Ontology is a theory concerning the beings created by God. It deals with such topics as the basic, common attributes of created beings, and attempts to describe how these beings exist and act. Hence, the purview of the field of ontology includes all created beings. Since the human being is the lord of dominion over all things arid occupies a position different from that of other things, the human being will be discussed in a chapter apart, namely, "Theory of Original Human Nature." From the above we can note that, whereas the theory of the Original Image deals with God, ontology in Unification Thought deals primarily with things. In other words, Unification ontology is a theory that supports the theory of the Original Image. Further, the theory of the Original Image is a deductive theory based on the Unification Principle. It is in ontology, however, that we can ascertain whether or not the attributes of God explained in the theory of the Original Image are actually manifested in all things and, if so, how they are manifested. If it call be shown that the attributes of God are universally manifested in all things, then the truthfulness of the theory of the Original Image becomes ascertained. Hence, ontology, which deals with the attributes of all things, can be described as a theory that confirms, in visible terms, the attributes of the invisible God.

Natural sciences, which deal with things, have made rapid progress. Yet, in most cases, scientists have been observing the natural world from a purely objective point of view, without any consideration of God. In the present discussion of ontology, however, I will attempt to show that the achievements of the natural sciences have become the very bases upon which the theories concerning God can be validated.

According to the Unification Principle, human beings were created in the image of God, and all things were created in the likeness of the human being. Prior to creating the universe, God first envisioned the image of the human being, which resembles God's own image. Then, using the human image as the prototype, and in likeness to it, God formed the idea of the various things of creation. This is called "creation by resemblance."

Because of the Human Fall, however, human beings and societies lost their original nature and became chaotic, even though the things themselves have remained as originally created. For this reason, no matter how much we may observe the actual human beings and societies, we will never find in them the way to solve their problems. That is why many saints and sages of the past have sought to understand the way for people to live by observing the natural world, and having obtained an intuitive understanding of the way of life, they spread their teachings. They were unable, however, to clarify why it is possible to obtain, from the natural world, the truth for people and society. They obtained only a merely intuitive realization of the truth.

Unification Thought maintains that, since all things were created in the likeness of human beings, it is possible to know about the original features of human beings and society through observing the natural world. In the theory of the Original Image, it was explained that the correct understanding of God is the key to solving the problems of individuals and society. If the correct understanding of God's attributes is the first standard for solving problems, the correct understanding of the attributes of all things becomes the second standard. Ontology, therefore, is needed also for solving the problems of the real world and for building the original ideal society.

In the present study of ontology, existing beings will be dealt with from two separate aspects, namely, the aspect of image of existence and the aspect of mode of existence. Image of existence refers to the image of existing beings, namely, the attributes that existing beings possess. Mode of existence refers to the motion of existing beings.

Let us first discuss the image of existence. This discussion includes the topics of the individual truth body and the connected body. "Individual truth body" refers to the image of existence of a being considered independently, that is, without regard to its relationships to other beings. In actuality, however, all beings (i.e., existing beings) have mutual relationships with one another. When a being is seen in its relationships with other beings, the image of existence of that being is called a "connected body."

Since all existing beings were created in the likeness of God, the image of existence of each being resembles die Divine Image. The Divine Image includes the universal image and the individual image. This is why a being that has both a universal image and an individual image in the likeness of the Original Image is called an individual truth body. At this point I will discuss the universal image of an individual truth body, namely, its Sungsang-Hyungsang and Yang-Yin.

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