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Korean religion set for display at Frankfurt
Jeung San Do, a religion created in Korea during the early 20th century, has a minor amount of followers with 300,000 at home and abroad, but numbers could rise after the religion’s sacred text gets some exposure this week at the world’s largest book fair.
Now printed in seven languages, its bible, or Dojeon, is scheduled to join the Frankfurt Book Fair in Germany beginning tomorrow, targeting a growing number of foreign readers interested in Asian religions and meditation.
As well as Korean, the Dojeon has been translated into English, Japanese, Chinese, German, French and Spanish.
The most important undertaking, of course, was the English version, a 759-page tome that took about 10 years to develop, involving research, translation, proofreading and editing. “We have spent about 3 billion won on this massive translation project,” said Choi Kyu-taek, spokesman for Jeung San Do.
The Dojeon details the life and teachings of its founder Jeung-san Sahng-jeh-nim, a title meaning “personified governing spirit of the universe.” His name was Kang Il-soon (1871-1909), and the book illustrates, among other stories, the last nine years of his human life, whose aim was to open a new cosmic period called the Later Heaven.
The original Korean version, which is about 1,500 pages long, was first published in 1992, a belated move considering that the religion was founded in 1901. Choi said a number of believers spent almost three decades collecting and compiling related materials and testimonies.
The translation project gained momentum as more and more foreigners paid attention to Jeung San Do as a religion. Practice centers have been set up in the United States, Britain, Japan and Indonesia to meet a steady inflow of foreign believers.
Together with the translation of the Dojeon, the religious group’s staff will display 200 titles – mostly Korean books related to the religion – during the international book exhibition in a bid to publicize Jeung San Do among foreigners.
But some people may have reservations about a relatively young religion such as Jeung San Do. An introductory book explaining its key philosophy of Jeung San Do revolves around a wide range of New Age ideas, eschatology and other theories.
On the surface, Jeung San Do could be lumped with other New Age movements, but Choi claimed it is now a formal religion with all the factors organized coherently toward universal truth.
The underlying concept is that the universe is undergoing four different stages: spring, summer, fall and winter. We are now in the final stage of summer in which chaos and diseases are aplenty. A whole new world will begin when the cosmic season changes into fall, introducing a new phase of order and unification.
Moreover, major revolutions and changes will be linked to the Korean Peninsula, the birthplace of Sahng-jeh-nim and a country whose predestined fate is to lead the Later Heaven.
The idea of massive changes originating from nature can appeal to people regardless of age, nationality and even religious background. That is why the preface of the English version of the Dojeon states, somewhat confusingly, that “Jeung San Do is not a religion.”
If it’s not a religion, what is it? The answer: “Jeung San Do surpasses the limitations of religions and offers a way of living one’s life that completely transforms human civilization.”
Ahn Gyung-jun, grand master teacher of Jeung San Do, regularly gives a lecture on the Tae Ul Ju meditation mantra for both Koreans and foreigners. Tae Ul Ju is the mantra of new life created by Sahng-jeh-nim.
The mantra is said to have three main benefits; healing power for mind, body and spirit; enlightenment enabling a practitioner to experience the great light of the universe and have true peace of mind; and protection against sudden accidents, disasters or illnesses.
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