Discourse on the Unconsciousness and Mind Education

ABSTRACT

This research paper is aimed to explore and discuss the compatibility of academic and religious discourses about the zen meditation of ‘Ju-in-gong’, which is presented by Daehaeng Sunim, the great korean buddhist master who established Hanmaum Seon(Zen) Center. For this purpose, Ju-in-gong zen method will be approached and analyzed by Freud’s psychoanalytic theories. Daehaeng Sunim describes the process of going back to the ‘true self’ by the relations between consciousness and subconsciousness. She asserts that spiritual enlightenment is an experience of unifying consciousness and subconsciousness. Similarly, Sigmund Freud tries to show the fundamental nature of human mind by means of consciousness and unconsciousness(or subconsciousness). He makes it clear that the ultimate goal of psychoanalysis is to integrate the unconsciousness (or id) into the consciousness(or ego). These two discourses have a lot of similarity with each other in using terminology but we still can find many different concepts between them as academic and religious discourses. Although the discourses have seemingly different contents, they show a meaningful similarity in getting an insight into the fundamental structure of human mind. We also can discover they both deal with ‘inner healing’ or ‘inner self recovery’. For the above mentioned reasons, this paper concludes that Freud’s psychoanalytic theories can be a very useful and supportive tool in approaching the teachings of Daehaeng Sunim from an academic point of view.