• Sim-seong Yeon-gu
• /
• v.33 no.1
• /
• pp.1-60
• /
• 2018

The paper was inspired by Jung's words in the Red Book "just as Christ tormented the flesh through the spirit, the God of this time will torment the spirit through the flesh." I propose that the new form of torment in this era could be eroticism as a way of the individuation process because it seems to be one of a very few ways left to modern men to grasp the sense of permanence, the essence of the divine, without religion because of its peculiar nature of transcendence. I suppose that it is not only a man who is tortured but also god is in torment since the divine needs a man as a womb for his incarnation. Therefore I suggest that man and god are fated to seduce each other to be redeemed by each other. I imagine that Eros with numinous sexuality seduces a man who has potentials for the god's incarnation and who would be willing to give in to the god's demand. This god needs a man who desires his essence of perpetuity, the eternal water of life, in ecstasy. Thus the purpose of the divine's seduction is to make a man awake from unconsciousness to pursue god himself, namely the individuation process. I call such divine seduction "eroticism of god" There seem to be a certain type of people who are destined to live eroticism as a way of individuation process. Through investigations, a melancholic tendency appears to be suitable for this type of individuation. Melancholia is deeply related to the poignant awareness of impermanence as the existential condition, which is a precondition for seeking permanence through eroticism. Melancholia essentially causes deep longing for eternity that bears fulfillment, which exists in eroticism, so melancholic agony seems inevitable for eroticism as the path for individuation in that, without knowing about deficiency, we never seek what is lacking in us. It can also be viewed that while a lover is driven to seduce lost love, what actually waits to become seduced for redemption is the god of love itself behind the human beloved. Man and god are fated to seduce each other for redemption. I suppose that the initiation to Eros implies how to seduce Eros. In a woman's psyche, psychological virginity is one of the essential qualities that her ego needs to attain. To the male it is vital to live his sensuality thoroughly and to experience his own and his lover's emotions to their limit. It cannot be an easy task because it demands us to give up our egotism entirely. Through eroticism, unconsciousness seduces us to make us live life as a whole. The god of love brings powerful sexuality as a means of "spiritual crisis" to redeem our lukewarm soul. Only a few can withstand the experience since it requires a strong will to bear the brunt of the sword despite the keen awareness that it may leave us bleeding in pain.

• Journal of the Daesoon Academy of Sciences
• /
• v.27
• /
• pp.171-200
• /
• 2016

This paper will analyze the filial piety based ethics of Daesoonjinrihoe (大巡眞理會) and the traditional filial piety of Confucianism (儒敎), Buddhism (佛敎) and Taoism (道敎) through comparing and contrasting their unique systems. The traditional Korean ethics regarding filial piety are in great need of reformation as the relationship between the parents and children should not be vertical or unilateral but parallel and reciprocal. However, there have not been sufficient in-depth studies on this specific ideology and alternative approaches. Regarding this prospect, one representative Korean indigenous new religion, Daesoonjinrihoe has emerged and directly engages in the collision between traditionalism and modernity. The modernity of Daesoonjinrihoe, enables the observation of how the filial piety based ethics have developed within a system of doctrine and thereby provides an exemplary model of traditional filial piety reimagined in accordance with modern sensibilities. A brief summary of comparative findings is as follows: First, Daesoonjinrihoe and Confucianism have taken serving parents with respect as an ethic within filial piety, but Confucianism engenders this ideal through the unilateral and unconditional sacrifice of younger people based on patriarchal feudalism whereas Daesoonjinrihoe has rejected such unilateral sacrifice and instead promotes mutual beneficience between parents and children. This difference occurs, in part, due to the filial piety of Confucianism rising in the midst of the feudal order whereas the ideology of Daesoonjinrihoe contains ideals such as "the reciprocation of favor for mutual beneficence (報恩相生)" and "respect for humanity (人尊)," both of which serve as key principles of the new religious world as envisioned by Daesoonjinrihoe. Second, filial piety in Buddhism and Taoism tends to be passive and inactive and is often expressed by praying for happiness and longevity for one's parents while they are alive and later praying for the heavenly rebirth of one's parents after they die. The filial piety of Daesoonjinrihoe also partially contains such ideas, however; they are extended much further and arrive upon novel and profound expressions. The spectrum of the filial piety in Daesoonjinrihoe expands to the extent children perform actions to resolve their parent's sins and pave a new road for their parents. This filial piety requires a cultivation practice from both parents and children. This system of dual cultivation was established because the world-view of Daesoonjinrihoe enables both parents and children to enjoy happiness and wealth both of which are achieved through the completion of religious objectives following cultivation practice. Third, Confucianism and Daesoonjinrihoe hold memorial services for ancestors with sincerity as an expression of filial piety. Filial piety in the Confucian context excludes ideas from Shamanism and thereby memorial services are held for impersonal entities, however; in the Daesoonjinrihoe context, memorial services are held for personal-entities. Accordingly, holding a memorial service for ancestors with sincerity has a greater sense of realism in Daesoonjinrihoe than it does in Confucianism. Fourth, while Confucianism and Daesoonjinrihoe both aim to requite the grace received from ancestors, the contents of grace and reciprocation of favors (報恩) are viewed differently. In Confucianism, since the ancestors existed previously and bestowed the gift of life to their children and indirectly, all of their descendents. Therefore, memorial services for ancestors are held to convey gratitude and filial piety. However, in Daesoonjinrihoe, ancestors not only bestowed the gift of earthly life to their descendents, in the spirit realm, ancestral spirits also spend sixty years accumulating the merit necessary to imbue each of their descendents with spiritual insight. Consequently, filial piety is expressed through memorial services as well as spiritual cultivation. Fifth, in Confucianism, achieving the fame and prestige indicative of success in the mundane world can be an act of filial piety as it would bring pride to one's ancestors, but in Daesoonjinrihoe, succeeding in religious objectives through spiritual cultivation is considered to be a higher form of filial piety. Sixth, Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism all observe filial piety as system of familial ethics based in morality. This is likewise true of Daesoonjinrihoe, however; Daesoonjinrihoe confers greater importance on filial piety as an essential form of ethics for religious redemption. This is due to the Daesoon interpretation that the absence of filial piety was the direct cause which led to the sickened state of the world and its collapse. Forgetting the grace of parents who have given the gift of life or the grace of ancestral spirits who have accumulated merit on behalf of their descendents are acts of ingratitude which are unacceptable during the period of Reordering of the Universe. Judging from these findings, Daesoonjinrihoe embraces parts of traditional filial piety as it exists in Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism, but it does so on the ground of its own unique culture. Through re-interpretation and re-creation, ideas regarding filial piety are being further developed. Namely, filial piety in Daesoonjinrihoe is regulations founded upon the reciprocation of favors for mutual beneficence and respect for humanity. Therefore, it is understood as a concept wherein one's own cultivation practice is performed in order to reach religious objectives, the perfection of personal character, and spiritual insight. This requires that even recipents of filial piety (i.e., parents) perform certain cultivation practices to enjoy happiness and wealth. Additionally, filial piety in Daesoonjinrihoe manifests a reinforced religious character and also serves as a system ethics which is soteriologically essential for salvation during the period known as the Reordering of the Universe.