맹자의 호연지기와 동학의 수심정기 비교연구 = The Comparative Study on Hoyeonjigi by Mencius and Susimjeonggi by Donghak

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

This paper compares Mencius’s Hoyeonjigi and Donghak’s Susimjeonggi. Mencius’ hoyeonjigi is the process of growing one by penetrating Ki, a part of the body, and meaning, a part of the mind. In general, the part of growing the body is not very difficult because you can see it with your eyes. However, it is very difficult to cultivate the invisible part, that is, humanity, righteousness and wisdom. So, Mencius said that it is not something that is suddenly raised overnight, but that it takes a long time. Suwoon’s Susimjeonggi is also a simple way to memorize a 21-character spell, but it is not an easy path to become an adult, the goal of studying the spell. If you memorize the spell devoutly, the distracting thoughts in your mind will be removed and you will experience a mysterious experience that you have never experienced before. When people have this kind of experience, they think that their study is complete, but in fact, it is not the completion but the beginning stage. Like Mencius, there is no such thing as a sudden study process that takes place overnight. This is achieved through repeated practice over a long period of time. Mencius said that the method of raising Hoyeonjigi was concrete, but it is abstract compared to Suwoon’s dynamics. The 21-character incantation training method that Suwun developed after 10 years of study is very specific compared to Mencius’ method. It is also a very specific way to memorize the 21-character mantra, and the method of training by dividing it into hyeonsong and muksong is a very specific method compared to Mencius’s words to keep working hard. No matter how specific a 21-character spell is, if you don’t actually memorize the 21-character spell, there’s no gain.
So, the important thing in pursuing a life of becoming an adult by memorizing the 21-character incantation of Donghak, who pursued the life of a man by training and cultivating Mencius’ spirit, is that he himself must persevere for a long period of time. This is also the common destiny of Mencius and the training methods of Donghak.