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An Argumentative Review on the Thought of ‘Gaebyeok (Great Opening)’ ―Focusing on the Great Openings of the Universe, the Matter and the Spirit

  • Religions of Korea
  • 2019, 46(0), pp.101~146
  • Publisher : The Research Center of Religions
  • Research Area : Humanities > Religious Studies
  • Published : August 15, 2019

Hwakoung Hwang 1

1원광보건대학교

Candidate

ABSTRACT

Donghak, Jeungsan-gyo, and Won-Buddhism, as new religions of early modern Korea, all advocated the ideas of ‘Gaebyeok (Great Opening).’ The ideas of Gaebyeok originated from ancient Eastern beliefs, and, in particular, it was continued as a folk faith with prophetical (docham) elements in Korea. In modern times, the ideas of the Later Day’s Great Opening have become prominent in religious and intellectual circles. Researches on the Great Opening have been conducted from various perspectives. However, this paper points out that the established concept of the Earlier Day’s Great Opening was not divided into the meaning of creation of heaven and earth in the universe, the original meaning of the Great Opening, and the idea of Earlier Day in the shift and circulation between the Earlier Day and the Later Day. Thus this paper distinguishes the Universe Great Opening from the Earlier Day’s Great Opening. This paper examined the argument of Won-Buddhism that the contents of the Later Day’s Great Opening signified the Great Opening of matter as Earthly Opening, and the Great Opening of spirit as Heavenly Opening. This paper investigated in a concrete manner the content of the Great Opening of matter concerning how the Great Opening of matter, which had not been studied sufficiently thus far, proceeded, and what was the reason why the Great Opening of matter caused the development of material civilization and the beginning of scientific inquiry. Also, this paper discovered out how those three religions of Donghak, Jeungsan-gyo and Won-Buddhism proposed their specific methodology regarding the Great Opening of spirit in order to construct a blissful world of the Later Day on this earth and which they depicted as a utopia of the future. Lastly this paper reviewed in a rational and reasonable manner how the true circumstances regarding creating the paradise of the Later Day relate to a world where the Great Opening of matter and the Great Opening of spirit are advanced simultaneously and form a unified harmonious whole, and where the spirit (spiritual civilization) is the principal element and matter (material civilization) must be subordinate.

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