The interpretation of Desire in Dae-Soon Thoughts

ABSTRACT

Human is a life form which lives on. For a human to acknowledge one’s own self -existence, it creates a connection with outer objects, and we can understand Desire as a factor which motivates the acknowledgement of self-identity. In other words, the process of trying to suffice the insufficiency in order to create self-identity and ego, is the Desire. In this article, I will try to figure out how Jeung-San perceived and solved the problem of Desire. Desire speaks about unfulfilled inner state of human beings, and in this kind of state, one feels insufficiency rather then happiness and calmness. Thus the desire is a key which directs and controls the intensity of human being’s deeds. On the other hands Desire has a characteristics of creating another Desire, which is then amplified. In this way, human s emotion shows insufficiency, and that is emitted in terms of Han(恨) and Won-Mang(怨望). I will define Han(恨,resentment/regret) as a personal insufficiency for emotional comfort, and Won(寃,) as a insufficiency for emotional comfort for a group. The way people emit their own insufficiency may differ from person to person. So comes the definition of ‘need’ and ‘desire’, which defines each other. Thus the way the insufficiency is emitted will surely affect human beings and outer objects. Won could be seen as the symbolic form of emitted insufficiency between men(subjects) and outer beings (objects). Jeung-San defines that this does not only apply for men, but also to the Three worlds of Heaven(天), Earth(地), and People(人). Jeung-San believed that the root source of these dissatisfactions is Won(寃), and he tried to solve these insufficiencies in his way of religion.