Guest Editor's Introduction

Clifford Geertz writes, ''We are, in sum, incomplete or unfinished animals who complete ourselves through culture—and not through culture in general but through highly particular forms of it.''¹ At least part of his point is that unlike other animals, many of whom—like bees, ducks, or dolphins—live in complex and orderly societies, human beings are creatures that come into the world with only a partially written script, unsure of exactly what characters they are to play, what roles they should fulfill, and how they and their actions contribute to some larger scheme or plan. Like culture, religion attempts to fill in the script by providing accounts of human nature, the proper roles humans should play, and how human actions contribute to some grand vision or cosmic plan. Nevertheless, as Geertz makes clear, we can only understand how religion does what it does by looking carefully at particular religions. This special issue of the Journal of Korean Religions seeks to do just that by being dedicated to ''Confucian Spirituality in East Asian Contexts.'' The five essays it contains explore a set of interrelated issues about how Confucians, among them Koreans, fill in the script of human life aiming to orient and guide human beings to satisfying and meaningful lives. These essays describe key components of a distinctively Confucian form of spirituality by analyzing characteristically Confucian concerns with cultivating the self in ways that complete human nature, enable one to fulfill one's proper roles within family and society, take one's correct place in the world, and realize the Heavenly ordained purpose of one's life.

In the first article, ''Selfishness and Self-centeredness,'' I describe and analyze the philosophically related but distinct notions of selfishness and selfcenteredness and argue that the latter is more characteristic of and important for understanding Confucianism and especially Neo-Confucianism. Overcoming self-centeredness and returning to propriety defines the fundamental ethical and spiritual challenge for Confucians. Self-cultivation enables us to eliminate the impediments that interfere with a true understanding of our selves and our relationship with the rest of the world. This facilitates the full flourishing of our nature, leads to a profound appreciation of our sense of oneness with all people, creatures, and things, and generates a corresponding, comprehensive desire to care for the world. Moreover, self-cultivation prepares us to respond to the world in a spontaneous manner that provides a sense of ease and metaphysical comfort; it leads to what is best for the self and the world, to the most meaningful, satisfying, and joyful life one can live.

In the next contribution, ''Confucian Spirituality: Desire, Self-cultivation, and Religiosity,'' the late Vincent Shen presents Confucian self-cultivation as a form of perfectionism aimed at restraining, shaping, and focusing human desires through a regimen of bodily and mental practices aimed at realizing one's proper relationship to ''ultimate reality.'' He explains Confucian spiritual practice as designed to move human beings from ''lower to higher levels of meaningfulness'' with the final aim of enabling them to establish an intimate relationship with Heaven. Shen's contribution is especially significant and helpful because it offers an explicit explanation of the ''spiritual'' dimension of human beings as the ''dynamic power'' that on the one hand motivates people to move from lower to higher levels of being while on the other serving as a source of inspiration emanating from the higher level to those striving to rise. Confucian spiritual power thus functions to both push and pull us toward a proper relationship with ''ultimate reality.''

Young-chan Ro develops a set of related ideas in his contribution, ''Spirituality, Spontaneity, and Moral Charisma in Korean Confucianism,'' by exploring the distinctive form of Korean Confucian spirituality expressed by Yi Yulgok. Among the notable insights contained in this contribution is a discussion of the relationship between the secular and the sacred in Korean Confucianism. Professor Ro refocuses an idea made famous by Herbert Fingarette, who said that Confucianism takes the ''secular as sacred,'' by arguing that Confucianism seeks to express the ''sacred'' in the ''secular.'' Like several of our contributors, Professor Ro highlights the crucial role...