The meanings of Sacred places and Pilgrimages in Daesoonjinrihoe

대순진리회의 성지와 순례의 의미

This paper provides the meaning of sacred places and pilgrimages in Daesoonjinrihoe, the most representative of the new religions in Korea. Daesoonjinrihoe stipulates Dojang(道場, it means temple complex) as the sacred places, which presently functions as the center of their religious faith. Also, The Daesoonjinrihoe devotees worship 15 deities at a sacred place, Yeongdae(靈臺). By seeing meanings of sacred places and pilgrimage in Daesoonjinrihoe, This article focuses on the process of the sacrificial rite of Daesoonjinrihoe related to the importance of religious ritual or place of faith and sacred places as pilgrimage sites. At this time, I explain the properties of sacrificial rite of it. The sacrificial rite of Daesoonjinrihoe, one of its major rites, is performed at both regular and irregular intervals. It is performed by either an individual or a group at a fixed time and place. The study of sacred places should focus not only artificial structures such as buildings but also the meanings given to them and the mechanism that created these meanings. Pilgrimage is journey undertaken by person who consider their destination sacred. By seeing meaning of pilgrimage, this paper focus on Daesoonjinrihoe' role in making a place pilgrimage sites and pilgrimage functions. The reason I focus on sacred places and pilgrimage in Daesoonjinrihoe is that these sacred places reflect people's attempt to invent religious memory and identity. Thus, I elucidate the role that Daesoonjinrihoe's sacred places and pilgrimage plays in remembering religious memory. I examine the messages that Daesoonjinrihoe's sacred places intend to convey to the followers through the created sacred places and pilgrimage. Sacred places are significant because it reflect important symbolic features of religion. Sacred places and pilgrimage are vehicles for remembering the religious memory and reinforcing various memories. Finally, Handing down of our valuable Daesoonjinrihoe's cultural heritage is our duty. So it is necessary to make an effort to conserve Daesoonjinrihoe's cultural heritage such as sacred places and concentration upon our interest continuously.