Cheondogyo was initiated as a social and technological movement against rampant competition and foreign encroachment in the 1860s. At that time, it was called Donghak (Eastern learning) in contrast to "Western learning."
The principle of Cheondogyo is Innaecheon which means that man is identical with "Haneullim," the God of Cheondogyo, but man is not the same as God. Every man bears Haneullim in his mind and this serves as the source of his dignity, while spiritual training makes him one with the divine. |
