Sangjenim: The Supreme Governor of All Spirits

‘Spirits are fundamentally the same, but they exist in different ways.
Their rank, position, and authority are different.
To better understand this, consider human relationships.
Within a country, both the president and citizens are the same as human beings.
Human rights are the same for all, and everyone is important.
However, roles and positions clearly differ.
This is similarly true in the spirit realm.
In the spirit realm, Sangjenim is the supreme ruler of all the spirits.

Three Fundamentals of Truth: Li, Sin, Sa

Dialogue 1
A: Jeung San Do’s truth is based upon the principle of li-sin-sa, principle, spirit, and history.
B: Principle, spirit, and history?

A: Exactly. His Holiness the Jongdosanim of Jeung San Do has revealed this secret of the universe to the world for the first time in history. He taught us that only by understanding how the cosmic principle, li, and the ways of the spiritual realm, sin, materialize in history, sa, can one truly be awaken to the truth.
B: I would love to learn his teachings myself.

Dialogue 2
A: What is the principle?
B: It’s a series of law that governs changes and transformation of all things within heaven and earth from birth to maturity.

A: Then how is the principle connected to the spirit realm and our real life?
B: Spirits initiate all affairs in the world in the spirit realm according to the principle. There has not been a single moment in history when spirit realm was not involved. Spirits act as the mediums and the enforcers of the principle in our everyday life.

What Is the Divine Nature of People?

Humans and spirits are bound in a yin-yang relationship.
For every person, their true inner being is their spirit.
The recovery of their divinity or their spiritual being can be achieved through meditation.
A spirit is a being of light. Since it exists within the brilliant light of the universe, it is called in Korean sinmyeong.
Sin means “spirit” and myeong means “brightness.”
When a person’s spiritual eye opens, they can behold spirits, which appear as radiant beings.

All the world is afflicted by a monstrous disease

Dialogue 1
A: The heaven, earth and humanity are all suffering from illness.
B: Would you elaborate on that?

A: According to the Dojeon, the heaven is filled with spirits of bitterness and grief. The axis of Earth is tilted, which creates imbalance. And humanity go through suffering and death not knowing the true path of dao.
B: This is why Sangjenim had to come to Earth as a human being!

Dialogue 2
A: What is the source of all the pain and suffering in this world?
B: It's the imbalance created by the law of mutual conflict during the Early Heaven's 50,000 years. This creates bitterness and grief in human history.

A: Bitterness and grief? Like a grudge?
B: Yes. This is why the resolving of bitterness and grief is the most important factor in entering the Cosmic Autumn.

Seeking Out the Beginning and Returning to the Origin

‘Seeking out the beginning and returning to the origin’ is a universal principle of the cosmic autumn.
It signifies the return of life to its origin in accordance with the principle of autumn’s maturation and unification.
This process is typified by the cycle in which seeds sown in spring grow into flora in summer and beget new seeds in autumn, thereby recovering their original state.
In the human context, returning to the origin encompasses a conscious awareness of, and effort to recover, one’s self, ancestry, history, and spirituality as a process of maturation.
This principle also includes the cultures and civilizations of the Early Heaven becoming one and reaching fruition in the Later Heaven.

Jeung San Do’s Core Teachings

Dialogue 1
A: The major premise of Jeung San Do's study on humanity is that the Autumn Gaebyeok is coming.
B: How should I live my life in these times facing the Autumn Gaebyeok?

A: It's the time of seeking out the beginning and returning to the origin.
B: You must seek out the root of our ancestry and seek the root of life and enlightenment.

Dialogue 2
A: How do we practice 'seeking out the beginning and returning to the origin' in our day-to-day lives?
B: The most important practical idea of that principle is repayment of benevolence. To forsake benevolence is to forsake the duty of human life.

A: Is that true?
B: Yes. This is due to the fact that requital of benevolence, resolving the bitterness and grief, and mutual life-giving are the basic rules of human ethics.

The Human Being Is the Purpose of the Universe

In the beginning, the universe came into being for the human being.
The universe exists for humans —this is Jeung San Do’s cosmology.
The ultimate purpose of humanity is to be reborn as mature, enlightened beings —as the fruit of humanity— under the destiny of cosmic autumn.
In other words, humanity lives to one day enter the world of cosmic autumn.
Born with an innate desire to seek out truth, humanity searches for God and strives to encounter the God of the universe.
This search leads to the truth of Sangjenim, who incarnated into this world as a human being.

A Cosmic Year

Dialogue 1
A: The rules that govern the five elements include a mutual generation cycle and a mutual restriction cycle.
B: Care to explain?

A: Well, mutual generation cycle refers to the manner in which the elements create one another. Wood easily burns and makes a fire. Fire produces ash, creating earth. The earth contains mineral from which metal is mined and extracted. When metal is heated and cooled, water droplets will be found over the metal as a result of condensation. Thus, metal creates water. Water promotes the growth of trees, which are wood.

B: And the restraining cycle?

A: It refers to the manner in which the elements restrict and control one another. Wood breaks up the soil and depletes the earth's nutrients, thus controlling earth. As dam prevents flooding, earth controls water. Water extinguishes fire, and therefore, controls its spread. Fire controls metal by its ability to melt it. Metal can be made into an axe that cuts wood into pieces, thus controlling wood. The control repeats in a cyclic fashion and provides an opposite force to balance the generative power. The generation and restriction properties of the five elements hold each other in check, preventing over-functioning.

Dialogue 2
A: The principle of birth, growth, harvest and rest applies to the four cosmic seasons of the universe.
B: What? The universe has four seasons?

A: Yes! Just as there are four seasons on earth, there’s a time frame called the cosmic year that all the universe abides by. Now of the fourfold principle, birth corresponds with spring, growth with summer, harvest with autumn, and rest with winter. This cosmic year consists of 129,600 earth years.
B: Then how does yin and yang apply to the cosmic year?

A: Just as there are the warm season of yang energy and the cold season of yin energy in our one year, a cosmic year also has this yin season and the yang season. The first half of the 129,600 years is called the Early Heaven, which is the time of yang energy, and the second half of the 129,600 years is called the Later Heaven, the time of yin energy.

The Early Heaven and the Later Heaven

The Early Heaven consists of the cosmic spring and summer, the first half of the 129,600-year cosmic cycle.

It is an era characterized by birth and growth, yang (male) dominance, diversity, and conflict.

The Later Heaven consists of the cosmic autumn and winter, the second half of the 129,600-year cosmic cycle.

It is an era characterized by right yin and right yang, unity, harmony, and maturation.

Spring and summer are the time when life is born and raised.

Autumn and winter are the time when life bears fruit and is then harvested.

In a similar manner, the Early Heaven and the Later Heaven are of two extremes.

Yin and Yang, and the Five Elements

Dialogue 1
A: What is yin and yang?
B: In Eastern philosophy, yin and yang are two opposing cosmic forces into which creative energy divides. The fusion of yin and yang in physical matter brings the phenomenal world into being. Everything has both yin and yang aspects. For instance shadow cannot exist without light.

A: Would you mind explaining about the major characteristics of yin and yang?
B: There are four major characteristics of yin and yang. Well first, yin and yang directly oppose each other while restraining each other. Second, they complement and support each other while becoming the source of each other. Third, yin and yang always co-exist. And lastly, these two forces have a tendency to flow and change with time. A simple example is thinking about how the day gradually flows into night.

Dialogue 2
A: The Five Elements are used to profoundly understand all things whether it is the great cycle of the grand nature or the organs inside your body.
B: What are the Five Elements?

A: The Five Elements are basically five different qi that make up our world. We can see these five distinctively different qi in the four seasons of a yearly cycle. Wood element is strongest during spring season; Fire is strongest during Summer; Metal is the qi representing Autumn; and Winter is the time when Water qi flourishes.
B: But that’s only four!

A: Yes! We have another element as the last piece of the puzzle. It's the Earth element, which regulates and helps the other four elements change and transform.
B: Cool. Do you have a book about these stuff I can borrow?