and gods. According to his followers, Sangjenim differed from other prophets in that he not only spoke about the future but, through his spiritual work, actually transformed it. One way of understanding this is the Butterfly Effect in Edward Lorenz's Chaos Theory. According to that theory, a butterfly flapping its wings in America could cause or prevent a tornado in Indonesia. This of course illustrates the improbability of predicting any event in a highly complex system due to the difficulty of knowing all variables. But, what if someone were enlightened to the point of omnipotence? What if someone did know all the variables? Such a person could not only predict the future, but with the rippling effect of seemingly small actions could actually change the future. About the method he used in the work of renewal, Sangjenim said:

Cosmic year

According to Jeun Sang Do, Gang Il-sun revealed to humanity that the universe embodies a four-fold cycle. A "cosmic year" contains four cosmic seasons corresponding to birth, growth, harvest, and rest.

Views on Korean history

According to Jeung San Do, the

History of Korea The Lower Paleolithic era in the Korean Peninsula and Manchuria began roughly half a million years ago. Christopher J. Norton, "The Current State of Korean Paleoanthropology", (2000), ''Journal of Human Evolution'', 38: 803–825. The earlies ...

is that of a

chessboard A chessboard is a used to play chess. It consists of 64 squares, 8 rows by 8 columns, on which the chess pieces are placed. It is square in shape and uses two colours of squares, one light and one dark, in a chequered pattern. During play, the bo ...

used by America, China, Russia, and Japan. While the

Empire of Japan The also known as the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan, was a historical nation-state and great power that existed from the Meiji Restoration in 1868 until the enactment of the post-World War II 1947 constitution and subsequent form ...

completed the annexation of Korea in 1910, they were merely pawns or workmen (''ilkkun'') of Sangjenim; racial brothers who saved Korea from domination by the Western

great power A great power is a sovereign state that is recognized as having the ability and expertise to exert its influence on a global scale. Great powers characteristically possess military and economic strength, as well as diplomatic and soft power i ...

s. The Japanese, according to this narrative, provided the "service" (''pongsa'') of modernizing Korea as penance for the

Japanese invasions of Korea (1592–1598) The Japanese invasions of Korea of 1592–1598 involved two separate yet linked invasions: an initial invasion in 1592 (), a brief truce in 1596, and a second invasion in 1597 (). The conflict ended in 1598 with the withdrawal of Japanese force ...

. Accordingly, resistance against Japan was ill-advised, and

Chinilpa ''Chinilpa'' ( ko, 친일파, lit. "pro-Japan faction") is a derogatory Korean language term that denotes ethnic Koreans who collaborated with Imperial Japan during the protectorate period of the Korean Empire from 1905 and its colonial rule in ...

collaborationist organizations such as Iljinhoe should not be condemned. Koreans merely had to "wait patiently", as Jeung San Do taught, for the guests to vacate the board in order to assume ownership of the

Korean Peninsula Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic ...

Vocabulary

上帝 * Taemonim 太母 *

Gaebyeok Gaebyeok ( ko, 開闢, the "great opening", literally "opening dawn") is a sudden change in nature, society and people in the Korean religion of Jeungism or Jeung San Do.Robert Pearson Flaherty. 2021. "Jeungsando." In James Crossley and Alastair ...

開闢 * Taeeul ju 太乙呪 *

Wonsibanbon {{Unreferenced, date=April 2008 Wonsibanbon (Korean: 원시반본, Hanja: 原始反本) is one of the main teachings of Jeung San Do. Won(原) means "origin" or "primitive" and Shi(始) means "beginning" or "start". Ban(反) means "reverse" or "opp ...

(returning to the origin) 原始反本 *

Haewon Haewon is one of the main teachings of Jeung San Do. ''Hae'' (解) means "release" or "solve" and ''won'' (怨) means "grudge" or "grief". Therefore, a literal meaning of ''haewon'' is resolution of bitterness and grief. Teachings of Haewon Throu ...

(resolution of bitterness and grief) 解怨 *

Sangsaeng {{Unreferenced, date=December 2009 Sangsaeng (相生) means mutual life-giving, and is one of the key philosophical principles of Jeungism, a spiritual movement from Korea dedicated to the well-being of all people. In English terms, "win-win" maybe ...

(mutual life-giving) 相生 *

Boeun Boeun County (''Boeun-gun'') is a county in North Chungcheong Province, South Korea. History Boeun ( literally "offering gratitude" or "thanksgiving"), was a South Korean town named in 1406 by a remorseful King Taejong, who felt relieved that he ...

(offering gratitude and repayment) 報恩 *

道典 * Dojang (temple) - Dao center 道場 * Cosmic year - Shao Yung (AD 1011-1077) 宇宙一年 * Euitong (to heal and to unite) * Cheonjigongsa (renewal of Heaven and Earth) 天地公事 * Nam Sa-go *Hwacheonjeol(化天節):The death day of Gang Il-sun.

References

Sources

* Jeung San Do Dojeon Publication Society
The Jeung San Do Dojeon
* Jeung San Do Dojeon Publication Society
The Cosmic Autumn Approaches: Select Passages From the Dojeon: "The Holy Scriptures of Dao"
* Jeung San Do Dojeon Publication Society
The illustrated dojeon: An Abridged Introduction to the Jeung San Do Dojeon
2009 * Ahn Gyung-jun
Autumn Calling
2001 * Readings in JeungSanDo homepage
Dao Talk IDao Talk II

Introduction of Jeung San Do Dojeon

External links

Jeung San Do
- English homepage
Jeung San Do
- Korean homepage
The Dojeon
- English {{Religion topics New religious movements