'As a Peace-Loving Global Citizen'

Sun Myung Moon

the Autobiography Text

 

CHAPTER EIGHT

NEW VISION FOR YOUTH

 

 Find Your Purpose,

Change Your Life

 

 (Page 322)

 

When we meet someone new, we are always curious about

who he or she is.  God has the same curiosity about each

human being.  He is especially curious about young people,

and it brings Him great joy when He gets to know them

intimately.  Why is this?  It is because our youth is the

most important and the most beautiful period

of our lives.  This period should be

a time of tranquility as one prepares for the future. 

The process of growing to maturity is a

building block that opens the way to a new era.

 

It is difficult to find

young people today who are passionate about their lives.

We find so many young people who, with no goal or purpose

for their life, are just wandering around. 

All great leaders in history had a definite purpose for

their life from the time they were children.

From childhood they nurtured that purpose held within

their hearts and exerted great energy to achieve it.

Whether they were sleeping or playing with their friends,

these great leaders geared every youthful action toward

preparing for the stage

that they would stand on in the future.  Is that how you

are living your life?

 

We are all created to be great men and women. 

God did not send us into this world without purpose. 

When God created us He invested His complete love into

each person.  So we are all created for greatness. 

Because God exists, we can accomplish anything.

 

(Page 323)

 

I became a completely different person when I began

to love God.  I loved humanity more than myself and

was more concerned with the problems of others

than with the problems of my family.  I loved everything

that God created.  I deeply loved the trees on the hills

and the fish in the waters.  My spiritual senses

developed so I could discern God's handiwork in all

things of creation.

 

As I was changing my heart to conform to God's love, I

also strengthened my body so that I could fulfill

my mission.  I wanted to be ready to go anywhere,

anytime that God called me.  I played soccer and did

boxing, some traditional Korean martial arts, and

'wanwado', a form of martial arts that I developed. 

In 'wanwado', the athlete moves his body in a smooth

circular motion, almost as in a dance. 

It is based on the principle that greater power comes from

circular motion than moving in a straight line.

 

Even now I begin each day with stretching excercises

for my muscles and joints and a breathing exercise

that I developed.  Sometimes when I am traveling around

the world on speaking tours, I may not have time

for these exercises in the morning.  Still I will

find the time, sometimes while sitting on the toilet.   

I never miss a day of exercise.  When I was young,

thirty minutes a day was plenty, but now that I am older

I have increased it to an hour a day.

 

In 2008 I was involved in

a helicopter crash.  The helicopter was suddenly

surrounded by black rain clouds and in an instant

crashed into a mountainside.  The helicopter rolled over,

and I was left hanging upside down by my seat-belt. 

Instinctively I tightly grabbed the arm rests on both

sides of my seat.  If I had not been so diligent

in my exercises, I think I would have broken my hip

the instant that I was suspended upside down.  The body

is the container to hold a healthy spirit.  It is

important for us to be diligent about training our bodies.

 

(Page 324)

 

Few students go to school because they like to study. 

They, usually go because their parents tell them to,

not because they look forward to studying.  As students

continue to study, however, they gradually learn

to enjoy it.  From that point, they will start to study

on their own and find their own path.  An interest

in learning is a sign of maturity.

 

Parents cannot wait until their children mature enough

to study on their own.  They tell them.  "You have to

study.  Please make up your mind to study." and put

pressure on them.  Parents do this because they know

that children need to study in order to prepare for

the future.  They worry that, if their children don't

study at the proper age level, they will face the future

unprepared.

 

There is, however, something

more important than studying to prepare for the future. 

Before unconditionally focusing entirely on studies,

young people must realize what they want to do in life. 

They must make a determination to use their talents

to help the world rather than just serve themselves. 

Many young people today seem to be studying just for

its own sake.  Unless you have purpose in life, your

studies will lack the passion needed for happiness.

 

Once I came across a Korean student working hard

on his English schoolwork.  I asked him, "Why are you

working so hard to learn English?"

 

He answered, "To get into a university."

 

What could be more short-sighted?  Getting into a

university is not a purpose.  A university is a place

to go to study particular subjects in the course of

pursuing a larger objective.  It cannot be the objective

itself.

 

(Page 325)

 

Also, do not define your life goal in terms of how much

money you want to make.  I have never received a salary,

but I have managed to eat and stay alive. 

Money is a means to do something, not the goal.  Before

you make money, have a plan for spending it.  Money

gained without a prior objective will soon be wasted.

 

Your choice of occupation should not be based on just

your talents and interests.  Whether you become a fire-

fighter, a farmer or a soccer player is up to you.  But

what I am referring to transcends your occupation.  What

kind of life will you lead as a soccer player?  How will

you live as a farmer?  What is you objective in life?

 

To set your objective is to give meaning to the life

you will lead.  If you are going to be a farmer, then

you should set your objective to test new agricultural

methods, develop better species of crops, and help

eradicate world hunger.  If you are going to be a soccer

player, then set a meaningful objective such as to

heighten your country's image in the world or to

establish soccer camps that will nurture the dreams

of economically deprived children.

 

To become a world-class soccer player

takes incredible work.  If you do not have a definite

purpose in your heart, you will not be able to endure

the difficult training required to reach the top. 

Only if you have the objective will you have the power

to maintain your course

and live a life that is a cut above those around you.

 

 

(CHAPTER EIGHT)

Embrace the World

 

 (Page 326)

 

Setting a goal in life is similar to planting a tree.

If you plant a tree in the front yard of your home,

you will have jujubes in your home. 

If you plant apple tress on the hill behind your home,

then they will produce apples.  Think carefully about

your choice of goals and where you intend to plant them.

Depending on the goal you choose and where you plant it,

you can become a jujube tree in Seoul or an apple tree

in Africa.  Or you can become a palm tree

in the South Pacific.  The goal you plant will bear fruit

in the future.  Think carefully where the best place is

to plant your goal so that it will bear the best fruit.

 

When you are setting your goal, be sure to consider

the entire world.  Consider Africa, which continues to

suffer from poverty and disease.  Consider Israel and

Palestine, where people continue to aim their weapons

at each other and fight over matters of religion. 

Consider Afghanistan, where people barely keep themselves

alive by raising poppies used to make harmful drugs.

Consider the United States, where extreme greed and

selfishness has contributed to the global 

economic crisis.  Consider Indonesia, Haiti, and Chili,

which have suffered from earthquakes and tidal waves.

 

(Page 327)

 

Imagine yourself in the context of those countries and

think which country and which situation would be most

appropriate for you.  It may be that you are best suited

to India where a new religious conflict may erupt.  Or

it could be in Rwanda which languishes in drought and

hunger.

 

In setting a goal, students shouldn't be so foolish as

to decide that because a country is small, like Korea,

it isn't worthy of your goals.  Depending on what you

do, there is no limit to how large a small country can

become.  Its national boundaries could even disappear.

Whether you do good work on a large continent of Africa

or in the small country of Korea, your goal should not

be restricted by size.  Your goals should be about where

your talents can have the most impact.

 

Think of the world as your stage as you decide what

you want to do in life.  If you do you will likely find

many more things to do than what you were originally

dreaming about.  You have only one life to live so use it

to do something that the world needs.  You cannot reach

the hidden treasure on an island without adventure. 

Please think beyond your own country, and think of

the world as your stage in setting your goal.

 

During the 1980's, I sent many Korean university students

to Japan and the United States. 

I wanted them to leave Korea, where tear gas canisters

were being fired almost daily,

and let them see a wider world of greater reality. 

The frog that lives at the bottom of a well does not

realize that there is a bigger world outside of the well.

 

I was thinking globally before that word even entered

the Korean language.  The reason I went to Japan to study

was to see a wider world.  The reason I planned to work

for the Manchurian Electric Company in Hailar, China,

and learn the Chinese, Russian and Mongolian languages,

even before Korea was liberated, was to enable me to live

as a global citizen.  Even now

I travel by plane to many places in the world.  If I were

to visit a different country every day, it would take

more than six months to visit all of them.

 

(Page 328)

 

People live in different countries,

and they all live in different circumstances.  There are

places where there is no water to cook rice with, while

other places have too much water.  Some countries have no

electricity while some countries are not able to consume

all the electricity that they produce. 

There are many examples of how something is lacking in one

place but overabundant in another.   The problem is

there are not enough people focused on equalizing

the distribution.

 

The same is true with raw materials.  Some countries have

an abundance of coal and iron ore stacked in piles. 

They don't even need to dig into the earth.  All they need

to do is shovel the coal and iron ore from piles that are

easily accessed.  Korea, however, has a critical shortage

of coal and iron ore reserves.  To dig out anthracite coal

we need to risk our lives to go thousands of feet

underground.

 

Africa has many places where bananas grow naturally

in abundance, and they could keep people from starving. 

But there is a lack of technology

and lack of access to productive land, so not enough

banana plantations are created.  Korea's climate is

not suited for growing bananas, and yet we grow bananas. 

This technology in Korea could be very helpful in solving

the problem of poverty in Africa.  It is similar to

the way that South Korean technology for planting corn

has helped relieve starvation in North Korea.

 

The phrase "global leader" is now in vogue in Korea. 

People say they want to become fluent in English and

become global leaders.  Becoming a global leader, however,

is not just a matter of a person's fluency in English. 

The ability to communicate in English is nothing more than

a tool.  A true global leader is someone who is able to

embrace the world in his own bosom.  A person who has no

interest in the problems of the world cannot become global

leader, no matter how well he might communicate in

English.

 

(Page 329)

 

To be a global leader a person must think of the world's

problems as his own and have the pioneering spirit

that is needed for finding difficult solutions.  A person

who is attached to a secure and fixed income, or dreams

of having a pension after retirement and a comfortable

family life, cannot be a global leader.  To become

a global leader a person must consider the whole world

to be his country and all humanity to be his brothers and

sisters and not be overly concerned that he does not know

what the future may hold for him.

 

What are siblings?  Why did God give us brothers and

sisters?  Siblings represent all human beings around

the world.  The experience of loving our brothers and

sisters in the family teaches us

how to love our fellow countrymen and love humanity. 

Our love for our own siblings expands in this way. 

The family whose members love each other is a model of how

humanity can live together in harmony.  Love among

siblings means that one sibling is willing to go hungry,

if necessary, so that his brother or sister can eat.  A

global leader is someone who loves humanity as his own

family.

 

It has been a while since we first heard the phrase

"global village."  Yet the earth has always been a single

community.  If a person's goal in life is to

graduate from a university, get a job with a company that

will pay a high salary, and lead a secure life, then

that person will have the success of a puppy.  But if he

dedicates his life to helping refugees in Africa, he will

have the success of a lion.  The course that is chosen

depends on the heart of the individual.

 

(Page 330)

 

Even at the age of ninety I continue to travel around

the world.  I refuse to rest from my mission.  The world

is like a living organism in that it is always changing. 

New problems are always arising.  I go to the dark corners

of the world where these problems exist.  These are not

the places with beautiful views or comfortable amenities,

but I feel comfortable in places that are dark, difficult

and lonely because  that is where I'm fulfilling

my mission, my purpose and my goals.

 

My hope is that Korea will produce global leaders

in the true sense.  I hope to see more political leaders

who will lead the United Nations to fulfill its purpose

and more diplomatic leaders who will stop the fighting in

areas of conflict. 

I hope to see someone like Mother Theresa who will

take care of those wandering and dying on the streets. 

I hope to see peace leaders who will take on my mission

of pioneering new solutions from the land and sea.

 

The starting point is to have a dream and a goal.  Please

have an adventurous and pioneering spirit.  Dream dreams

that others dare not imagine.  Set goals for yourselves

that have meaning, and become global leaders who will

bring benefit to humankind.

 

 

(CHAPTER EIGHT)

Everything We Have Is

Borrowed from Heaven

 

(Page 331)

 

People say I am one of the richest people in the world,

but they don't know what they are talking about. 

I have worked hard all my life, but I don't own so much as

a single house in my name.  Everything is for the public. 

Virtually every adult Korean has his official stamp that

he registers with the government and uses to sign legal

documents.  I don't have such a stamp.

 

You may wonder then what benefit I have received from

working hard and not eating or sleeping while others ate

and slept.  I didn't work so I could be rich.  Money has

no meaning to me.  Any money not used for the sake of

humanity, or for the sake of my neighbor who is dying

in poverty, is nothing more than a piece of paper.  Money

earned through hard work should always be used to love

the world and carry out projects that benefit the world.

 

When I send missionaries overseas, I don't give them a lot

of money.  Yet they survive wherever they go.  It takes

very little for us to support ourselves.  If we have

a sleeping bag, that is enough for us to sleep

anywhere.  What is important is not how we live but

the kind of life we lead.  Material affluence is not

a condition for happiness.  It is sad to me that

the phrase "to live well" has come to be defined in terms

of material affluence.  To live well means to live a life

that has meaning.

 

(Page 332)

 

I wear a necktie only for worship services or special

events.  I don't wear a suit often, either.  I generally

wear a sweater when I am at home.  I sometimes imagine

how much money is spent on neckties in Western societies. 

Necktie pins, dress shirts and cuff links are very

expensive.  If everyone stopped buying neckties and used

the money instead for the sake of our neighbors who suffer

from hunger, the world would be a little bit better place

to live.

 

Expensive things are not necessarily the best to have.

Imagine what it would be like if the building were

on fire.  Who would be the first to get out:  I in my

sweater or someone with a tie?  I am always ready to

go outside?

 

Some people might think I take conservation to extremes.

I'm not in favor of taking a bath every day. 

Once every three days is enough.  I also don't wash

my socks every day.  In the evening, I take off my socks

and put them in my back pocket so that I can wear them

again the next day.  When I am in a hotel, I use only the

smallest of the towels that are hanging in the bathroom. 

I flush the toilet only when I have urinated in it three

times.  I use only a single square of toilet paper, after

folding it in half three times.  I don't care if you

call me civilized or barbaric for this.

 

The same desire to conserve is true at mealtime.  I have

no interest in elaborate meals.  There may be all sorts of

exotic foods and different types of deserts in front

of me, but I am not interested in those.  I don't fill

my rice bowl completely.  It's enough if it is three-

fifths full.

 

(Page 333)

 

The shoes I prefer most in Korea cost 49,000 won ($40)

at a large discount store.  The pants I wear every day are

well over five years old.  The meal I enjoy the most in

America is McDonald's.  Some people call it junk food and

don't eat it, but I like eating at McDonald's for

two reasons.  It's cheap and it saves time.  When I take

the children out to eat we often go to McDonald's. 

I don't know how it came to be known that I often go

to McDonald's, but now the Chairman of the McDonald's

Corporation sends me a New Year's greeting card

every year.

 

The message that I give to our members every year is

"Spend money carefully, and conserve on everthing." 

I don't tell them this so they can save money and become

rich.  I want them to have a consciousness of conserving

in order to help the country and save humanity.  We don't

take anything with us when we leave this world.  Everyone

knows this, and yet for some reason people are desperate

to get their hands on as many things as possible.  I plan

to give away everything I have built up during my life

before leaving this world.  The Heavenly Kingdom has

plenty of treasure, and there is no need to take anything

there from this world.  When we understand that we are

going to a place that is better

than where we are now, there is no need to become attached

to the things of this world.

 

There is a song

that I have always liked to sing.  It is an old popular

song that many Koreans know.  Every time I sing this song

it sets my heart at ease and tears come to my eyes. 

It reminds me of my boyhood when I used to lie in 

the fields at home.

 

 

 You may say you will give me a crown

with platinum and jewels,

But a shirt smelling of dirt

and dripping with sweat is worth more.

A pure heart wells up within my bosom,

I can make a flute out of willow leaves,

And the sparrows sing along with my tune.

You may say you will give me enough gold

to buy the world,

But an ox that will till the soil

in a barley field is worth more.

The buds of hope sprout in my bosom,

I can talk freely with the rabbits,

And the days go by as I play my tune.

 

Happiness is always waiting for us.  The reason that we

can't find happiness is that our own desires block

the way.  As long as our eyes are fixed on our desires,

they cannot see the path we should follow.  We are so busy

trying to pick up the scraps of gold lying on the ground

near us that we do not see the huge pile of gold that is

a little way up the road.  We are so busy stuffing things

into our pockets that we don't realize that there are

holes in those pockets.

 

I have not forgotten what it was like to live in Heungnam

Prison.  Even the most terrible place in this world is

more comfortable and more materially abundant than

Heungnam Prison.  Every object belongs to Heaven.  We are

only its stewards.

 

 

(CHAPTER SEVEN)

Happiness Is

a Life Lived for Others

 

(Page 335)

 

Children are born

from the flesh and blood of their parents.  Without

parents there would be no children.  Yet people in this

world shout out for individualism as though they came into

the world on their own.  Only the person who receives no

help from anyone whatsoever has the right to speak

of individualism.  There is nothing in this world that

comes into being for its own sake alone.  All created

beings are created for one another.  I exist for you and

you exist for me.

 

There is no one as foolish as the foolish person who lives

for his own sake.  It may appear that a selfish life

benefits the individual, but ultimately it is a life of

self-destruction.  The individual must live for the

family, the family for the people, the people for the

world, and the world for God.

 

All the schools I have founded have three mottos.

The first is "Live a life that casts no shadows, as if you

were under the sun at high noon."  A life without shadows

is a life with a clear conscience.

 

When we finish our life here on earth and go to the spirit

world, our entire life will unfold before us, as though

it were being played back on videotape.  Whether we go

to heaven or to hell is determined by how we live.  So we

need to live spotlessly clean lives, casting not even

the smallest shadow.

 

(Page 336)

 

The second motto is "Live shedding sweat for earth, tears

for man and blood for heaven."  There are no lies in

the blood, sweat and tears that people shed.  There is

only truth.  There is no great meaning or value, however,

in the blood, sweat and tears that a person sheds only

for his own sake.

This great investment must be shed for the sake of others.

 

The final motto is "One Family under God!"  There is only

one God, and all human beings are brothers and sisters.

Differences of language, race and culture account for less

than one percent.  As human beings we are more than

ninety-nine percent the same.

 

There are fourteen island counties in the South Pacific.

When I visited the Marshall Islands, I asked

its president, "This is a beautiful land, but it must

still be difficult to lead this country, isn't it?"

 

The president sighed and replied, "Our population is just

sixty thousand and the land is just two meters above

sea level on average.  So high waves or

a rise in sea levels of just one meter would flood much

of the country.  But our most serious problem is

education.  Children of rich families go to America

or Europe to beeducated and do not return.

Children of poor families have no schools from which to

receive a good education, so even the brightest child

cannot be trained properly for leadership.  The concern

for an island country such as ours is that we are unable

to raise up leaders who will lead us in the future."

 

After hearing this lament, I established

the High School of the Pacific in Kona, Hawaii, for the

sake of the children of these island countries.  This

school provides secondary education to children from

countries throughout the Pacific and helps them apply

to college.  We provided round-trip airfare to Hawaii,

tuition, board and even computers so that they can

receive the best education.  We attached just one

condition to receive this education:  Once they finish,

they must return to their countries and work in

the service of their nation and its people.

 

Living for the sake of others

requires sacrifices from time to time.  Some years ago

one of our church missionaries was touring South America

when the place he was visiting was hit by a major

earthquake.  His wife came running to me with her face

as white as a sheet.  "What should I do?"  she asked

with tears in her eyes.  "I am so worried.  I don't know

what to do."

 

You might be surprised by my response. 

Instead of patting her on the shoulder and comforting her,

I shouted at her, "Are you most worried about your

husband's safety?  Or are you worried about how many lives

he may be able to save in that disaster area?"

 

It was natural for her to be concerned for her husband's

safety.  But because she was the wife of a missionary, her

concerns should have been of a higher order.  Rather than

only pray for her husband's safety, she should have prayed

that her husband could save as many lives as possible.

 

Nothing exists for its own sake.  That is not how God

created the world.   Man exists for the sake of woman, and

women exist for the sake of man.  Nature exists for the 

sake of humanity, and humanity exists for the sake of

nature.  All created beings in this world exist for the

sake of their counterparts.  It is an axiom of Heaven that

every being lives for the sake of its partner.

 

Happiness is possible only in relationship with a partner.

Imagine that some fellow who has lived his life as

a singer goes to an uninhabited island and sings as loudly

as possible.  If there is no one there to hear him,

he will not be happy.

 

(Page 338)

 

To realize that we exist for the sake of others is

the great achievement that changes our lives.  When we

realize that our life is not ours alone but is meant to

be for the sake of the other, we begin to follow a path

different from the one we were on.

 

Just as singing to yourself will not make you happy,

there is no joy without a partner.  Even the smallest

and most trivial thing can bring you happiness when you

do it for another.

 

 

(CHAPTER EIGHT)

Dreaming of

a Peaceful World

 

(Page 339)

 

For years I have called for a world where all religions

live together as one, all races live as one, all nations

live as one.

Yet for thousands of years history has seen the continuous

increase of divisions.  Each time a different religion

was adopted or a new regime came into power, more

boudaries were drawn and wars were fought.  Now, however,

we live in an age of globalism.  For the sake of the

future we must become one.

 

One way I purpose to facilitate that is through

the International Peace Highway, a huge undertaking. 

It will link Korea and Japan by an undersea tunnel

and create a bridge or tunnel across the Bering Strait

that separates Russia and North America. 

These great links can unify the world.  When the highway

is completed, it will be possible to travel by car from

Africa's Cape of Good Hope to Sandiego, Chili, and from

London to New York.  There will be no roadblocks;

the entire world will be interconnected like the way

the blood vessels function in the body.

 

The world will become one integrated community, and

everyone will be able to travel freely across

international borders.  Borders that give free passage

to anyone will lose their significance as borders. 

Something similar will be true for religion. 

As the frequency of exchanges among religions increases,

greater mutual understanding will arise, conflict will

disappear, and the walls of separation will crumble.

 

(Page 340)

 

When different types of people live together in a single

global community, barriers between races will come down.

Interaction between races will occur despite differences

in appearance and language.  This culural revolution will

bring the world into one.

 

The ancient Silk Road was not simply a trade route that

people used in order to sell silk and buy spices.  It was

also a vehicle for the peoples of the East and West

to meet and for Buddhism, Islam ad Christianity to meet. 

These different cultures intermingled and gave rise to

a new culture.  The International Peace Highway will

play a similar role in the twenty-first century.

 

Rome could thrive because all roads led to Rome. 

This is a good illustration of the importance of roads. 

When a road is built, people use it to travel.  It is used

to transport culture and ideology.  That is why when

a road is built it can change the course of history. 

When the International Peace Highway is completed,

the world can be physically bound together as one. 

The road will make this possible.

 

I cannot overemphasize the importance of bringing

the world together.

Some may think that this is an idea ahead of its time.

Religious people, however,

foresee the future and prepare for it.  So it is only

natural that we are ahead of our time.  The world may not

uderstand this and may cause us to suffer, but religious

believers must persevere to lead the way of the future.

 

Completing the International Peace Highway will require

the cooperation of many nations.  China which was a victim

of Japanese agression, may not welcome the idea of being

connected to Japan by a highway.  Japan and Korea,

however, cannot connect to the rest of the world

without going through China, so we need to make efforts

to win China's trust.

 

Who will do this?  Those who will take spiritual ownership

over the International Peace Highway in the twenty-first

century need to take the lead in this effort.

 

How about bridging the Bering Strait? 

It will cost a great deal, but this should not

cause concern.  The amount of money that the United States

has spent in Iraq would be more than enough to build

such a bridge.  We must stop waging war and forcing people

to suffer.  It is perverse to start wars and squander

hundreds of billions of dollars.  The time has come

for us to beat our swords into plowshares and our spears

into pruning hooks.

 

The International Peace Highway

is a project to bring the world together as one. 

To become one means more than simply connecting continents

by tunnels and bridges.  It refers to an equalization

of the world's standards of living. 

When someone monopolizes a technology and keeps the profit

for himself, the balance of the world is upset.

 

The International Peace Highway will rearrange the current

inequality by creating access to existing natural

and human resources.  This will bring about a leveling

of wealth.  Leveling means that a little is taken off

places that are high and added to places that are low. 

As a result, the two have the same height.  This will

require sacrifice from those with greater material

possessions or knowledge.  Building a world of peace

cannot be done with onetime charitable acts or donations. 

Only sincere love and continuous sacrifice is capable

of creating a world of peace.  We must be willing

to offer everything.

 

Building the International Peace Highway does more

than just provide the world with a physical means

of communication.  Human beings are created so that

their mind and body become one.  Something similar is true

for the world we live in.  The world can be completely

unified only when there is both physical communication

and communication of heart.

 

(Page 342)

 

For this reason, I have been working for the reform

and renewal of the United Nations for many years. 

Of course, the United Nations has done much

for the world.  All Koreans are grateful for its efforts

in preserving our freedom during the Korean War.  However,

today, more than sixty years after its founding, it seems

to be losing sight of its original purpose

and is in danger of becoming an organization that

works for the interests of a few powerful countries.

 

In 2005, I founded the Universal Peace Federation

in New York and immediately afterwards embarked on

a world tour to a hundred cities to deliver

a peace message about a new future for the United Nations

and the world.  The United Nations was created to solve

the conflicts that arise in the world, so it must

put the world's interests before the interests of

one side or the other.  It only leads to further conflict

when a powerful country insists on its own way

and uses force to pursue it. 

Unfortunately, the United Nations today is unable

to do much about such situations.

 

In this light, I have proposed a restructuring

of the United Nations as a bicameral institution. 

In addition to the General Assembly there should be

a religious, or cultural, assembly or council. 

This body would consist of respected spiritual leaders

in fields such as religion, culture and education. 

The members of this interreligious assembly would need

to demonstrate an ability to transcend the limited

interests of particular religions and cultures and

to speak for the spiritual and moral purposes of all

humanity.  I maintain that the two chambers,

working together in mutual respect and coooperation,

will be able to make great advances in ushering in

a world of peace.

 

(Page 343)

 

Some may oppose this, saying, "Why should religious people

become involved in world affairs?"  My answer is that

the world today is in a period when the participation

of religious people is crucial.  Those who have achieved

deep self awareness through religious practice are needed

now more than ever.

 

It is only truly religious people who can stand up

to the righteousness and evil of the world

and practice true love.  It is only when the knowledge

and experience of political leaders are combined with

the wisdom of interreligious leaders that the world

will be able to find the path to true peace.

 

Each day, I set out on my path with renewed determination

to achieve that goal.  My prayer is that every person

on earth will be reborn as a peace-loving global citizen,

transcending barriers of religion, ideology and race.

           


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