THE CHANGE

The Change is the beginning and the end of all process. Everything is in a process of becoming because of the Change. The Change is in everything, but everything is not the Change. The Change is both hidden in the depth of all things and manifest in the concrete process of becoming. The Change is not known by itself but by its manifestation only. It is manifest in everything, because everything owes its existence to the Change.

Day changes to night and night to day because of the Change. Brightness changes to darkness and dark to bright because of the Change. Spring changes to summer and summer to autumn because of the Change. Coldness becomes warmth and warmth becomes coldness because of the Change. The Change makes trees grow and decay. Man is born and dies because he is part of the Change. The way of our thinking changes, the manner of our behavior changes, the system of our values changes, for the Change is active in all living things. The strong become weak and the weak becomes strong because of the Change. The future becomes the present and the present becomes the past because of the Change. The Change makes the small great and the great small. Energy changes to mass and mass to energy, for they are relative to the power of the Change. Everything is in the process of change because of the Change. In the process of becoming, changing can be gradual or rapid, for everything has its own trend in the changing process. The process of change is total an universal, for the Change is the inner essence of all existence.

The Change is the mother of everything that exist in the universe. Being is possible because of becoming, and becoming is possible because of the Change. Being is not real by itself, but is real only in the process of becoming. Being itself is nothing but the illusion of becoming. Being is our misunderstanding of becoming. Being is our mental particularization of becoming, while becoming is the wholeness of being realized in the process of change. It is not the being which makes becoming possible, but the becoming which makes being real. Being is totally dependent on becoming, for it is always relative to the Change. Becoming is not dependent on being but is meaningful because of being. Becoming is the realization of the Change, while being is the realization of becoming. Thus, without the Change becoming is not possible, and without becoming being is an illusion. The Change is the source of all creative process, because it has creativity within itself. The process of creativity through production and reproduction is possible because of the Change. Whenever there is growth and decay or expansion and contraction, there must be the Change. The Change is the moving mover of all the changes in the process of becoming.

The Change is the inner essence of all becomings. It is the subtlest of all subtleties and the deepest abyss of all grounds. It is the all-embracing, all-penetrating, and all-fulfilling reality. It is absurd to our mind, but its manifestation is concrete. It is manifest in both personal and impersonal categories of becoming. The Change itself is neither personal nor impersonal in nature. It is both personal and impersonal reality at the same time. It transcends all the categorical distinctions of human expression. It is beyond our knowing and comprehending. It is not the Change if it is known to us. The Change that is known is not the real Change. It is too deep to comprehend and too subtle to express in human words. It is so pure that no discrimination is possible. The Change itself does not have any form or category. Any form of discrimination and differentiation is born in the process of becoming. Thus the Change is known only in its concrete manifestation. The Change itself is the Void, the negation of all discrimination and differentiation. It is the extinction of all dichotomy and separation. Everything has it origin in this Void, which is none other than a pure potentiality. The manifestation of the Change is impermanent and transitory, but the Change itself is eternal. Everything changes because of the Change, but the Change itself is changeless. All things are relative to the Change, but the Change alone is absolute.

The Change itself is absolute but its manifestation is relative. They are not two separate things. The Change that is absolute is also the Change that is relative. The former is the Change itself, and the latter is the realization of the Change in the world. The Change is represented by a symbol of zero, which is neither positive nor negative. It is the origin of differentiations between the positive and the negative and between expansion and contraction. In it all positive and negative as well as expanding and contracting numbers are inherent, but the total sum of numbers cannot approximate it. Thus zero is the symbol of Void, which is total negation and total affirmation of all things at the same time. The Change also takes a symbol of embryo, which contains all possible becomings in the world but is more than a mere process of becoming. Rather all becoming are inherent in it. The Change is also analogous with the ever-swelling germ, where what is not relative and what is potentially relative are present at the same time. It is both the changing Change and the changeless Change simultaneously. It is changeless, yet changes all things.

Changelessness and change are essentially inseparable in the Change. There is change because changelessness and there is changelessness because of change. In the Change, changelessness and change are united and become the undifferentiated continuum. Because of this wholeness the Change is also both transcendent and immanent at the same time. Thus the Change that is changeless is known as God, Logos, Tao, Brahman, and many other names. It is the essence of all cosmic energy and the background of all things in the universe.

The Change works through two hands: By the interplay of these two opposites the Change is manifest in all things. Since everything is of the Change, everything has two poles of interplay. The very process of becoming begins with this interplay. The differentiation and discrimination are born out of the undifferentiated continuum because of this interaction of opposites. These opposites are primary categories of all differentiated discontinuation. These counterparts are everywhere, because everything is in the process of becoming. Anything that changes has the interplay of the opposites. These two counterparts possess the archaic symbols of yin and yang. In the physical science, yin is called a negative energy, and yang is called a positive energy. In the process of action, yin is known as the passive and yang is known as the active. In the description of space, yin is known as the rear and yang is known as the front. In the description of direction, yin is known as the West and yang is known as the East. In the category of dimension, yin is known as below and yang is known as above. In the description of character, yin is known as tenderness and yang as firmness. These two opposite hands or yin and yang are expressed in all things. Yin and yang are the bases of the sub-atomic structures, which are regarded as the microcosms of the universe. Therefore, everything can be reduced to these two poles of yin and yang. Things are different, because they are manifestations of the different combinations of yin and yang. Since yin and yang are the basic constituents of everything which changes, everything is of the Change.

The primacy of these two opposites is found in the story of creation. The differentiation of light from darkness was the beginning of creation. Light represents yang and darkness represents yin. The next was the differentiation of heaven from earth, and then that of water from the dry land. Heaven is the dimension of above and the earth is that of below. Thus the former represents yang and the latter yin. Water represents yin and the dry land represents yang.

Finally, the differentiation of man from woman marks the end of the story of creation. Man represents yang and woman represents yin. Therefore, the story of creation is the story of the interplay of two opposites. The differentiation of two opposites is the way of change. As long as the interplay of yin and yang takes place, the process of creation continues towards the process of re-creation. In the process of change there is no beginning and ending. Creation as this process will continue forever.

The Change is patient. It does not force the world into a uniform rate of change. It allows room for the differences of individual characters in the process of change. Some have the inclination to change fast, and others are apt to change slowly. The Change goes along with various dispositions of individual becoming. It never forces them to be other than true to themselves. Nevertheless, there is a definite trend of change in all things. when the sun reaches it zenith, it begins to decline. When the moon is full, it starts to wane. High mountains become valleys, and valleys become hills. Joy becomes sorrow, and happiness turns to tragedy. The last becomes first, and modesty wins love. When one reaches its utmost, it must retreat. Everything that expands to a certain limit must revert to its opposite. Each has its own limitation. Within this limitation growth and decay or expansion and contraction take place Nothing can grow or expand forever. One grows to a certain degree and then retreats again to decay. Trees do not grow forever. They grow to a certain height and then begin to decay. The universe cannot expand forever. It must contract again when it expands to its maximum. Yin cannot grow forever. When it is full, it starts to revert to its minimum. Yang cannot grow forever. When it is full, it also reverts to its opposite. When yin grows, yang decays. When yang grows, yin decays. They are mutually interdependent. Through the constant interplay of yin and yang in a reverse order, the certain trend of expansion and contraction or growth and decay is evident in all things.

The way of the Change is not conflict but the complementarity of opposites. None of them is sufficient by itself. The positive energy is not sufficient by itself. It needs the negative energy to fulfill it incompleteness. A male is not complete by himself. He needs his counterpart, a female, to complement his incompleteness. The sound is not sufficient by itself. It needs the silence as the background of it s activity. One cannot experience joy without sorrow. The experience of suffering is known when love is experienced. When one is sufficient by itself, it does not require its counterpart. Self-sufficiency breaks down the delicate balance of counter poles and produces conflict and disorder. That is not the proper way of the Change. Everything that changes is not sufficient by itself, but the Change alone is sufficient. When the Change is at work, all things are in complementarity to make the rounded whole. Light and darkness are not in conflict but complementary to each other. Light exists in its background, darkness. Darkness can exist because of its counterpart, light. Both of them are limited. When light reaches a certain peak, it begins to yield itself to darkness. When darkness reaches its utmost intensity, it begins to yield itself to light. Right and wrong are not in conflict, but complementary to each other. Right is possible because of wrong, and wrong is real because of right. Both right and wrong are relative to each other and mutually sustain each other. Nothing that is of the Change is absolute by itself. Everything necessitates its counterpart to complete its insufficiency. The insufficiency of one makes its counterpart necessary, so that harmony and unity in the Change are realized within a certain limit. The Change does not value one over the other. It does not exalt one over the other. It is also a peacemaker between the conflicting interest of yin and yang. It is the way of fulfilling mutual satisfactions to bring them in peace and harmony.

The Change is spontaneous. It is the inner tendency which takes the natural course. It is natural because it is not motivated. The Change is like an infant child whose expressions are not constrained by compulsion. It moves like the unfolding leaves of flowers in the morning. It is free like the wind in the open air. Its movement is as subtle as eh growth of trees. It is the inner movement which makes the natural development possible. The Change is both the active impulse of life and the passive response to death. It makes the inner process of growth possible. It moves all without moving. It changes all without changing. It pro-creates all without effort. It does not have any conscious desire, but all consciousness is born from it. The Change gives itself up to all, but it never exhausts itself. It is the overflowing and unrestricted vitality of all that exists in the world. Nature is natural and spontaneous because of the Change. The way of the Change is known through what is natural. What is natural is spontaneous, for its inner essence is the Change.

--- INTRODUCTION --- The Beginning of My Truths

This small volume of writings is not intented as an exhaustive treatise on the much-written-upon subject of the Universal Powers or Power Of Thought.

It is suggestive rather than explanatory, its object being to stimulate men and women to the discovery and perception of the Truth that -- God is the God of both personal and non-personal (or impersonal) existence -- by virtue of the thoughts which they choose and encourage.


-----------------*********** The Beginning of My Truths *******************---------------

The root of our ecological and existential problems is primarily due to the misrepresentation of our religious thinking in the West. It is the religious orientation which has shaped the attitude of Western people toward nature and God.

Nature has become the counterpart of divine activity and the enemy of human perfection. A natural man is damned as a heathen, and an unnatural man is elevated as a civilized Christian. Man's domination over nature is encouraged as his virtue, and his retreat to nature is discouraged as a sign of disgrace. Thus the conflict between man and nature is eventually the separation from himself, for he is a part of nature. This separation of one-self, is that which creates the inner conflict, becoming the very root of his existential problems. Thus, our ecological and existential problems are inseparable. They are mutually interdependent. In order to deal with these problems, the religious orientation which has caused them must be reassessed.

The failure of traditional religion in the West is mainly in the use of exclusive symbols for the inclusive God. The symbols of God such as the King, Lord, Master, Saviour etc are personal names. By attributing personal names or symbols to God, the non-personal existence is almost completely neglected from the sphere or our religious thinking.

The God who is excluded from the non-personal existence cannot be the Creator and Preserver of all things. Thus, God must transcend a personal category. God is the God of both personal and non-personal (or impersonal) existence. Therefore, the traditional religious thinking which has eliminated the concerns of non-personal existence from the religious framework is a tragic failure in the West.

Cosmic religion transcends both personal and non-personal categories. It presupposes the God of all things, who is the cosmic God. This God is the God of man, the God of tree, the God of stone, the God of water, the God of air, and the God of everything that exists. The cosmic God is a personal God to persons and a non-personal God to non-persons. The cosmic God is "He" to men but "It" to stones and trees. This kind of God transcends religions, creeds, nationalities, races, species, forms, qualities, space and time. Thus, cosmic religion which deals with the cosmic God, the God of the Whole and for the whole, is essentially universal religion.

What, then, is the meaningful symbol of the cosmic God? Since the cosmic God transcends a personal category, we must find the symbol of God prior to personal symbols being attributed to him. The most primordial symbol of God in the Judeo-Christian faith is found in Exodus 3:14, where God is known as "I am what I am" or "I become what I become." ~ "This is," a most profound utterance, for all our religious or spiritual or metaphysical experiences start from it."

The cosmic God is, then, the subject or the source of "becoming." The cosmos is constantly in the process of becoming, because change is the essential characteristic of cosmic process. In other words, what makes becoming possible is the Change which changes all things. Thus, it is said, "The Change is the begetter of all begetting" (Bis. C.C. Patton D.D.)

The Change which changes all into the process of becoming is Tao, the ultimate reality, which transcends both being and becoming as well as personal and non-personal categories at the same time. The essence of cosmos is not the unchanging being but the changing becoming, because change is the essence of every becoming. Cosmic religion is, then, based on the idea that everything changes into the process of becoming because of the cosmic God who is change itself. Therefore, cosmic religion is none other than changeology, for it is a religion of change.

This is not written to undercut the profundity of Christian or any other religious teaching. Rather, it is hoped for the vivification of the profundity viable to the growing interest in the cosmic process of man's becoming. I do not intend this to be the complete and comprehensive treatise on cosmic religion. Rather, it is only an initial move toward the process which may eventually focus our attention on the cosmic significance of religious truth. Therefore, this is written for those who are open to new possibilities in the search for truth. If this small volume can provide seeds of thought for a fresh and creative approach of religion to the wholeness of man and cosmos, it has achieved it purpose...