권호 표지

Journal of Daesoon Thought and the Religions of East Asia (대순사상과 동아시아종교)

DAOS(The Daesoon Academy of Sciences)

  • Semi Annual
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  • 2799-3949(pISSN)
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  • 2799-4252(eISSN)

Aim & Scope

Journal of Daesoon Thought and the Religions of East Asia (JDTREA) is the official english journal of the Daesoon Academy of Sciences (https://JDTREA.org). JDTREA is the only peer-reviewed, English language journal dedicated exclusively to research concerning Daesoon thought and contemporary relevance of East Asia Religion. Daesoon Thought refers to a set of interlinking ideological systems which include notions such as Human Nobility (Injon), the Resolution of Grievances for Mutual Beneficence (Haewon Sangsaeng), the Grateful Reciprocation of Favors for Mutual Beneficence (Boeun Sangsaeng), the Reordering Works of Heaven and Earth (Cheonji Gongsa), and the Great Opening of the Later World, which are components of the system of religious thought found within the indigenous Korean religion Daesoon Jinrihoe. This ideology and its doctrines of peace were first posited by the great religious thinker, Kang Jeungsan. In 1992, Daejin University was founded by Daesoon Jinrihoe, and to date, it remains the only Daesoon Jinrihoe-affiliated university in the world. Daesoon Academy of Sciences (DAOS, Chairman: Bae Kyuhan) is the most representative research institute in terms of its implementation of the founding principles of Daejin University. DAOS has supervised numerous research activities for the purpose of promoting and developing studies on Daesoon Thought for the past 30 years. DAOS will soon begin publishing the new journal, Journal of Daesoon Thought and the Religions of East Asia (JDTREA) to promote the internationalization of research on Daesoon Thought. DAOS will do their best to make Journal of Daesoon Thought and the Religions of East Asia (JDTREA) an internationally prominent journal. The journal is set to be published in English twice a year in March and September by DAOS. The editorial board of JDTREA consists of active scholars from 11 countries: U.S.A., U.K., France, Italia, Lithuania, Australia, China, Taiwan, Japan, and the Republic of Korea. Now it is time for us scholars of Daesoon thought and East Asia Religion to share our traditions fields of study and contemporary practices with the world, thereby giving rise to new attitudes and perceptions of human thought and culture in the 21st century. JDTREA will be published to promote global studies by encouraging wide-ranging research on Daesoon thought and East Asia religion. JDTREA aims to contribute to the world religious academia through systematic academic research on the Daesoon thought, Korea's representative indigenous religion, and comparative and interdisciplinary studies of HaewonSangsaeng-the main subject of the Daesoon thought and and its ideology of world peace. The purpose of such studies is to improve academic research on Daesoon Thought, increase the academic value of Daesoon Thought through internationalization, and establish a foundation for global academic research on the coexistence and peace of mankind through comparative studies with East Asian religions. JDTREA’s anticipated readership will include researchers from around the world who study Daesoon Thought and East Asian religions. Although the number of researchers on Daesoon Thought and East Asian religions is increasing rapidly, the number of international journals and well-regarded journals devoted to such subject matter is still insufficient. With all this in mind, the scope of JDTREA will include the following: • Interpretation and analysis of the Daesoon Jinrihoe's religious phenomena in all fields of humanities and society, or comparative research · Daesoon Thought and culture · The history and contemporary relevance of Daesoon Jinrihoe and Daesoon Thought · Critical reviews of academic trends, mainly in the arts and humanities, related to Daesoon Thought and East Asian religions · The meeting of Daesoon Thought and western cultures · Comparisons between Daesoon Thought and Western systems of thought · New interpretations of and approaches to Daesoon Thought · Daesoon Thought and religious psychology • The interpretation and analysis of East Asian religious phenomena in all fields of humanities and society or comparative research · The doctrines, practices of spiritual cultivation, and organizational structures of East Asian religions · The history and contemporary relevance of East Asian religions · Comparative research juxtaposing East Asian religions and Western religions · Comparative research juxtaposing Daesoon Thought and East Asian religions · New interpretations of and approaches to East Asian religions Its publication type includes original articles, reviews, essays, editorials, meeting reports, book reviews, announcement, correspondences, and video clips. Other types are also negotiable with the editorial board. All unsolicited articles are subject to peer review. Commissioned articles are reviewed by the Editorial Board

Volume 3 Issue 2

  1. CHA Seonkeun 13
    https://doi.org/10.25050/JDTREA.2024.3.2.13 PDF
    This article is a compilation of civilizational crises and their overcoming from the worldview of Daesoon Jinrihoe, based on the premise that religion can offer advice on the crises faced by modern civilization. It is a reinterpretation of human history from a religious perspective, focusing on mutual contentions, grievances, grudges, and their overcoming. Daesoon Jinrihoe explains that modern civilizational crises were first recognized by divine beings in the 18th and 19th centuries, and then later recognized by humans in the 20th and 21st centuries. Unable to resolve the civilization crises, the divine beings asked the Supreme God to intervene in human history, and the Supreme God was born in a human body to reveal the root causes and development of various civilizational crise sand to propose solutions to overcome them. These solutions encompass setting the world aright and ushering in a new era through the Reordering Works of Heaven and Earth (天地公事), attaining enduring peace by practicing grievance resolution for mutual beneficence (解冤相生), and reconstructing the relationship between divine beings and humans in harmonious coexistence. Devotees hold that Daesoon Jinrihoe is a religion that originated as a solution to a problem faced by God rather than humankind. As such, it considers the crises of civilization and their overcoming as the reason for existence. According to the religion's worldview, the Supreme God has already provided the solution to these civilizational crises. With a tip of the hat to the film Interstellar (2014), it could be said, "God Found a Way. He Always Has." Now, Daesoon Jinrihoe posits that it is up to humans to implement the way that God found.
  2. ZHANG Shuqing 35
    https://doi.org/10.25050/JDTREA.2024.3.2.35 PDF
    This article focuses on the image of the ancestor of Quanzhen Daoism from a narrative perspective and also evaluates the influence of this image on the development of Quanzhen Daoism in terms of belief, genealogy, and the compilation of sacred history. Quanzhen Daoism has a rich tradition of narrating andwriting its history. In fact, narrating history is actually a form of constructing history. From the recounting of events such as the birth of the founder of the religion, Wang Chongyang (王重陽, 1112-1170), his conversion to Daoism, his practice and preaching, and his 'ascent to immortality' in Quanzhen historical hagiographies, readers can observe the recording of miracles as a narrative feature. The narratives of religious texts differ from ordinary historical narratives in that the former maintain the core concern of simultaneously promoting belief in miracles and strengthening the religious lineage of the respective tradition. Therefore, exploring the relationship between the narrative of the image of the ancestor and the development of the Quanzhen Sect, along with the establishment of beliefs, is the starting point of this article.
  3. Dominik RUTANA 55
    https://doi.org/10.25050/JDTREA.2024.3.2.55 PDF
    This study presents and examines various ethical theories that could offer potential solutions to the issue of discrimination against non-human animals in contemporary society, and traces its implications for Korean religions. The article focuses on two normative ethical theories - virtue ethics and the ethics of care - and through an analysis of existing research, argues that both theories may serve as foundational principles guiding our behavior, not only in our interactions with other humans but also in our treatment of non-human animals. Furthermore, the examples presented in this study demonstrate that similar ethical theories have already been adopted as frameworks for human behavior towards other living beings within two religious traditions, Buddhism and Daesoon Jinrihoe. In both belief systems, animals are acknowledged as integral components of the world in which we live. Additionally, both religions endorse the idea that the well-being of non-human animals and our attitudes toward them can also have a direct impact on our present lives, as well as on our future existence. Consequently, promoting morally upright conduct towards other living creatures should be viewed as a necessary measure, beneficial not only for the animals themselves but also for the collective well-being of humanity.
  4. DINH Hong Hai 71
    https://doi.org/10.25050/JDTREA.2024.3.2.71 PDF
    The world we live in is becoming more convenient thanks to the inventions of science and technology. Still, the world is also becoming more and more unpredictable with the current situation of VUCA (Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, Ambiguity). The Covid-19 pandemic brought the biggest global disaster ever with 774,631,444 infected people and 7,031,216 deaths (WHO on February 11, 2024) but it seems that humanity is gradually forgetting this disaster. Meanwhile the economic stimulus packages worth trillions of dollars from governments after the pandemic have further caused the world debt bubble to swell. The bubble burst scenario is something that many economic experts fear. Apparently, in the transitional period of the early decades of the 21st century, the world's economic, cultural, political, social, natural, and environmental aspects have undergone profound transformations: from the real estate and finance crises in the United States since 2008; through the melting of the Arctic ice over the past several decades; to the double disaster of the earthquake and tsunami in Japan in 2011. Especially, in the context of the world economic crisis after the COVID-19 pandemic, the human achievements of the past thousands of years are in jeopardy of being wiped out in an instant. Many people are predicting a bad scenario for a chain collapse. Facing the signals of an imminent economic catastrophe based on the appearance of "the Gray Rhino, Black Swan and White Elephant," many drawn in by Eschatological thought declare that Doomsday will occur shortly. This is the time for many other people to hope for the incoming Messiah. The Messiah is said to appear when people feel despair or suffer a great disaster because faith in the Savior can help them overcome adversity mentally. This research will find out how adherents of Buddhism view and deal with civilizational crises by examining history via symbols associated with Maitreya as based upon the Buddhist Messiah, Maitreya.
  5. Grace J. SONG 93
    https://doi.org/10.25050/JDTREA.2024.3.2.93 PDF
    The introductionof Won Buddhism to the United States has reached its fifty-year mark. Brought to the West by Korean kyomus (Won Buddhist clergy), these initial Won Buddhist clergy set a foundation for future ordained devotees to reside in America and further the religion's mission. Innovation has always played an important role in the formation and growth of Won Buddhism. The founder, Sotaesan, declared the necessity to reform traditional Buddhism to make it accessible to the laity and espoused values such as inclusiveness, equality, public work, and practicality. Over the past few decades, these innovations have helped Won Buddhism in America to shift from a strictly ethnic-related context to an emphasis on its universal nature. However, as the religion continues achieving a foothold in Western soil, critical questions arise such as how can Won Buddhism honor its Korean origins while becoming increasingly international? What are the detriments to decontextualizing and de-emphasizing elements thought to be "too Korean" or "too traditional," or thought to be irrelevant in the West? When Buddhism spreads to a new country, it not only influences the culture it enters but is also shaped by the adopting culture. In American history, this has often meant the erasure of Asian cultures that were home to Buddhism for millennia and from which the dharma is inextricable. I argue in this article that if Won Buddhism is to thrive in the United States conscious consideration will have to be given to the indispensable aspects of its Korean roots and tradition while connecting with the current circumstance in fresh, relevant, and effective ways that include the multi-cultural and ethnic makeup of the US. This entails understanding American history and Asian Buddhism's history in America, as well as cultivating a competency or fluency in the cultures that allowed Won Buddhism to survive for decades.
  6. XU Mingqian 121
    https://doi.org/10.25050/JDTREA.2024.3.2.121 PDF
    What should death be like for a deeply venerated or highly prominent Buddhist monastic? This question itself does not just pertain to death rituals, funerals, or cremations but also to the entire process, as understood within the tradition, of leaving this realm and entering into another. It is in all of these aspects that something exceptional should be highlighted to exemplify accomplishments of the given individual's religious life, and draw attention to the profound spiritual attainment of that figure that devotees believe lies beyond what is achievable by ordinary humans. The recent death of Venerable Hsing Yun, the founder of Fo Guang Shan, led to plentiful discussions in Taiwanese society from people of all walks of life, spanning scholars to media and citizens. This study will reveal the peculiarities of this interesting case, mainly as it relates to the late master's mortuary rites. In doing so, other monastics who passed away in contemporary times will be brought up for comparison. In addition to its notable innovations and creativity, the focal case of the mortuary rites for Hsing Yun manifests the tension between traditional and modern Buddhist ideologies and practices; especially as these tensions unfold within the Humanistic Buddhist context.
  7. Carole M. Cusack 145
    https://doi.org/10.25050/JDTREA.2024.3.2.145 PDF
  8. J. Gordon Melton 147
    https://doi.org/10.25050/JDTREA.2024.3.2.147 PDF
  9. Holly Folk 149
    https://doi.org/10.25050/JDTREA.2024.3.2.149 PDF
  10. LEE Kwangyu 151
    https://doi.org/10.25050/JDTREA.2024.3.2.151 PDF