ORDER NUMBER
84-07-01
REVEREND SUN MYUNG MOON
SPEAKS ON
TRUE WAY OF LIFE
July 1, 1984
Belvedere
Translator - Bo Hi Pak
Today I want to speak about the true way of life for every human
being. Let's think for a moment about the word "true" and
what it means. Does "true" have a particular shape, such as
round or square? What is the definition of "true"? What is
the standard from which we can draw that definition?
Let's take the example of a true man. What is a true man? He must
have eyes, a nose, a mouth and so forth - so he is not different from
ordinary men in that respect. What makes a man a true man? Do you
think that quality is a limited capacity or is it universal? That
which is true must be measured against everything in the universe;
without any limitation, it must be true.
The mathematician always searches for a formula, a small thing
which can be universally applied. But if the formula becomes distorted,
it cannot be used to measure other things. Without that formula as the
scale, there can be no way to measure the true value of other things.
There are different systems of measurement, such as the metric system
which is based upon the number ten. There is also the system of time
measurement, which is divided into twelves-twelve hours of the morning
and night; twelve months of the year, and so forth. Within those
systems, the basic measurements must be correct or the rest of the
system will be incorrect. Unless that basic unit or formula is correct,
then nothing else can be quantified or measured properly.
Human society is no exception to this rule. We must have a unit of
measurement, that of the true man, by which we can measure all people.
The physical life of human beings requires being born through a certain
biological process from the mother's womb, and that cannot be
violated. It is the law of existence. By the same token, there are
certain spiritual laws or formulas that must be followed in order to
live properly and avoid catastrophe.
All of human life comes under law. In the earliest, embryonic
stages of life, we are guided by certain natural laws. While we live on
the earth, we are under certain laws and when we go to the spiritual
world, we are under certain laws. These natural laws are not limited by
any person's language, culture, or nationality; every person must
follow them. For example, every unborn child must be guided by natural
laws in order to develop and be born; otherwise, it will be stillborn.
These are the kinds of laws that all mankind has in common.
Westerners and Orientals are just the same in respect to these laws.
But there are certain areas of differences among people and an example
is our eating habits. In the Western world, you have the custom of
using a lot of utensils to eat with-you must have your fork, your
spoon, and your knife. In fact, you have several different forks and
spoons of various sizes. But consider the
Japanese, all they need are two wooden sticks. The specific methods
by which people eat may be different, but the fact remains that all
human beings have to gain nourishment by taking in food through the
mouth. Everyone has that in common.
Furthermore, all people need to be able to use their arms and hands
to lift their food to their mouth, then swallow it and have it go down
into their stomach. That is universal. So it doesn't really make any
difference whether one uses chopsticks or a fork or even two fingers.
You must get that nourishment into your mouth; that is the important
thing. It doesn't really matter if you are fed by your mother or
whether you lift the food to your mouth with your foot. The important
principle is that you have to take the food in your mouth-not in your
ears or your eyes-and then it must go down to your stomach.
Imagine if your hand did its work to bring the food to your mouth
but your mouth refused to work and went on strike! Because it is
universal that the mouth must take in food, whenever food gets near the
mouth, it naturally and automatically opens up to welcome it. Once food
goes into the mouth, you don't have to think about it or issue a
special order; the mouth just automatically starts to work.
Everything in the universe cooperates with the common, universal
truth. There are many different ways in which people dress, but we all
have one thing in common-we all wear clothes for the protection of our
bodies. Clothing helps us to maintain our body temperature. It doesn't
matter whether we are wearing beautiful, expensive clothing or cheap
and unattractive clothing, since all clothing serves that one common
purpose. Many people like to dress up and be boastful about their
beautiful fine clothing, but that is actually a very trivial thing. As
long as one's clothes fulfill their basic purpose of protecting the
body, there is not much real difference between people's clothing.
What is the common truth of the eye? The eye is supposed to
perceive the world; its purpose is to provide you with vision. The
human eye is prepared to provide a certain kind of vision. It cannot
see things that are microscopic, such as viruses and germs. It sees
things in our environment such as the things of nature.
There are doctors who specialize in the treatment of specific parts
of the body, such as eye, ear, nose and throat doctors. They work to
help those organs of the body to function and fulfill their common
purpose. The doctor tries to restore the function of those organs to
the level which the organ was created to provide. That organ is
supposed to provide a certain quality of vision, hearing, or sense of
smell, and so forth.
The creation of the universe started from the smallest level. At
that level, the common law and purpose were fulfilled. Things came
together and fulfilled a greater purpose, then they came together and
fulfilled a greater purpose according to a greater formula. Ultimately
the universe itself was created.
This morning all of you look healthy and your bodies seem to be
functioning normally. Even though you are sitting here quietly and just
listening, there are more than four trillion cells inside your body
working very hard at this moment in order to maintain your peaceful,
healthy situation. There are all sorts of things going on inside of you
at this very minute-certain actions of repulsion, actions of taking in
and giving out, and many others. Your cells are working very hard to
keep you in balance, but sometimes that balance is lost. At that point,
you will start to feel some pain; suddenly you won't feel normal.
In order to maintain your good health, universal laws are in action
within your body at all times. This is true today; tomorrow, ten years
from now, and so forth. If we expanded the distance between each cell
to kilometers, the human body would be incredibly gigantic. The body
is a small universe, but if it were expanded, it would become a giant
universe. Maintaining your normal functions of walking, laughing,
eating, and so forth requires an enormous amount of effort on the part
of your body. To maintain the proper law and order, your body must
maintain the strictest discipline. It can never operate randomly or by
accident.
Each cell is like an independent entity, with the ability to
perceive its surroundings. As an independent entity, where does a cell
want to go and what does it want to do? It naturally seeks to go to the
place where it is comfortable and can feel good. Imagine that a cell
had the opportunity to choose between two paths. The first path is to
climb a big hill, while the second path is to go across a flat plain,
which is an easy and comfortable way. Your cells function just as you
do. You would not voluntarily go the difficult, painful way unless it
was absolutely necessary. You don't willingly walk into a stone wall
and neither would a cell.
Where do you think a small cell would prefer to be? Would it prefer
to establish itself in one spot and just stay there, all alone and
stationary? Or wouldn't it want to travel all around the body, back and
forth, making relationship with the other parts of the body? Why would
it prefer the second way? It is because each cell is like you: a human
being naturally wants to move and travel; nobody wants to stay in one
small place.
This is the general tendency of the tiny cell as well as each human
being; they want to experience the good, rewarding and comfortable way
of life. How can we relate to our environment in such a way as to
derive more meaning and joy from it? Why do we want to live in such a
way? Is it your purpose to diminish yourself or to increase yourself?
Everything you do is designed to increase and improve your life.
Do you prefer to take a long time and go slowly toward your goal,
or do you want to get there quickly? Certainly, you want to get there
quickly. Why is that? Imagine that you were a propeller with a central
axis. When you turn fast, the law of acceleration allows you to move
ahead faster. When you are turning fast, you can control yourself
better and achieve more. Therefore we go after fast movement; we
naturally want to go faster and faster because we can cover greater
distances in shorter time.
Faster movement eliminates resistance and therefore you can achieve
greater results. When you move really fast, you go into the realm of
timelessness; eternity begins when you are moving that fast. If one
little cell tries to move very fast, it can bump into a lot of
different things. Imagine four trillion cells trying to move around at
such a speed! If the cells were trying to move like that, you would
feel all sorts of commotion inside your body! Your ears would be
hearing inner sirens, signals of traffic accidents! Therefore in order
to avoid that kind of catastrophe, the cells follow certain laws and
procedures.
According to the law, the cells can move in certain ways and not in
others. This law guides the whole universe, as well. In the Unification
Church we use the terminology "individual truth body."
Perhaps that sounds awkward, but it is precise. It is difficult for you
Westerners to understand what I am trying to express with such
terminology.
All the way down to the smallest entity such as the cell,
everything has its own distinct, individual character. It naturally
expresses itself in its own unique way. The position of an entity will
vary, such as being in an upper or lower position. For example from the
point of view of the west, when you are facing the west, you are facing
the front; but when you turn around and face the east, you are facing
the back. Thus your direction changes but the distinct and unique
character of your body doesn't change.
Each cell has a distinctive law to follow. If it doesn't, it will
cause destruction. By the same token, someone such as Chun Sook Kwak,
the third daughter of Reverend Kwak, has her own position within her
family. She can never be the eldest daughter or the youngest; she is
always the third. Her position and the love she has received is unique;
it cannot be duplicated by any other daughter. She simply has the
characteristics of Chun Sook. These include being charming and serene.
She cannot try to take other positions as well, such as her eldest
sister's, her dad's or her mother's. That would mean that she would
lose herself by being so greedy.
If anyone tries to distort his position within his family and tries
to be father, mother and siblings, then he will bring destruction and
chaos to that family. Anything in the universe which tries to operate
with a self-centered motivation will be repelled by everything else. Do
you think of yourself as a part of the four-billion-member human race,
or do you consider yourself outside of it? What do you think would
happen if four billion people determined to live just for themselves?
Would it even be possible? Each individual within the human race exists
to serve others. That is the only way people can coexist.
Therefore, individuals come together to form families; families
come together into societies; societies come together to form nations;
nations form the world; and the world is a part of the universe. There
are certain differences in our world today. Cultural and environmental
backgrounds are different. Therefore, it is only when all people come
under a common formula and law that we can survive. Our methodology may
be different, but we must all serve one common purpose.
For an individual to survive among all different people, what sort
of demeanor should he have? If that person has a belligerent manner,
fighting with everyone and knocking them down, would that be
successful? Or wouldn't he prefer to find a way to be welcomed by
everyone wherever he went? Why is the welcoming way the better way?
When you are constantly struggling for your own way, you will lose all
your energy. But when you are welcomed and live in harmony with your
environment, you can easily make progress and move further. You even
gain greater energy.
Therefore, the cardinal rule is this: any movement that is
self-centered will always be resisted, while any movement that is
selfless and for the sake of others will always be welcomed. We must
ask ourselves how we can go everywhere and be welcomed. How can you go
to the level of the family and have them open their door to you? How
can you have the society open their doors to you? How can you have the
nation, world, and universe welcome you? What is the necessary method
by which you will be welcomed, all the way up to God? It is the
selfless way of life. You must exist for the sake of others. That is
why selflessness is the most fundamental teaching of the Unification
Church.
As you serve others, you will become the central person, the
responsible person. The more you aspire to live for the sake of others,
the more central you become to them.
The same principle applies in your school. Suppose you have a very
harsh teacher. If you continuously serve others with a kind
disposition, when you come to that harsh teacher's door, you will be
welcomed inside. Among your brothers and sisters, those who are the
most serving and giving will be the ones who are the most liked. Among
acquaintances, there may be selfish ones and unselfish ones. When the
unselfish one comes in, other people are always glad to see him.
If Reverend Moon had come to America and declared, "I am here
to gain things for myself," every door in this country would be
closed to him today. But even though the government is now rejecting
Reverend Moon, many other doors are opening to him. Why is that? This
is happening because I have been following the principle of a selfless
way of life. For that reason, although people persecute me out of
ignorance, they will eventually come to realize who I am and will
appreciate me.
Universal law is not on the side of the government; it is on the
side of Reverend Moon. So when Reverend Moon follows that law
scrupulously to the end he will be the winner, not the U.S.
government. In this crowded world, the only way to live your life
successfully is to live it for the sake of others.
Imagine that Jesus, Buddha, Confucius, Mohammed and even God
Himself came here to Belvedere to listen to Reverend Moon. When they
heard my words, do you think they would shake their heads in
disagreement or would they say, "Yes, Reverend Moon, you are
absolutely right."? They would agree because I am speaking of
universal law. This is the true, universal way of life.
In any family, the person who gives the most for the others will
become that family's central figure. Generally speaking, the parents
are the central figures within a home because they are the ones who
unselfishly love the children and work for their sake. The patriot who
gives himself for the sake of the country is in the same position. The
longer that sort of person lives, the more he is admired for his
patriotism. What is a saint? A saint is a person who lives selflessly
for the sake of the rest of the world-for humanity as well as for all
creation. This is the criterion for sainthood and no one can deny it.
What about the one who created the universe according to this
principle? God is the being who wants to live a selfless life for the
sake of His creation and for the sake of His children, human beings.
What must a person do in order to meet with God? Can you think,
"God is the king of knowledge, so I will gain all the knowledge of
the world in order to meet with Him."? That won't enable you to
meet God. Nor can you garner a lot of power and then meet with Him. Can
you gain a lot of money and then go before God? No, the only way you
can meet God is by following in His footsteps and living His way of
life. God is not looking for people who have a lot of money, knowledge
or power. Those are trivial things in His eyes.
Some Unification Church members feel, "I graduated from the
seminary and I got my MA and even my PhD., so l am entitled to a lot of
respect in the Church now." But you will not be respected
according to those qualifications. The only way you will gain respect
in the Church is by following in my footsteps, living my way of life.
The key phrase is "for the sake of others." Thus whenever
you speak of a true friend, that is a person who lives for the sake of
others. True parents or a true brother or sister are those who live for
the sake of others. A true sovereign is one who lives for the sake of
others. On every level of human society, the standard for
"trueness" is whether a person lives for the sake of others.
Do you agree with this? Are you sure that this is the truth? Are you
speaking automatically, or have you thought about this many times in
order to say yes?
The truth is an automatic response. For instance, when food is
placed in the mouth, the mouth automatically starts to chew. When the
food goes down to the stomach, the stomach automatically works to
digest it. Even this giant country of America operates according to the
same principle. Anybody who strives to serve this country will be
automatically welcomed by others. However, as soon as the people of
this country see some greedy person trying to take things away from
them, they will close their doors. That is the Principle.
Anybody who tries to live solely for his or her own sake will
eventually become the child of Satan. A person who lives that way in
his home will end up in a hellish situation. But anybody who lives for
the sake of others can be labeled a true person. This is a universal
principle and there is no exception to it. There is no exception for
me or for Mother or for the True Children; there is no exception for
anybody in the world.
Let's suppose that you are very hungry and you are passing through
a grocery store. You might think, "There is plenty of food here,
so why can't I just steal some for myself? I'm so hungry!"
Actually, this is the communist way of thinking. Why is this so wrong?
It is because the sole motivation is oneself-"I am hungry. I need
food. I don't care about anybody else, as long as I am satisfied."
However, there is a better way. If you are very hungry and you have
no money, you can go to the owner of the grocery store and with a
respectful, considerate attitude ask, "Could you spare a little
food for me, because I am very hungry?" When that person gives you
his food, that is perfectly all right. You respected the other person
and he was able to freely choose to give you his food. Therefore, that
person is doing something for someone else. You engendered that kind of
action so there is nothing wrong with that. This is the reason we
should be law-abiding citizens and respect the laws of our society.
Social laws are set up to respect and conform to the universal law.
Suppose there is a man who yearns to go to heaven. He might pray
earnestly every day, "God, give me that great blessing of going to
heaven. Also, my children are good, so please give them some
blessings. Also, please give me some money." His attitude is
"God, give me this and that," all the time. When that man's
prayer time comes, God will just plug His ears! That kind of prayer is
not pleasing to God.
When you pray, pray for the sake of your mission and your work.
Ask, "God, I am eager to give everything necessary for the sake of
this world and this society, but I am limited and not able to do
everything that needs to be done. Can You please help me to do my job
to serve this world?" That kind of prayer will bring God to
tears.
Put yourself in the position of God. You have to listen to all
kinds of prayers all the time. Which kind of prayer would you like to
hear? If you have a friend who is always asking you for
favors-"Hey, loan me a dime, will you?" "Give me a
pencil, will you?" "Can I have some of your food?" You
might not mind the first, second, or third time that happens, but
finally you will feel like saying, "Get out of my sight! Don't
even come near me!" You certainly won't welcome him after a
while.
All of you children of blessed couples who are here for the
workshop, please listen to my message today. If you ever have the
attitude that you are someone special or think, "My mom and dad
are a 36-couple so I am in a privileged position:' you will be heading
down into the pits of hell! What is a 36-blessed couple? They are the
first offering to God so they are the ones who are in the position to
give themselves up totally to God, saying, "God, please use us as
Your sacrifice."
Before the 36-blessed couples can love their own children, they
must go out and love the Cain world, the Cain children. When they go
against that principle, regardless whether they are 36-couples or
whoever they are, they will crumble. Do you think that is correct? So
you blessed children, unless you are going this God centered way of
life, don't expect a good blessing.
If anyone thinks, "The Unification Church principle of living
for the sake of others is not realistic. I'm not going to bother to do
it," then you are very wrong. Do you think I am right for teaching
this or are those who disagree right?
The purpose of the workshop for the blessed children is not to
treat them in a special way but to give them 21 days in order to
practice living for the sake of others. Hyo Jin has been given the
responsibility of leading this workshop and I am watching very closely
to see how he does. If he is going to succeed, it will only be by
serving the group lovingly and sacrificially. If he does, then
everybody will love, respect and follow him. But if he behaves in a
different way, then he will not be popular and he will not succeed.
This is the principle-when you serve for the sake of others, you
automatically become the subject and the responsible person. Do you
think that is right? I can bestow all kind of responsibilities on the
person who wants to live selflessly for the sake of others because I
can trust that he will do the right thing. I evaluate a person under
this microscope in order to determine how far a person will go-maybe
one day, one year, or for his entire life. The only criterion is this
principle.
Anybody who thinks of his own brother as less than himself and his
own family cannot pass the test. I recall one instance many years ago
in Korea when I asked one person to exchange his house with another
blessed couple but he said, "No, I don't want to." I haven't
forgotten that answer. From the American way of thinking, that is an
absolutely normal response. After all, you think, "How could
someone give up his house?" But in the Heavenly way, that is not
the normal response. How can the person who cannot love his own brother
more than his own house be worthy of God? That is the criterion.
If God ordered Reverend Moon, "Give up East Garden for someone
else," I would do it. I am not attached to the building or land
there. If God felt that someone else would serve a better purpose by
living at East Garden, then I would say, "All right. I'm all for
it."
This is the principle that will prevail for eternity. It will never
change. If I were living for my own sake, the smartest thing for me to
do at the time of the court indictment would have been to stay in
Korea. However, I came back to America knowing that God could use this
kind of tribulation to awaken America, particularly American
Christianity. Therefore, I put that purpose above my own comfort. What
is happening now? The American religious community is uniting around my
cause and the American people are uniting with me as well. Now the
truth is coming out and there are rallies being held all around the
country.
On June 26, I went to the hearing before the Senate subcommittee on
the Constitution and the truth was spoken clearly there. Now the world
can know who Reverend Moon is, why he came, and what his aspirations
are. People there were flabbergasted to realize that the image they had
of Reverend Moon was completely wrong. Instead of coming here to take
money away, Reverend Moon has been pouring his heart, sweat, tears, as
well as hundreds of millions of dollars into this country in order to
redeem it. Finally people are learning this fact.
When the American people finally come to realize the truth, they
will have to repent for their misunderstanding. Furthermore, in that
Senate hearing I stated that a certain memo was circulated within the
Justice Department directing the prosecution of Reverend Moon. I asked
the subcommittee chairman to find that document and allow the world to
see it because they have a right to know the truth.
There are a lot of long-time Unification Church members here from
Korea. There was never a single instance in which I became indebted to
them and for that reason I indeed became their central figure.
Nowadays, my own children have come to a new realization about me. They
have been somewhat empty-hearted in the past, thinking, "My Dad
and Mom are always taking care of the world and pay all their attention
to Church members. Why don't they care about me?" But lately they
have come to tell me, "Now we can understand better why you did
what you did. We see that you truly loved the world's children first,
before you loved us. We love you for that and you are great in our
eyes."
In order to become a true father and mother, Mother and I have been
living according to the Principle. Before we loved each other or before
we loved our own children, we had to love the world and be willing to
give up our very lives. This is now being understood by the East Garden
children. Ultimately, the Cain world will say, "Father and Mother,
you gave too much to us. Now we want to give something to the True
Children. We want you to be with them and do things for them."
If my way of life had not followed this principle and if the
Unification Church had not been guided by it, then we would have
diminished and would not have survived up till now. It is only because
of this principle that I have been able to prosper and continue this
far.
I have been well-protected because of this principle. Even though
there has been so much opposition and negativity, the universe has
protected me. If I go to prison, the same law will protect me. One
amazing fact is that those individuals who have tried to exterminate
Reverend Moon have been the ones destroyed instead. Reverend Moon, who
has constantly been the target, has been moving further and further
along the road of prosperity.
How could this be? What is my secret? My secret is my way of life,
this principle. Because of the way I live, I am protected by the
universe itself. Even if I go into prison, as long as you members know
that you must live for the sake of the nation and the world, our
movement will never diminish but will grow and prosper.
Can you love the world more than I have? Even if Reverend Moon
tells you, "No, you must not love the world," will you
continue to do it? You must say, "Father, no matter how many times
you say no, we say yes and we are going to live up to the
Principle." That is because the principle is the absolute truth,
and that way is the absolutely true way of life.
Do you want to become a central figure and subject? Be a big
person, like a giant tree whose branches extend far out. The huge tree
has to be able to accommodate everything, such as the insects and birds
coming to dwell within it. There are many worms among its roots. The
tree must let all those things live there, even though they may
sometimes have little fights among themselves. The big tree must
embrace all these things.
I am a mysterious person-even though I haven't gone to all the 120
missions around the world, I can close my eyes and pray and know what
is going on in specific countries in Africa, South America, Europe and
so forth. This is due to my spiritual perception, my special vision.
For that reason, I can handle the most important matter of your lives,
and that is your marriages.
You look at other people from a purely external viewpoint when you
are at the matching, but I can see the whole person. When I look at a
person's hands and feet, I can see a lot. A truly handsome man must
look good from the back as well as the front. I can see something
significant in the way a person walks. I rely upon my intuition that
enables me to see everything about each man and woman, like special
"X-ray eyes."
You believe that I have that ability, don't you, and you have
confidence that I am a champion at matching people? Is it easy to get
the autograph of a champion or a celebrity? No, it isn't. You know, I
could start a big business pretty soon! My reputation as an excellent
match-maker will grow and grow, and then everybody will want to come to
me and ask me to pick their spouse for them, whether they are a member
of the Unification Church or not.
Truthfully, if my goal were money-making, I would be able to find a
thousand different ways. I would never have to worry about money. But I
want each of you to learn how to be a giver, not a debtor, to others.
This is the true way of life-living for the sake of others.
When you live for the sake of others, you will become a person of
responsibility and a central figure to others. But that is not all
there is to it. The most important thing is that when you live for the
sake of others, you will find the fundamental energy of life within
you. Life and love come from that way of living.
Between husband and wife, true love comes only when each of you is
trying to serve the other. It can never come if you are trying to get
the other to serve you. This is very basic. When you are serving others
for their sake, you will find true love. Parents will have true
parental love when they are serving their children; brothers and
sisters will find true love when they are serving each other. It is
only within this way of life that eternity can be spoken about. That is
because you will receive more power of life and love and then you will
increase each day, becoming greater and greater.
This is why the universal teaching of all the major religions
throughout history has been to live for the sake of others,
sacrificially giving oneself. What is the Kingdom of Heaven? It is the
place where those people who lived their lives on earth for the sake of
others will go. The Unification Church is a powerful place, not in any
political sense, but because we practice this way of life and gain
tremendous life energy. Of course, the members of the Church are not
perfect but one thing is true: between the members and myself there is
a relationship based upon this principle. I want to love and serve the
members and the members want to love and serve the True Parents.
If you think I am comfortable living in East Garden, you are
wrong. Even from the secular point of view, I am miserable. Every day
I am bearing the cross within my heart. Whenever it is a rainy day, I
think about our members and think, "The MFT members must be
soaking wet today. God, be with them." When it is cold and
miserable, I think about our members living in Soviet satellite
countries, some imprisoned and even on the verge of being executed. All
of these thoughts are my constant burden.
Since I cannot deal physically with every member around the world,
Mother and I try to love and care for those leaders who come to East
Garden, as representatives of all the rest of the members. Mother may
buy them clothing or I may give them some gift. We want to serve the
members by serving their visiting leaders. Mother and I discuss this
often and we always have the criterion that we want to buy nicer things
for the Church members than for our own children.
Therefore, those who have been martyred in the Eastern satellite
countries have ended their lives shouting "Mansei" and facing
East Garden. They have not felt complaint or bitterness about losing
their lives. They have been victorious and grateful, even in dying.
Such people are a great pride to their ancestors and all their future
descendants.
Whenever you practice the way of life of serving others, you gain
greater life and love, enjoying growth and prosperity. Women were born
for the sake of men; men were born for the sake of women. There is no
such thing as just "me." Even when someone marries, he cannot
say it is just himself marrying-the universe itself is marrying.
The emotional feelings of teenagers are a universal reaction-it is
the universe feeling, rather than just yourself. For that reason, it is
most crucial that a young man and woman in their teens preserve the
purity of their minds and bodies. You women will be presented one day
to your God-given man and you men will be presented to your God-given
woman.
Within the most common home, in order to be loved by the parents,
you have to be able to appreciate what they are doing. When you can
appreciate them, you are in the position to receive their inheritance
and their love. Think of children throwing away things that the parents
cherish. Such children don't value the things that their parents
value.
The time of the teen years is the time in which a person can grow
into a common understanding of the parents' tradition and can inherit
that tradition. Your parents love your grandparents, so you love them
too. Your parents love their children and that is why you love your
brothers and sisters. Your parents love their relatives, such as your
uncles and aunts and so forth, so you love them too. Thus you are like
a mirror of your parents; you reflect what they do. What about the love
of God? Do you think this principle applies in that realm as well? Yes,
although the love of God is of a different quality and height, it is
still conveyed in this manner.
Within a kingdom, the subjects should inherit the tradition of
their king; whatever he loves, they should love too. When a woman
becomes the empress, she must be able to love whatever the emperor
loves. The same is true between husband and wife. If a man truly loves
his wife, he will love her tradition-the things she does, the things
she owns, the art and literature she appreciates and so forth. With
such love, the wife can trust her husband. On the other hand, if a
husband says, "I don't care about your interests and your hobbies,
but I love you," that kind of relationship won't work.
There is a pragmatic way of thinking among some Unification Church
members who are not yet married and are awaiting their matching. They
think, "When I see the suffering of the state leaders and the
missionaries and so on, I don't want to be married to one of them. I
would rather be the spouse of someone in business, someone who brings
home a salary!" However, that is a most external and materialistic
way of evaluating someone. The real question is, who is the one who is
really living for the sake of others? What is more valuable to you, in
the ultimate sense?
My thinking is very different from that pragmatic way. I think you
young women, particularly the children of blessed couples, ought to be
married to the front-line Church leaders. Some of the male blessed
children have been thinking about studying business or something that
can enable them to make money. But if you are thinking in that way, I
can tell you that you will be assigned to the exactly opposite mission
from what you have studied.
I want you to understand that Reverend Moon is not going to be
indebted to you or to anybody. Already I have established so many
things. Already there are many highly esteemed professional people who
are seeking out my guidance and trying to establish a relationship with
me.
I do not want to be in a position to be indebted to the blessed
children. I would like to train them and raise them up to a position
where they can be respected, productive, and honored by the tradition.
The person who just wants to be comfortable and take the easy way is
just one step away from hell. But the person who is willingly suffering
for the sake of his mission, for the sake of others, is moving right
into the Kingdom of Heaven.
There is a mysterious quality about the way I see people. The
person who is very close to God always seems to be very close to me,
even though he might be physically at a distance. But those people who
are really distant from God seem not to be in my presence, and I often
forget their names. Sometimes I will see someone whose name has been
familiar to me, perhaps on a daily basis, but all of a sudden I draw a
blank and can't think of his name. And when I look at his face, it
seems to be fuzzy, as if it were an unfocused image.
I am making effort more and more to cut down on my sensitivity,
because the more sensitive I am, the more clearly I can see someone and
therefore the more judgmental I can be. I do not want that, so I am
deliberately trying to cut back on my sensitivity: however, my nature
has that special quality.
You can recognize that I must have some sort of extraordinary
quality because without it I could never have survived the arduous path
I have gone through. In comparison to my path, becoming president of
the United States is very easy. Many American leaders think,
"Father, your way is not the right way here in America. If you are
going to succeed, you have to do things according to the American
way." You may think that my way is impossible here in America, but
the amazing thing is that God is making that "impossible" way
work.
At least one change has occurred among the American leadership. In
the beginning when I gave some direction, they would always offer their
critiques and their opinions about it. But they don't do that any more;
they know better. They don't have total acceptance yet, but at least
they think, "Let's wait and see." But still I am frustrated
because of that. Certainly, our way is not easy. It is like the North
and South poles trying to come together. It is an arduous, virtually
impossible task to bring together such incredibly opposite people but I
must do it.
It is only because of the Principle that we can do it. If you go
the way of the Principle, God will be opening up doors for you. But if
you just try to go your own way, although everything seems possible at
first, you will soon find every door blocked. You know that God exists,
don't you? What is it that belongs to God? The entire universe,
including all mankind. Nature is God's creation, so everything within
it has its own purpose; it is not up to mankind to determine whether or
not something is valuable. By the same token, every human being has a
purpose.
God loves every season-spring, summer, autumn and winter. He
doesn't like just one or two of them. Therefore, you have to be able to
love every season that God created. Look at the gigantic snowstorms
that come in winter and love them as another beautiful aspect of God's
creation. Love the special characteristics that God built into summer,
autumn and spring as well. Many people are frightened by thunderstorms
and hate them. But you should appreciate the fact that God is
displaying a dramatic aspect of His love through the thunder and
lightning. It is like the explosion of a man and woman coming together
in love.
When people are feeling very joyful, they will burst out laughing.
Another person might think, "Those people are crazy," because
his point of view is different. You must align your point of view with
God's point of view. Love nature. Love people. There are five different
skin colors because God does not want just one. He created every
different color.
Suppose all you white people were forced to wear only white
clothing and not allowed to wear different colors. Imagine that your
surroundings had to be totally white. You had to have white walls, a
white piano, and even your blackboard had to be a white board! It is
clear that white people use black. You need black. If God made such a
rule that white people had to use nothing but white coloring, they
would complain bitterly. "I would rather die than live in nothing
but whiteness!" That would mean that white people couldn't ever
have a night time, since night is black. This is the logical extension
of the "white supremacist" attitude. How long could someone
last with such "supremacy"?
When I came to America, I declared, "God is colorblind.
Everybody is equal and white supremacy is totally wrong." The
established white people in this country didn't like me. That doesn't
mean that I am promoting only the minority causes, although many
Hispanics, Blacks, Orientals and other minority groups feel that I am
their champion. You white-skinned, blue-eyed people have to be very
watchful because you are just like anybody else in the sight of God. He
does not grant any special favors.
If a racial war ever started on the earth, the white people would
be in the minority. Such a prospect would be very threatening because
all the white people could be exterminated. If you think that the
supremacy of white people and the sovereign, governing nations will
continue forever, you are wrong. God will raise up the people who love
Him to take power to govern the world. Those who live their lives for
the sake of others will eventually have the governing power of the
world.
God is the universal God and He loves every color of skin.
Furthermore, He not only loves the people of the contemporary world but
also the people of the past, as well as those who will come in the
future. He loves those people who are in Hell and He is devising a plan
of redemption for them.
We should live according to the truth and we should love others.
Without the fundamental way of living for the sake of others, we cannot
prosper. The person who lives the truth will become the subject, with
more power for life. Also, the subject must have the power of love. The
responsible leader and central figure must become the embodiment of
truth, life and love.
All these things can be summed up in one simple phrase: Live for
the sake of others. When you practice this way of life, you create
harmony. Without living your life for the sake of others, you will
never create circular motion in your life. Only a round circle can
continue for eternity. Once you become a ball of this sort, you can
harmonize with anything. Unless you love your parents, your
grandparents, your neighbor, your country and so forth, you will not be
able to relate yourself with God. When you have that kind of roundness,
you will fit in and harmonize wherever you go. You won't stick out like
a sore thumb.
You know that I give interesting and lively sermons, but I can also
listen to others very well. I can listen to anyone, even the eldest
grandmother, for hours and hours and never get tired of her. Sometimes
Mother can't understand why I do this and wonders what I could gain
from listening to someone telling the same story ten times. However, I
know that I can learn new things depending upon the feeling that comes
out each time. That's why everybody who knows me feels love for me.
They cannot find anyone to compare with me.
Growth comes through give and take. In order to breathe, you must
inhale and then exhale. You must repeat this same process over and over
again in order to maintain your life. This could be considered a
tedious thing, but it is necessary. Suppose you decided to stop being
tedious and just inhale a big breath and use only that for the rest of
the day. It certainly wouldn't work. Likewise, you have to repeat the
process of eating, usually three times a day, day after day. That is
what allows you to sustain and improve your life.
If you want to express true feelings toward someone, you must have
a truly sympathetic ear when you listen to him. One example of this was
during the early days of our Church in Korea. After founding the first
church in Pusan, I moved to Yongdo and dedicated a new church. All the
members of Yongdo were gathered after the dedication ceremony. I spent
that entire night in conversation with one of the eldest grandmothers
of the church, while other members waited outside. They were all
wondering why I was spending so much time with an old woman. But I told
them, "I served this old woman because she represents the entire
congregation."
In this respect, I am very different from ordinary religious
leaders. Normally when they go to some special ceremony, they will
seek out conversation with the most important persons there, such as
professors or prosperous businessmen who might contribute money. Even
if someone has traveled around the world as a distinguished ambassador,
meeting important people such as heads of state, I tell him, "Do
you want to join the Unification movement? Then you must come down to
the bottom." If I treat him the same way everyone else treats him,
he will think, "The Unification Church-so what? I'm at the top of
the world, so you must pay respect to me." However, that is not
the tradition of the Unification Church.
Do you think I am setting the right tradition? When the
missionaries and other Unification Church members come, I eagerly
invite them to East Garden to visit with me and Mother, feeding them
good food. Often Mother and I will take them out to buy clothes for
them. Why? From the worldly point of view, I am giving special
attention to people who are "nobodies" while virtually
ignoring the "somebodies." How do you think God feels about
that- is He pleased or displeased? This is exactly what the Bible
teaches. The person who tries to go up higher will be brought lower.
The one who tries to go lower will be brought up higher.
Our subject today is a very important one-the true way of life. Do
you understand what is that true way now? Based upon that truth, you
can gain greater life. But without love, there can be no harmony and
unity. Without the qualities of love, life and truth, you cannot become
a central figure or a responsible person. Where there is truth, there
is life and there is love. They all come together and multiply
themselves. When you practice living for the sake of others, you will
multiply your life energy, love energy and your truth energy.
Why would you want to become a subject? When you become a subject,
you are entitled to truth, life, and love. The same can be said of a
central figure and responsible person-you become entitled to more
truth, life and love energy. There is only one way of life by which
everything can be harmonized into action and that is by living for the
sake of others. You can only multiply, expand and grow from smaller
truth to larger truth, from smaller life to larger life, smaller love
to larger love, and so forth, by living for the sake of others.
Practice this and find out for yourself.
I came to this conclusion a long time ago and I have been
practicing this principle throughout my life. I found out that this is
the truth and have been telling the world about it. Everything you do,
therefore, should be derived from this principle. You should strive
always to take the initiative and do more than others. You should
spend your time effectively. Even when you go on a walk, you should
have a goal to walk a certain distance before you take a rest. You
should always be ahead of others.
When there is good food to eat, everybody wants to enjoy it and eat
a lot. In such a situation, I am always the first to lay down my fork.
This was true even when I was in prison. I practice this principle
wherever I go. When leaders come to East Garden to visit, I never tell
them, "Please go away because I need my rest." Instead they
are the ones who get tired and finally I pity them and let them go to
bed. Then I stay up later than anybody else. Even though I may go to
my room, I don't go to sleep.
This is sometimes very painful for Mother. Because my schedule is
so arduous, it is impossible for her to keep up with me. Mother spends
a lot of time alone, but she never complains because she knows what
kind of person I am. She is always proud of me and she always speaks
well of me. She has no complaint but rather gratitude and appreciation
and support. Mother knows one thing: I do what I do for the sake of
others and for the sake of God, not for myself.
Therefore, I do crazy things such as going out on rainy days like
this to work. Even in a storm, I will go up to the mountains. I always
ask, "Am I the first crazy person to come up to the top of the
mountain during such stormy weather?" And the angels tell me,
"Yes." I tell all the things of creation, "Today is a
very extraordinary day, so I want to bless all the creation-the rocks,
the mountain, the insects, trees, flowers." This is my unique
relationship with creation.
When a person climbs a mountain, normally he will feel very tired
and his feet will hurt. My feet cry out that they are tired, too, but I
yell back at them, "Rascals! You have to step forward another
step." And the feet and legs respond, "Yes Sir!" Always
there is one more step to take, no matter how tired I become. I never
quit. Will you also live that way of life? You may say you will do it,
but will you only do it for one day? When you say you will live such a
way, that means it is for eternity.
According to that principle, I want to ask you a question. Suppose
the most beautiful woman was matched to a very ugly man. That is the
most ideal way because that is the most serving way. Isn't that true?
When that beautiful woman loves her ugly husband as a representative of
the universe, you can know that God will give birth to the greatest men
and women through that lineage. Such men and women will lead the
world.
One example of this principle is Ye Jin's husband, Jin Whi. When I
gave the blessing to the 36 couples, Jin Whi's father at that time was
a very important Church leader, having been in the Church for several
years and having taught the Divine Principle every day. He was a great
lecturer. But Jin Whi's mother was very young in the Church-probably
only several months. So when I brought them together and introduced
them, Mr. Hong thought to himself, "She isn't such a good match.
After all, I am a three-year member and she is just like a green
onion. What does she know about the Church?" Mr. Hong wasn't so
happy.
Then I told them, "if you follow my advice, something good
will happen within your family." And they obeyed. They had
children and what happened? Not just one but two of their children were
joined with the family of the True Parents. That is something that a
person would not even imagine happening, so my prediction was correct.
Many times in the past I matched people totally contrary to their
tastes. They said, "Father, what are you doing to me? How can I
live with that person?" They felt they would grieve to death but
they grudgingly obeyed my direction. And what happened? Now they all
recognize the wisdom of my choice and they all say, "Thank you,
Father. We couldn't be better matched. We couldn't have better
children." Several couples were like that in the 36 couples.
You may think you can judge who would be a good husband or wife,
but that is only according to your own criterion. What guarantee can
you have that your own wishes are going to succeed? However, I can give
you a guarantee. In many cases, I matched people knowing that they
would have great children. I knew that God's reward would come to that
family, perhaps not immediately, perhaps it would be three generations
in the future. But the president of the United States, or some great
leader will come out of them. However, because of their own disliking,
many have departed from their matches and destroyed them. What will
happen? You will eventually learn when you go to spirit world what a
mistake you made. You will have intense regret at that time.
For whom do you marry? You men marry for the sake of your wives and
you women marry for the sake of your husbands. You must think,
"Without me, my husband would be a bachelor! He would never have
had children. Thus I marry for his sake." And the reverse is
true. You must love each other-give your love for the sake of your
spouse and for the sake of all your posterity for generations to come.
That is the selfless purpose of marriage. You must not marry for the
goal of receiving love. That is the wrong attitude. Too often, women
seek marriage in order to be taken care of by a man. But you should
marry because you want to give your love, not to receive love from
others.
All the features of your body are for the purpose of giving love
and giving birth to new generations, not for your own sake. You women
have beautiful bosoms, not for your own sake but for the sake of
others, for the sake of your husband. Your curved hips and figures are
not for your own sake but so that you can deliver a healthy baby. The
body of a woman is like a container.
You do not truly belong to yourself but rather to your parents. It
was they who brought you into this world. But why did your parents
produce you? It is because of love and in order to expand the world of
love. That is the reason why children are born. You must marry not to
receive love but to give love.
When you marry, you are like a foreigner coming into a new family.
All kinds of persecution may come to you from your rascally brothers
and sisters-in-law, but you must persevere. That will polish you into a
shinier diamond, make you a better person. As a child, sometimes you
may have been spanked by your own parents or given a hard time by your
brothers and sisters. This is good training for the day when you are
married and joined to another family.
Perhaps a girl may have a particularly mean brother who always
tries to tease her and make her miserable. He might even go into her
room and mess everything up, like a hurricane. Instead of screaming and
getting upset, the sister ought to think, "I can look on this as
training from God. Thank you, my nasty brother. If I have a nasty
husband in the future, I will be prepared."
A lot of American husbands are under the tight iron fist of their
wives. They have to go to their wives and say, "Darling, can I
have five dollars and bus fare, please?" But that's not my way.
There are things within the men's world that the women's world does
not have and that creates balance. Thus the family is the training
ground for good husbands and wives. The parents have to be stern and in
control. Particularly the father has to be stern. If you are not sure
that your sons and daughters are ready to serve totally for the sake of
a husband or wife, then they are not ready for marriage, so don't let
them do it.
When the character of young men and women is strong, you can be
sure that you will have a booming family, society and nation. If this
is not the truth, then everything I have said is a lie. For the love
of all the things that God created, you can go out and do fundraising.
You are restoring material wealth to God. You go out witnessing and
show your love for people. These are sacrificial things to do. When you
live such a way of life for ten or twenty years, you too will become
the kind of person that I am. You can go anywhere and you will be able
to see things very clearly.
That is why I could come to this foreign country by myself and take
on a subjective role. I have not been passive to anyone but rather have
been leading others here. I have been training more young people to be
like me. You men and women tell me, are you guided by my teachings? Can
you absorb and imitate my way into your own life? Even if you give up
and leave the Church, you will not be able to eliminate the truth of
the Principle from your mind and heart. You will never be able to
forget the things you have learned from me. You may think you will be
comfortable in the secular world, but you will find contradiction
within you.
It is because I am a tough leader that the Unification Church has
moved up in such a short time to the worldwide level. Otherwise, it
would have taken a millennium. Within the last six months, I have been
able to virtually turn around American public opinion. To grow quickly
you have to move quickly and decisively.
In the common way of looking at it, when a person receives a score
of 100, he has a perfect mark. But in God's world, we always add one
more. The person who gets the mark of 101 is the one who becomes the
central figure, the subject, and the responsible person. Thus you must
always add one more to everything.
If you are living with ten people, do everything that the other ten
do but then add one more. Let's say that the Unification Church had
1,000 members. We all live and follow the same pattern, doing the same
sacrificial things. But you should try to do one more thing on top of
everything else. Even now I am adding one more, although I am at the
top of the worldwide leadership. Mother follows me absolutely as the
leader. I have the attitude that I want to do at least one more thing
than any president of the United States.
There are many people who are fighting against communism around the
world, but I do not follow them. Instead, I am doing one more thing,
something they don't do. Looking at the two thousand years of the
Christian tradition, I have done all of that, plus one more.
The Lord will come in a different way from what people are
expecting. Many say that the Lord will come on the clouds of heaven,
but they cannot explain how. I am saying that the Lord will come in the
flesh and I am giving logical explanations as to how and why. People
cannot fail to be convinced. It is inevitable that I have to become the
subject, the central figure, and the responsible leader.
Representatives from the entire religious community are uniting with
Reverend Moon now and speaking up for me, actively fighting for me.
Reverend Moon does not live for his own sake. I do not seek my own
glory. Rather, I want to accomplish my goal of unity of the world and
Christianity. In order to achieve this, we must use this principle. You
Moonies are welcomed by others because you practice this way of life of
service for the sake of others. Even if someone lives with you for ten
years, you must serve them and have the heart to continue for eleven
years. That is the way Moonies think. You know how you can survive and
go on forever. You know how to deal with the world and how to behave.
This way will bring you not only survival but also prosperity.
Become harmonious with your surroundings-north, south, east and
west, as well as up and down. There is only one way to do
that-according to the formula of living for the sake of others. This
formula alone will bring about that kind of harmony. Do you
understand?
Why do you live? This is a very simple question, yet throughout
history nobody has been able to answer it with a simple answer. Now I
am giving you the simple answer: you live for the sake of others. The
individual must live for the sake of the family; the family for the
tribe; the tribe for the society and nation; the nation for the world;
and the world for the universe and all ultimately for the sake of God.
God Himself is living for the sake of His children. Thus we create a
total circle and a balance. There can be no complaints within this
circle. God is not a plunderer. He is giving away everything He has.
The more He has, the more He gives. Thus nobody has any complaints
within that complete circle.
Everything comes to the center, where God is. Does the central
figure say, "I'm so glad everything is serving me. I won the
world!"? At that point, the center would be destroyed. The center
must receive and then give more. It must serve the whole, existing
selflessly for the sake of the world. When you are living for the sake
of others, you are constantly supplying their needs, giving away more
and more. When you do that, energy goes out from you, more energy is
created, and then you are automatically supplied with more. This is
like a low pressure area which is automatically filled up. You will
always be refilled when you empty yourself.
That means ultimately everything will come to you. Now, do you
understand this principle clearly? Do you young people understand me
clearly? You should be grateful to your parents. Your way of life must
be based upon gratitude. Be grateful to your parents, grateful to your
spouse, grateful to your children, because they provide you with the
opportunity to live this way of life. Have no complaints. After knowing
this truth, no one can complain. Complaint is the worst disease, like
cancer. Dwell always in gratitude and grace. That is the beautiful way
of life. After understanding this truth, no one can escape from this
way of life.
Even if I go to prison, you must continue to practice this
principle. Seek to love the world and mankind more than I do. If you
do more while I am gone than you did while I was present, the
Unification Church will never perish. Your parents will eventually pass
away-that is according to nature-but do not be consumed with grief.
Instead, determine to live more than ever in the tradition of your
parents, more than when they were living. The home of such a person
will thrive and prosper.
When the Unification Church members work harder in their leaders'
absence than in their presence, the Church will prosper. The true
leaders of the Unification Church are those who practice the Principle
to their bones-to the utmost level. Among several leaders, the one who
gives himself more for the sake of his mission, for the sake of the
world and for the Church is the truest leader. The most important
determination among people is not some external sort of Cain and Abel
position. Rather, the important characteristic of a person is if he
serves more than anybody else, if he truly wants to live for the sake
of others. The one who does that is Abel, regardless of anything else.
A leader is the one who works harder and practices this principle
more than others. Leadership does not mean receiving respect or
admiration; it means working harder.
You should make up your mind and say, "I know that I have been
trying up till now, but I haven't really been giving enough. Now that
I have listened to Father this morning, I want to move myself up to a
higher level in living for the sake of others." Do you say yes to
this? This is the true way of life and that is what will bring
prosperity. God bless you and thank you.