Abstract |
The ideal the civilizations in ancient East Asia pursued is known as the Ultimate One (太一). The ideal of the Ultimate One focuses on uniting God, world, and humanity in a trinitarian way, and thereby harmonizing all things with universal equality. The Ultimate One signifies the unity which embraces both universality and particularity. Therefore, in the world of the Ultimate One embodied, each and every one in the community experiences not only unifying harmony with one another, but also fully enjoys individual and independent freedom. The human beings who realize the Ultimate One are prerequisite for the creation of the world of the Ultimate One; there should be the central actor who realizes the ideal of human history and makes the dream of heaven, earth and all beings come true. It is important to note that the thought of the Ultimate One in ancient China shows both similar and different characteristics from that of ancient Korea. This research analyzes in comparison the ideal of the Central One(中一) and the ideal of the Ultimate One as manifested in Cheonbugyeong(the Scripture of Heavenly Code) and in ancient China respectively, and thereby elucidates the ultimate ideal the peoples in ancient East Asia followed. Also, this paper intends to give light on similarity and difference between the ideals of the two civilizations. |