A Study of Daesoon Jinrihoe’s View of Time (I): Focusing on Time as Measured and Experienced

Time can be the fundamental basis of religious doctrine and the foundation for a life of faith. Therefore, understanding a religion's interpretation of time and exploring its perception is accepted as one of the approaches to comprehending its principles. Based on this idea, this article delves into how chronos (measured time) and kairos (experienced time) are manifested in Daesoon Jinrihoe. In Daesoon Jinrihoe, the moment when chronos and kairos intersect is considered a moment of spiritual experience. Ethical codes are accomplished in the midst of the process of defining this time as the Heavenly Dao and adjusting human affairs accordingly. These ethics lead individuals towards a religious life. East Asian traditions also apply this logic, but Daesoon Jinrihoe differs in that it emphasizes reinterpreted ethics. Furthermore, Daesoon Jinrihoe posits that Degree Numbers (度數) are a device that ensures the transition from chronos to kairos. Degree Numbers, which are both a law of the universe's motion and a function of time, were emphasized by the Kang Jeungsan when he advocated for the discarding of old ways and the creation of the new ways. He thereby urged humans to live in accordance with time. Time is also facilitated in the dimension of ritual observances and participation, with examples including prayers, devotional offerings, and holy works (gongbu, 工夫). Those rituals of Daesoon Jinrihoe actively incorporate a unique basis of reason for this style of engagement with time, which is one of the aspects that is held to secure justification.