Substance in Unification Thought

Dr. Sun Myung Moon
5 апр. 2019 г.
2 мин. чтения

I would like to explain the concept of substance in Unification Thought. The concept of substance, as used in Unification Thought, originates in the Divine Principle. There, many terms with the word “substance” are used, such as “foundation of substance,” “substantial offering,” “substantial temple,” “substantial world,” “substantial embodiment,” “substantial object,” “substantial course” and so on, whereas the term “substance” traditionally refers to a created being, an individual, a human being with physical body, a material being, and so on.

Every created being, including human beings, is the united being of sungsang and Hyungsang . In other words, in a created being sungsang and Hyungsang are components of that individual (substance). Moreover, sungsang and Hyungsang themselves each have the character of substance. It is like saying that an automobile is a product (substance) as are each of its parts, such as the tires, the transmission, and so on. Thus, especially in human beings, both sungsang and Hyungsang are included in this general concept of substance in Unification Thought.

To be precise, Yang and Yin in the Original Image are called Original Yang and Original Yin, respectively ( DP , 19). “ sungsang and Hyungsang ” and “yang and yin” in a human being resemble the “Original Sungsang and Original Hyungsang ” and “Original Yang and Original Yin” in the Original Image.

As explained above, in the created world sungsang and Hyungsang have the character of substance, while yang and yin are the attributes of sungsang and Hyungsang ; in other words, yang and yin are the attributes of an individual being which is the united being of sungsang and Hyungsang .

The unity of the dual characteristics of Sungsang and Hyungsang and the dual characteristics of Yang and Yin in the Original Image is shown in fig. 1.2.