1. A United Being of Sungsang and Hyungsang
The resemblance of a human being to God’s Sungsang and Hyungsang means that a human being is a dual being of mind and body, namely, a united being of Sungsang and Hyungsang. There are four kinds of Sungsang and Hyungsang in a human being. First, each person is an integration of the universe, or the encapsulation of all the elements of the universe. Hence every person has all the Sungsang elements of animals, plants, and minerals, in his or her Sungsang, and all the Hyungsang elements of animals, plants, and minerals, in his or her Hyungsang. Second, each person is a dual being of spirit self and physical self. Third, each person is a united being of mind and body. Finally, each person is a being with a dual mind consisting of the united spirit mind and physical mind.
Now, when we consider a human being from the perspective of having lost the original human nature, the relationship between the spirit mind and the physical mind (the fourth kind of Sungsang and Hyungsang mentioned above) is especially important. Thus, a “united being of Sung-sang and Hyungsang” refers to a “united being of spirit mind and physical mind.” I can explain the relationship between spirit mind and physical mind as that between Sungsang and Hyungsang, in spite of the fact that both spirit mind and physical mind belong to the mind. The reason is that the spirit mind is the mind of the spirit self (Sungsang) and the physical mind is the mind of the physical self (Hyungsang), and, therefore, the relationship between the spirit mind and the physical mind is the same as the relationship between the spirit self and the physical self. Next, let us consider the functions of the spirit mind and the physical mind.
The function of the spirit mind is to guide us in pursuit of a life of truth, goodness, beauty, and love, namely, a life of value. Love is the origin of life and at the same time the foundation for truth, goodness, and beauty. Therefore, a life of truth, goodness and beauty, centered on love is a life of value. A life of value includes the aspect of pursuing one’s own joy by seeking values for oneself; nevertheless, the more essential aspect of a life of value is the effort to please others through realizing values. Therefore, a life of value is a life of love, of living for the sake of others, namely, a life of love in which one lives for the sake of the family, tribe, nation, humankind, and ultimately for God. In contrast, the function of the physical mind is to guide us in pursuit of a life of food, clothing, shelter, and sex, namely, a material life. Material life is a life centered on the individual. In the original order of things, the spirit mind and the physical mind exist in the relationship of subject and object, since the spirit self is subject and the physical self is object. Accordingly, the physical mind should be subservient to the spirit mind. The union of the spirit mind and the physical mind constitutes the “human mind.” The human mind in which the spirit mind functions as subject and the physical mind as object is called the “original mind.” That the physical mind obeys the spirit mind means that a life of values (namely, a life of pursuing and realizing values) should be given priority and a material life (a life of pursuing material satisfaction) secondary. This means that a life of truth, goodness, beauty, and love is the ultimate purpose, or goal, and a life of food, clothing, shelter, and sex serves as the means to achieving that goal. Once the physical mind obeys well the spirit mind and fulfills its proper function, the spirit self and the physical self can resonate well with each other. This is the state in which one’s human character is perfected. This is the way in which human beings should originally have lived. Due to the human fall, however, human beings failed to actualize the original relationship between the spirit mind and the physical mind. As a result, the physical mind, which should have functioned in a subservient position, came instead to stand in the subject position; and the spirit mind, which should have been in the subject position, came to stand in an object position. As a result, a life of food, clothing, shelter, and sex became people’s primary objective, whereas a life of truth, goodness, beauty, and love became no more than a means to that end. Love for others and deeds of truth, goodness, and beauty came to be carried out for such purposes as one’s gaining wealth and obtaining position. This does not mean that there are no values in the fallen world: values do exist there, but in many cases these values have meaning only in the context of a self-centered, material life. The reason for this is that the physical mind has become the subject, and the spirit mind has become the object.
Thus, in the actual life of human beings the original relationship between the spirit mind and the physical mind has been reversed. Therefore, in order to recover the original state of human life, this relationship must be returned to its original state.
This is the reason why human beings should necessarily lead a life of spiritual discipline, and why, throughout history, the various religions of the world have taught and encouraged people to win victory in their battle against their own selves.
Confucius, for instance, spoke of a “return to the observance of the rites through overcoming the self.” Jesus said, “If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it” (Matt. 16:24-25), and “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God” (Matt. 4:4). In order to achieve a victory over themselves, people have often chosen a monastic way of life, which includes such practices as asceticism, fasting and vigils. Thus, unity between the spirit mind and the physical mind refers to a way of life in which one places priority on living a life of truth, goodness, and beauty, and makes the life of food, clothing and shelter secondary, through having the physical mind subservient to the spirit mind. However, due to the fall, human beings have come to lead a self-centered, material life in which their physical mind dominates their spirit mind, and it is from this that all the pains, suffering, and unhappiness of human beings have come into being.
The original mind, in which spirit mind and physical mind are united through give and receive action, resembles the inner four position foundation within God’s Sungsang. The primary function of the original mind is to guide us in living a life of love, pursuing the values of truth, goodness, and beauty based on the spirit mind. Thus, the human being can be characterized, fundamentally, as Homo amans, or a loving person. A life of value refers to a true life, a moral and ethical life, and an artistic life. The secondary function of the original mind is to guide us in living a life of food, clothing and shelter, namely a material life, based on the physical mind.