The Words of the Chang Family
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The Words of the Chang Family |
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Religions in Korea: The dogma, rituals and history of Cheon-do-gyo a religion of purely Korean origin, which has emphasized action on social problems during the last century.
Cheon-do-gyo, the Religion of the Heavenly Way, originated in Korea in AD 1860 while most of the other religions in Korea such as Buddhism, Confucianism, Christianity were introduced to Korea from other countries.
This religion has had a deep connection with the modern history of Korea and still might have great influence on the destiny of this country in the future.
Theoretical and ritualistic basis of Cheon-do-gyo doctrine is embodied in the twenty-one character Sacred Formula which founder Che-U Choi created. The formula reads: Chi Ki Kuem Chi, Won Wee Dai Kang Si Cheon Chu Cho Wha Cheong, Young Se Bul Mang Man Sa Chi. The general meaning of this formula is this: "May the creative force of the universe be within me in abundant measure. May Heaven be with me and everything will be created. Never forgetting this truth, everything will be known."
From the Sacred Formula, is derived the principle of In-Nai -Cheon (man and God are one) which is the foundation of the entire religious dogma of Cheon.do-gyo. This principle means, in brief, that potentially man is God, but that this oneness is actually realized only as the individual exercises sincere faith in the oneness of his own spirit and body and in the universality of God. The practical aspect of In-Nai-Cheon is related to the spirit of equality, freedom, humanism and justice for which modern people are yearning. These are the problems which Cheon-do-gyo strives constantly to solve.
The principle of In-Nai-Cheon does not mean to imply that man's present mind and behavior are that of God. It means that man basically has the capacity to manifest the spirit of God. In-Nai-Cheon was conceived in order to make this world paradise. But this does not mean that In-Nai-Cheon was created because the world had already become paradise. That is to say, man has the quality to be God, and the present world has the quality to be a paradise. Therefore, the prime task of In-Nai-Cheon is to achieve the original purpose of man by means of developing the quality of man.
Cheon Do gyo, with this doctrine, which was initially named Dong-hak (or Eastern Learning) was founded in the year 1860 at Kyungju, Korea by the Great Patriarch Che-U Choi and now consists of more than six hundred thousand adherents with about a hundred churches in the Southern part of Korea under the leadership of its present Supreme leader, Mr. Duk-Shin Choi.
Chu- Moon (incantation)
This is one of the most important things the adherents should; practice at all times when they wish to be in harmony with God.
Cheong-Soo (fresh water)
This is used in every Cheon-do-gyo religious ceremony, in the home, in Church and at all meetings of adherents, to invoke the benediction of Heaven and to express their wishes and desires to govern the world by virtue and morality. Thus making the land and the people tranquil and prosperous as a result of the Heavenly influence upon their wishes and desires. Furthermore it inspires a feeling of the uniqueness of the human being and all nature. It is also used on the occasions of preparation for practicing all religious rituals.
Si-il (Worship in church on Sunday)
Members must attend their church every Sunday in order to worship in the presence of God, reflect on their religious life during the preceding week, listen to preaching in accordance with the Scripture of Cheon-do-gyo in order to improve their religious knowledge and faith, and incidentally to foster the spirit of companionship for religious activities in the future.
Seong-Mi (Sincerity rice)
This is the Cheon-do-gyo donation system. Every Cheon-do-gyo family collects a large spoonful of rice from each member of the family and they bring this accumulated rice to church on the first Si-il (Sunday) of each month as a token of their thanks-giving to Heaven. By this system Cheon-do-gyo is financed by its adherents, and at the' same time the church can render philanthropic services to society, in addition to its own support.
Kee-Do (Prayer)
This is way to affect Heavenly influence; there are three kinds of Kee-Do, one is offered at 9 o'clock in the evening every day another is offered at 9 o'clock in the evening every Si-il and the third is for special occasions. The Kee-Do offered every day is made in the presence of all family members by practicing Cheong-Soo, and the other offered on Si-il night is also made in the presence of all family members by offering a bowlful of clean rice and practicing Cheong-Soo and Chu-Moon, and the special Kee-Do: shall be offered for respectively, 21, 49 or 105 days on end in accordance with the order of the church.
The basis of Cheon-do-gyo doctrine is embodied in the Sacred Formula which reads: May the creative force of the universe be within me in abundant measure: May Heaven be with me and everything will be created: Never forgetting this truth, everything will be known."
From the Sacred Formula, the principle of man and God are one which is the foundation of the entire religious dogma of Cheon-do-gyo. This principle means that potentially, man is God, but that this oneness is realized only as the individual exercises sincere faith in the oneness of his own spirit and body and in the universality of God.
From its foundation, Cheon-do-gyo has contained many of the dynamic qualities essential to social improvement, domestic restoration of political independence.
The basic principles carry meaning for the vast majority of Koreans who have lived under political-social-economic oppression and inequality.
The doctrine gave a needed hope and unity of purpose to a large element of Koreans who had had no dynamic religion and whose condition of life appeared hopeless.
Nevertheless, in 1864, only four years after forming the religion, the founder was executed on a false charge of social disturbance by a government which was controlled by a minority ruling element whose only concern was to acquire or maintain their personal power.
Cheon-do-gyo, which had been underground ever since it's founding, started a campaign for protection of the country and safety, of the people through its religious movement. Cheon-do-gyo began to try for recognition by the government as a religion.
In 1893, Cheon-do-gyo adherents from all over the country came to Seoul and a 40 men delegation sat on the ground in front of the Kings Palace for 3 days and nights with a petition calling for redress of the founder's death sentence. The king was sympathetic so they peacefully returned home. But the government took no action on the proposed redress.
Under these circumstances, corruption by government officials was becoming ever more apparent. A county chief in Chulla Province was a good example. In one cast that official mobilized the people for repair work of an irrigation reservoir. When the work was completed, he imposed taxes on the water, that the farmers used from the reservoir for their rice paddies, appropriating the receipts for himself. Therefore, a group of Cheon-do-gyo believers and farmers peacefully petitioned twice to the county chief to stop his misconduct. The county chief retaliated by jailing some of the farmers. Enraged by this action, the Cheon-do-gyo members and farmers destroyed the dam, stormed into town, and occupied the county office. The group issued a twelve point code, which later resulted in the KABO reforms, which advocated loyalty to the King, destruction of the noble class, re-establishment of peace, severe punishment of corrupt officials, elimination of slave records, permission for young widows to remarry, discontinuation of unnecessary taxation, and employment of government officials based on ability rather than family background.
The revolutionary force then marched into Jeonju the capital of South-western Korea, and occupied it along with many other areas. Astonished at this result, the government requested China to send military support which prompted Japan to also send their troops to this country.
The revolutionary force voluntarily withdrew from Jeonju under a compromise with the government which was designed to prevent interference by the foreign troops. In spite of the compromise, the government defeated the revolutionary force with the aid of the Japanese troops, who also defeated the Chinese.
Leaders and numerous Cheon-do-gyo adherents were arrested and put to death. A one year revolution, participated in by more than a million Cheon-do-gyo members and farmers, was ended. The Donghak Revolution was at the forefront of Korea's long history of revolutionary action against social injustice. Its intention was to prevent Korea from becoming a colony of a foreign country and to reform the government by throwing off the yoke of corruption.