Humankind

    It is a very common phenomenon that human beings are held to be the most noble of all living things, no matter what the religion or philosophy. However, the uniqueness of Chondogyo lies in its view that human beings are not the sole noble living entity, but that they are part of a "limitless existence? together with ?nfinite Hanulnim? In this way, human beings in their "finite existence?come to be seen as God in its "infinite existence? This "infinite existence?is none other than "I serve God within me?Sicheonju, 侍天主). This is because human beings securely have enshrined within them the limitless, infinite Hanulnim.
    Therefore, in order to more clearly comprehend the Chondogyo view of humankind, the first thing we must do is more closely examine the meaning of "serve(si, 侍) in "I serve God within me?Sicheonju, 侍天主).
    In Donghak Scripture the Great Master, in an explicatory passage on the Incantation of Twenty-one Letters, writes of this Chinese character "si?as follows. "That which is 'si?contains, in its inner aspect, the divine spirit, while its outer aspect expresses the vital force in life, and each person in the world, upon realizing this, cannot move away from it.?That is to say, the condition of "serving Hanulnim?is none other than sensing the presence within of a divine spirit and having the sense about oneself of a mystical assimilative power, and once a person becomes conscious of this condition he or she cannot deviate from it.
    So then, what in fact is this "divine spirit?sensed from within that the Great Master speaks of? It is at one and the same time both the substance of "I" and the mind of God. And what is this outer sense of a ?ystical assimilative power? This is the manifestation of the power of the "I" being one with the power of ?"God? This is, therefore, a functioning of the "divine spirit?which is sensed both within and without oneself. That is to say, the divine spirit assumes a place within, which has the function of generating an assimilative force without. Thus, the inner and the outer become indistinguishable, having become one.
    The "divine spirit?operates by expressing the "vital force of life? and this "dital force of life? which drives the "divine spirit? is apprehended by each of us, and cannot be separated from us. The Great Master explains the manifestation of this in our lives with the words "gakjibuli?各知不移, all understand and do not move from it). Thus, the "si?of "Sicheonju?contains the heart and mind of Hanulnim, which is called the ?ivine spirit? and the manifest life of Hanulnim, which is called "expressing the vital force in life? has the meaning, in accordance with the words "gakjibuli? of life without deviation from this.
    Seen from this perspective, this means living by being ever mindful of the voice of the spirit that is my true being, namely Hanulnim who dwells within me.
    At the same time, the Great Master made this "I serve God within me?Sicheonju, 侍天主) the core teaching of Chondogyo, for it is only through this "serve?si, 侍) that one can find the " authentic I?and restore the true substance of one's being that is Hanulnim.
    This condition of "I serve God within me? expressed another way, is a state in which "God and human beings are one? This means that the mind of God(cheonsim, 天心) that human beings were born with when they were brought into the Cosmos, can be restored to them through Sicheonju. To achieve this means to live a life that does not stray even one iota from the mind of God(cheonsim, 天心) within us. Thus Sicheonju means the restoration of the most pure heart and mind(the innate nature of humankind) that human beings were born with, which is realized in our lives.
    Sicheonju means serving the infinite being of Hanulnim within the body and realizing the infinite life of Hanulnim within one's life, so that ultimately "I? being one with the infinite Cosmos, becomes the ?nfinite I? The precise Chondogyo view of humankind lies in conducting one's life so as to achieve the realization of the "infinite I?
    In this way, the Chondogyo view of humankind, achieved through the realization of the ?nfinite I? is the ideal type of human being needed to ultimately open the door to a just and upright world. That is to say, this is the aspect of the ?ranscendent sage on earth?who aspires to a world that "returns to the origin and becomes one?donggwiilche, 同歸一體). The "transcendent sage on earth? though living in these times of infighting and the selfish pursuit of personal gain, recovers the truth and virtue of Hanulnim and conducts his or her life in accordance with the truth and virtue of Hanulnim.
    This Chondogyo view of humankind, in which a person is seen, in association with Hanulnim, as "infinite being? was never divined by any wise person before, and is a most unique and special revelation of the Great Master. It is precisely on this point that we can identify the unique aspect of this most superior view of humankind elucidated by the Great Master. Furthermore, this Chondogyo view of humankind is highly relevant in its applications to human society. This is because it connotes a fundamental egalitarianism by which all members of society, rather than members of one special class, serve God within themselves and are equal, infinite beings free of such distinctions as "rich and poor?or"high and low?
    Thus, not only does this Chondogyo view of human kind totally circumvent and move beyond ?eudal?society? blatantly discriminatory ?oble-base?class system; it is a view of humankind that is most urgently demanded by contemporary times. The Chondogyo view of humankind amply exceeds the confines of both modern and pre-modern history to not only release the people from the bonds of oppression by affirming that ?ll people, as infinite beings, are and must be equal? but to call them to a consciousness in a different dimension where human beings are infinite, being at one with infinite God.
    This Chondogyo view of humankind, through which one can comprehend both the fundamental equality of all people and, through a qualitative dimensional change, one? existence as an infinite being, can open up a future renewed with hope for all who, owing to their unbalanced lives, currently live in anxiety with no vision for tomorrow.    That is to say, this Chondogyo view of humankind, with its true, authentic, human values, offers humanity new expectations for the future by proposing a new solution that overcomes the modern contradictions that merely focus on the overturning and collapse of values awash in materialism and alienation?
    By realizing within the self the coexistence of the ?nfinite I?that is one with the ?nfinite Cosmos?we master the Chondogyo view of human kind, which, in its promise to establish a new future and a new world, is most acutely demanded in our present times.