Contemplating Unification Thought

Theory of the Original Image - Part II

by Dr. Jennifer P. Tanabe

The Divine Image refers to the attributes of the Original Image, which includes the dual characteristics of "songsang" and "hyongsang" and of Yang and Yin, and also the Individual Images. While those who have studied Divine Principle may already be familiar with these dual characteristics, when we take a philosophical perspective there are several important implications.

"Songsang" and "hyongsang" have been translated as "internal character" and "external form" in "Divine Principle", and God's songsang and hyongsang are the cause of the internal, invisible aspect and the external, visible aspect of created beings, respectively. While this makes sense to religious people who believe that God created human beings with both a physical body and a spiritual aspect or soul, to philosophers this immediately sounds like dualism. This is not the dualism between a good God and an evil Satan, but the dualism between spirit and matter, both within God and in the created world. For if God is divided into two distinct, heterogeneous aspects then God is a dualistic being. But if God is pure spirit then how can God relate to the visible material world? And if spirit and matter are distinct, heterogeneous aspects of the created world, then how can they relate to each other? In terms familiar to modern science, how do mind and brain relate?

The Unification Thought solution to these problems is quite simple: the dual characteristics of the Original Image do not imply dualism; rather, songsang and hyongsang in the Original Image are not separated, but exist as a union, in oneness. "They are essentially one and the same absolute attribute, from which is engendered the difference of songsang and hyongsang. When this absolute attribute is manifested in the created world through creation, it becomes two different elements" ("Essentials of Unification Thought", p.9). As Dr. Matczak puts it in his book entitled "Unificationism", "the proper term for Unificationism is very special. Its new position can be called "unionism" rather than monism, rejecting "separatism" rather than dualism."

Matter and spirit

The second set of dual characteristics in the Original Image are Yang and Yin. These attributes are secondary, while songsang and hyongsang are primary. In other words, both the songsang and the hyongsang manifest Yang and Yin characteristics. According to Unification Thought, the reason for the existence of the attributes of Yang and Yin in addition to songsang and hyongsang is to manifest change, harmony, and beauty.

"Divine Principle" notes that the dual characteristics of songsang and hyongsang are similar to Western philosophy and Yang and Yin are similar to Oriental philosophy, and that Unificationism brings them together. However, the reality of this is much clearer when we take the philosophical perspective.

When we study Western and Oriental philosophies together, as at UTS, it becomes apparent that they are fundamentally different, in starting point, goal, and method of proceeding to the goal. Perhaps it can help us understand each other better if we recognize that the Western approach seeks to understand the world in terms, such as spirit and matter, good and evil, that are essentially different, with no basis for relationship, a duality of co-existence at best, with superiority of one over the other; whereas the Oriental approach seeks understanding in terms of attributes that are complementary and essential to each other, such as light and dark, high and low, and which provide the basis of change, harmony and beauty.

As one UTS student (American with a Japanese wife) commented: Japanese see a goal as the "means" to the end, which is harmony among the participants in the project. Westerners, on the other hand, see a goal as the "end" and that there are many possible means to achieve it, and what is important is finding the right way to accomplish the goal. Unification Thought does not judge one approach to be right and the other wrong, but shows how each has its place in the Original Image, and also in creation.

Universal image

When we come to look at the Divine Character of the Original Image we find that there are three aspects: Heart, Logos and creativity. The previous article already discussed the nature of God's heart, or "Shim Jung", and its role in creation. Here, we see that heart is the most fundamental, core aspect of God's nature or character. Both God's Logos and creativity are based on heart. Logos, which is formed through the relationship between God's songsang and hyongsang centered on heart, is known in Unification Thought as reason-law. This is because the elements of songsang and hyongsang that play the most important roles in the formation of Logos are reason and law respectively. Since Logos is formed based on heart, this means that the purpose of the universe is to actualize God's love. Thus, the universe is governed by the law of love.

Creativity is the ability to create, which is obviously an ability of God, the creator of the universe! Again, the most important point is that God's creativity is based on heart. The implication of this is that human creativity should also be based on heart, and not reason as most scientists until now have believed.

Original image

This structure of the Original Image is familiar to those who know Divine Principle. However, there are some terminological differences. Unification Thought, in its most recent expression, refers to "Four-Position Bases" and "Give and Receive Action" instead of Divine Principle's "Four-Position Foundations" and "Give and Take Action." Most people I have spoken with agree that "receive" is an improvement over "take." It is hard to imagine receiving something that is not being given, but it is easy to take it!

Unification Thought describes the structure of the Original Image in terms of four types of four-position bases: there are "inner" and "outer" bases, and each of these has a "developmental" and an "identity-maintaining" form. And, inner and outer bases can be combined to produce the "two-stage structures" of the Original Image itself (identity-maintaining bases) and of creation (developmental bases). The Inner Identity-Maintaining Base refers to the structure of God's songsang and shows its absolute, unchanging character.

The Outer Identity-Maintaining Base refers to the structure of the whole Original Image, again showing its absolute, eternal, unchanging quality. The Inner Developmental Base refers to the formation of the Logos, or plan, within God's mind at the time of creation. And, the Outer Developmental Base refers to actual creation, the formation of a new being, through the give and receive action within the Original Image.

Now all this sounds very complicated, and if you look at the diagram on page 31 of "Essentials of Unification Thought" it will not become clearer! Imagine my delight, then, on receiving my topic for the lecture test in Dr. Lee's 21-day workshop: the two-stage structure of creation! Nevertheless, I can say that this part of the Theory of Original Image is important as the basis for many other points in Unification Thought, and is worth the effort it takes to come to terms with it.

When I received this lecture topic my initial reaction was one of dismay that I had received such a factual, structured, even boring topic, with no chance for creativity, personal testimony or interesting examples. However, when I prayed on how to present it, I realized that this topic refers to how God thinks and creates, it explains God's mind. That is truly an exciting topic! So, my final comment on the Theory of the Original Image is that it does what Stephen Hawking in his best-selling book, "A Brief History of Time", concludes "would be the ultimate triumph of human reason," it explains why we and the universe exist, it explains "the mind of God."


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