Nowadays the importance of mind training is emphasized in many sense. Mind training is not the topic which is confined to modern society. There are diverse theories and practices of mind training in the traditions of the East and the West. But nowadays mind training is newly magnified and becomes a social issue. In this paper, we want to discuss the fundamental purpose and methods of mind training in Confucian tradition. The reason why we focus on Confucian thoughts is that Confucian thoughts emphasizes social relations more than the other thoughts. Therefore, there are abundant social implication in the Confucian tradition of mind training. In the case of Confucian mind training, they emphasize the striving after virtue. It’s the differences with Taoism and Buddhism. The contents of this paper are as follows. First, we will look for the meaning of De(德)in the Confucius(『論語』). Through this, we will explore the relationship between the striving after De(德) and mind training. Second, we will look for the meaning of Dao(道) in the Analects(論語). Through this, we will compare the meaning of Dao(道) in Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism. Third, we will explore the relationship between the striving after virtue and mind training in the Analects(論語). Finally, we will explore the post-modern implication of mind training in the Analects(論語).

This study intends to understand the structure and characteristic of Cultivation Theory as proposed by Xun Zi(荀子). Xun Zi’s Cultivation Theory aimed at motivating morally incomplete human beings to build up their own personality by steady efforts and keep humanity so that they would be able to carry on a harmonious and orderly social life. For this goal, Xun Zi concluded human nature to be evil, then emphasized the necessity of xin(心)’s cultivation in the methodological exploration to identify whether such human nature can be changed to any reasonable directions. So Xun Zi proposed a way to control temperament and cultivate xin(心). Our xin(心) does not imply any moral value, but have a function to recognize think(知) and supervise(能) such value. Therefore, according to his theory, if we reach a ground of Great Serenity(大淸明) along ‘Empty and Only Tranquility(虛壹靜)’during our mind cultivation, and if we keep our attitude of ‘sincerity’, we can lead evil-oriented mankind to a virtue.

Tao and mind training in Lao-tzu has great worth in constructing post-modern life and civilization. That’s why the writer of this article who is sociologist is writing on this topic. In terms of the modern world view, the current society comes close to the utopia. But the current society comes actually close to the dystopia. This means that the modern world view does not fit to the reality anymore. Now the imminent task of the human being is to pursue the post-modern life and civilization based on the modernization. The essence of the construction of the post-modern life and civilization is ‘mind training.’ Mind training means to aware the alienation of myself who is divorced from Tao, and to endeavor to activate the real self. The recovery of the real self through mind training is the fundamental goal of our life, and this is the meaning of the post-modern life. In this sense, Tao and mind training of Lao-tzu has meaning for present and future. In the text Lao-tzu, there are rich implication to figure out the ideal life in the post-modern sense, the alienation of modern life, and mind training as the efforts to recover the modern alienation. The purpose of this paper is to cast light upon the modern life critically and to design the post-modern life and civilization based on the text Lao-tzu. The contents of this paper is as follows. The first is to make clear the meaning of Tao. The second is to show the post-modern ideal life which coincides with Tao. The third is to describe the alienation of modern life which is discordant with Tao. The final is to discuss mind training for the unity with Tao.

Laotzu has not been used a word calling ‘Cultivation of the Mind.’ Nevertheless we don’t say that there is not a virtue calling ‘Cultivation of the Mind.’ For ‘NoAction(無爲) and NotNoAction(無不爲)’ of key word in his thought is ‘Cultivation of the Mind’ in Laotzu’s thought. Laoz insist that Saint’s Cultivation of the Mind is “the Saint give people NoAction(無爲) and NoLanguage(不言) as rustic NoBeing(無) called ‘narrow and low Publicity’ at small country living a minority race(小國寡民) as the Tao of Saint(聖人之道)” and Government’s Cultivation of the Mind is “People are living at self-naturation(自化) self-frankness(自正) self-satisfaction(自富) self-simplelife(自 樸) as ‘rustic Yu有’ called ‘narrow and low Privatisity’ by chapter 3 and chapter 80 representing the Tao of Government(治世之道).” Moreover ‘Cultivation of the Mind’ at Laotzu’s thought is ‘Cultivation of the Mind’ by Atheism, so It is not religious Cultivation of the Mind and doesn’t pray for God’s grace. Congtzu’s thought and Laotzu’s thought takes a completely opposite stand to the meanings at a Social thought from the judgement of virtue-vice. Congtzu’s hierarchy society concept means power politics keeping hierarchy society by the proprieties and etiquettes in ritual formalities of ancestors and the Heaven(正名). Congtzu’s human-centrism concept means human society keeping his own superiority to other natural creatures. Laotzu’s eqalitarian society concept means that common people have right of equality each other neglecting hierarchy society by the proprieties and etiquettes in ritual formalities of ancestors and the Heaven(無爲自然). Laotzu’s nature-centrism concept means that human and nature creatures have right of equality each other associating on an equal footing, coming and going everything in nature. So 『Laotzu』 includes ‘Golden rules’ for Cultivation of the Mind to target ‘Ecological Democracy.’

Buddhist practices play a prominent role in healing since the beginning of Buddhism. Throughout the history of Buddhism, various practice methods were produced as a way to heal the mind. In the case of Korean Buddhism, Ganhwa Seon (Koan meditation) is the main practice method. However, Ganhwa seon cannot play a direct role in solving the desire of practice and specific problems in secular life, because practitioners who intend to withdraw from the world and enter the monastic life use this method of practice. Since the 1990s, Vipassana, the representative meditation of Theravada Buddhism rapidly brought new changes to the Korean Buddhist community. This burgeoning method of practice attracts the attention of the general public since it can be applied in everyday life by focusing on mindfulness (sati). Vipassana and Ganhwa Seon are recognized as having a complementary relationship rather than a contradictory one, and it is reported that there needs to be a kind of universal direction of mind healing of Buddhism where Vipassana and Ganhwa Seon are approached from the point of view of complementing one another. These recent changes in Korean Buddhism are an opportunity to solve the problems that were brought up during the course of Buddhist reform movements in modern times. Therefore, it is necessary to investigate the Mind Practice (Maeum-Gongbu) of Won-Buddhism, which was founded by Sotaesan who diagnosed the cause of society’s illnesses in the early 20th century. Since Won-Buddhism actively participated in the innovation and social role of Buddhism since the modern period, its perspective will help form a universal direction of Buddhist Mind Healing, responding to the request of modern times. In addition, based on the two sides of ‘Mindfulness’ (Yu-Nyeom), maintaining the thought with a attention and ‘No Thought’ (Mu-Nyeom) without a thought through the practice of Buddhism, this study will compare the practices of Vipassana, Ganhwa Seon and Won-Buddhist Mind Practice. Consequently, Vipassana is used mainly to apply mindfulness in daily life, whereas Ganhwa Seon is driven by emptying the mind through the ‘Critical Phrase’ (Hwa-Du, Koan). I argue that Vipassana is closer to the ‘Mindfulness’ Practice of Won-Buddhism and Ganhwa Seon closely resembles the ‘No Thought’ Practice of Won-Buddhism. Furthermore, Won-Buddhist Mind Practice (Maeum-Gongbu) seems to be the only practice that balances these two aspects, ‘Mindfulness’ Practice and ‘No Thought’ Practice, and at the same time emphasizes specific action and life practice. Buddhism’s method of mind healing will have to go in the direction that carefully balances both ‘Self-Healing’ and ‘Relation-Healing’ and the numerous existing practice methods will also have to propose ways to go in the direction of mind healing that harmonizes the two aspects of ‘Mindfulness’ and ‘No Thought.’

It is true that the orientalism has prevailed the sociological theories on Eastern societies: it considers the Western modern society as a standard of progress and development while the East Society has been explained in terms of retardation and backwardness. The representative of this field, Max Weber could not be free from this fallacy even though he intended to explain the traditional society in the East systematically. He appreciated the nature of local communities in the East society as a private sphere constrained by enchantment and tradition under the rule of clan. This nature of privacy was blamed as hampering the development of rationality which is the main ethos of political and economic breakthrough. This article challenges the Weber’s thesis based on the case of local communities’ dominance after the mid Choson Dynasty. Sarim group which governed local communities in the Choson society was not a clan-based group but an organization on the social solidarity. At the same time, they were religious fundamentalists based on the principle of Neo-Confucianism. The local autonomy under their initiatives was not given naturally or spontaneously but was achieved through power struggle with the central power. The main force that sustained the local autonomy during the Choson Dynasty was far from the tradition and enchantment that Weber mentioned. Rather, it was drawn from Sarim group’s rational and institutional project based on the principle of public sense in Neo-Confucianism. In sum, contrary to Weber’s explanation, local communities during the Choson Dynasty exhibited the explicit nature of and the strong orientation for public autonomy.

In this research, the existing value in which the spatiality implied in Tao Te Ching was investigated with western philosophy was criticized by introducing eastern ideas. In other words, the time and spatiality implied in Tao Te Ching Thought were deducted by approaching trigrams from I-Ching to the spatiality inherent Chapter11 of Tao Te Ching and by introducing the result of interpreting architectural space in terms of epistemology into the existing study results. As a result, three spaces of Van de Ven’s Space in Architecture were re-defined by supplementing them with the epistemological interpretation of I-Ching; ‘space based on tectonic elements’ to ‘the construction of materials for functional architectural space’, ‘space based on stereotomic elements’ to ‘the elimination of materials for useful space’, and ‘transitional space’ to ‘roles of materials for the communication of space.’ In this way, when western architectural theorists interpret classical eastern ideas empirically, the readers who can understand eastern classics easily are moved by superficial objects, which hide the independent essence of eastern ideas. And, it has been confirmed that the results of epistemological interpretation of eastern ideas can intervene and create the value to reform the two into the complemented space in architecture.

This study is aimed to observe the problem of alienated daily-life and leisure caused by development of capitalism and industrialization of leisure. Especially, it deal with the contrast of the Eastern and Western perspectives on travel, leisure and sightseeing. Eastern culture considers it as ‘time of insight meditation’, and approaches it from unionistic and holistic perspective. Gwan Trigram(風地觀) of I-ching reveals that Eastern perspective about leisure is based on ‘insight meditation.’ Ryeh Trigram(火山旅) of I-ching reveals that Eastern culture perceives travel and leisure from unionistic and holistic perspective including human’s day-life and entire life through a traveler’s story. Through such discussion, Sightseeing of Eastern perspective can overcome ‘alienated leisure’ by ‘insight meditation’ and ‘introspective traveling.’ So we need to combine varied instances and traditional thoughts actively.

At last the human-being confront a blind alley. There are no exit around them. They struggle with each other in a sinking boat which was named earth. Of course not only human-being but also all other lives are on the boat. The only way to convert the boat from danger is fundamental change of their mind. If we can call it a education, education is the last hope of human-being. But the education of human has been focused on development of reason. They thought that reason can make material fertilization and can raise moral judgement. We call it a originality and morality education. The only exit of human-being is the education to discover human nature. Every human has a immense fountain of love in their mind. But a heavy rock stop up a hole where the water can flow out. The name of the rock is ‘I.’ When we can remove the rock, we can recover the nature of love.

New ecological concerns and movements are constantly emerging and aim to develop alternative solutions to the greening of society as a rejection of mainstream socio-economic values. The current green concerns and practices of alternative living requires a considerable degree of both ecological awareness and action. Global Ecovillage Network and Life Movement is a typical case that operates on the underlying premise that current society must recognize the urgent need for radical change due to the scale of catastrophic environmental degradation. The functions of ecological concerns and practices, and limitations in the face of wider social change in political terms are explored in this paper. Ecological concerns and practices focus on the transformation of the life-world; however, in the end, they expect this movement to bear a potential for changing the wider society. They are definitely an important basis for thinking about possible future and their endeavour is necessary for the success sought by wider social movements.

The collapse of socialist countries in 1990 and the democratic changes of Middle East shows that the political system of the world is converging towards the liberal democracy. And after the WTO, there is no isolated national economy. Commodities and capital are almost freely exchanged over the national border. Moreover, one world without national borders is rising in the horizon where man can freely migrate as in the case of EU. The distinguishing development of recent Korea in the areas of politics, economy, popular couture, education, and technology is the result of complex historical processes of Korea. Korea accepted monotheistic Buddhism in fourth century departing from the superstition and polytheism, resulting in the positive world view. And from the Yi-Dynasty in fourteenth century, Korea accepted Confucianism and achieved the seperation of religion and politics which was the basis of so called ‘secular society’ in modern Europe. Confucianism believed the learning as the utmost goal of life, which is reflected in the contemporary aspiration of education which is the world best. And the traditional social networks of kinship, region, and schools which was far more broad and multi-dimensional than the face-to-face relationship contributed to forming and conforming the modern secondary and anonymous social organizations. These historical heritages contributed to the Korean successes in modern world where knowledge and technology produce most social wealth.

Many authors have been writing articles and books about East Asia’s great economic performances since 1960s. They referred to so many similarities and differences between Korea and Taiwan. However, all of them commonly focused on the developmental state’s active intervention in the economy, and none of them had interest in how the normal people in each country feel or think about developmental capitalism. From the 2007 survey data, we can see that ordinary people in Korea and Taiwan has so different images of capitalism. Most Koreans have “good” images of capitalism, and many Taiwanese people have “bad” or “neutral” images of capitalism. I tried in this research to find out what made people choose good or bad images of capitalism, and explain the differences in the images of capitalism between Korean and Taiwanese people through their experiences of lived capitalism.