Centrism and Civil Publicness in Theory of Nation-Founding of Won Buddhism and Cheondogyo

ABSTRACT

This study was written to examine the Centrism and Civil Publicness in Theory of Nation- Founding of Won Buddhism and Cheondogyo. Today, there is a strong link between the unification movement and the civil movement, which are active in Won Buddhism and Chondogyo, at the time. The purpose of the nation-founding theory of Won Buddhism prepared by Jungsan Songkyu is to develop national power by taking the root as a spirit, the stem as politics and education and the branches and leaves as national defense, construction and economy and obtaining the result as the road of evolution. The nation-founding theory of Won Buddhism is characterized by its emphasis on centralism, training thought, and the way of evolution. It politically blocked the bias of the left and the right through democratic republicanism and diplomatically chose a neutralist diplomatic route that did not deviate to either the US or the Soviet Union and made the government and the people united by nationalizing important industries and privatizing medium and small industries. He also argued that politics and religion should focus on training for mental control and conscience cultivation through parallel leading to improve the spirit level of the Joseon people. He especially proposed a path of evolution from the weak to the strong by favoring the superior in political, economic, social, and moral fields and eliminating the succession law. In contrast, Cheondogyo emphasized the spiritual opening, the national opening, and the social opening according to the main purport of Innaecheon (Within the human you will find God). In the nation-founding theory, the emphasis was on the national opening and the social opening. Cheondogyo aimed to build up an ideal democratic state of national independence, realize an economic system based on a new life of Donggwiilche (Everything is Back to One) and establish new ethics suitable for the spirit of Sainyeocheon (Serve man like heaven). Cheondogyo was also wary of unilateral bias toward the US or the Soviet Union or being biased toward the left and right and was to realize the construction of a nation of neo- democracy where democratic politics, democratic economy, democratic culture and democratic morality are realized from a standpoint of centralism. It is noteworthy that Won Buddhism or Chondogyo suggests a plan of civic publicness in addition to suggesting centrism in the unification movement and civil society formation. Presenting the negative effect that prevents the mutual rational communication, Won Buddhism argued that we should respect the personality of others for correct collection of views and have a discussion according to justification based on centrism. Especially following the theory of nation founding, Park Chang-gi claimed human rights politics that respects the rights of members, audience- centered not individuals, members’ free expression of opinions, collective opinions and public politics in the political ideology of Buddhism research society to realize the principle of civic publicness that forms public opinion in a reasonable manner through respect for each other’s personality, discussions with different opinions. In contrast, Chondogyo tried to establish the ethics of Sainyeocheon (Serving man like heaven), morality for human’s sake and a system of equality and freedom through the spiritual evolution of humans standing at the top in the evolution of the universe in accordance with the main purport of Innaecheon (Within the human you will find God). Therefore, Chondogyo presented the way for citizens to become sovereigns by asserting that everyone should have the right to elect and dismiss legislators, judges, and administrators to enjoy the rights of freedom and equality. In addition, Chondogyo tried to eliminate unequal relations among individuals, society and countries by liquidating feudal relationships,