Chambumo Gyeong - 355. Life in Seodaemun Prison
In Seodaemun Prison, True Father was assigned number 390. Four disciples were imprisoned with him: Kim Won-pil, Eu Hyo-won, Eu Hyo-young and Eu Hyo-min. So many people visited Father in prison that it must have broken the record for the number of visitors. He encouraged all the church family members who visited him, telling them, "Do not waver." By his heart and way of life, Father earned the respect of the guards, the warden and the other inmates. 7 I was imprisoned in Seodaemun Prison in 1955. Many rumors were circulating about me as the leader of the Unification Church. So as I entered the prison in shackles, the manager of my cell block glared at me angrily and shouted that he would punish me. I said to myself, "Wait and see. Within one month, I will win you over."
In the beginning, I was watched and treated as if I were a monkey in a zoo. I thought, "Do as you please! Unlike you, I am not a good-for-nothing!" Within one week, I won the hearts of the guards. People began calling me "Teacher," even in the prison. When I was released, the warden of the prison came out and called me "Teacher Moon." (039-050, 1971/01/09) 8 When I entered Seodaemun Prison, the manager of my cell block belittled me. I was quite upset with his behavior, but I determined to win him over before my departure from the facility. A few days later when he came to my cell, I greeted him cheerfully, "Good morning!" Sometimes he silently walked by my cell, and I thought, "You are just passing by, but you will come back." Then, just as I expected, he actually did.
One day he came to me and told me that on a certain morning he was eating rice cakes, and one got stuck in his throat. Why do you think he choked? It was because his ancestors caused it to happen to him, knowing that if their descendant kept on mistreating me, they and that descendant would be in trouble. Not only that, he was eating the rice cake by himself, and his ancestors wanted him to change his ways. After I explained all this to him, his attitude changed. He started to call me "Teacher," and he also ran errands for me.
Even the warden came to respect me. On the day of my release, he brought me a cantaloupe, a watermelon, and other seasonal fruits. He shared personal stories with me that he had not revealed even to his own siblings. He testified about me to the prison officers and guards. Do you think he testified to me because I witnessed to him? I never witnessed to him directly, yet I knew how to witness to him. (033-267, 1970/08/16) 9 I know the yearning heart you had when you came to see me in Seodaemun Prison, as if nothing else in your fife mattered. History will remember your names. Someday in the future I will reward all the family members who came to visit me in prison. So treasure your visitor's pass and keep it safe. Any of you who has one should regard it as a family heirloom. And when you marry, keep it close to your bosom.
When I left the prison, all the guards and even the warden came to see me off. Some of those guards later joined the church. In this way, despite the enemies I faced, I pioneered the path of heaven. In order to become Abel, we must unite with God at all costs. Therefore, whatever the suffering on your path, you should never think that you are walking that path alone. God chooses as Abel those who will not rest until they win over those who accuse them.
True religions start from prison. A new history can begin from the worst place, if in that place you have more hope and a greater vision than anyone else. Then Satan's world cannot accuse you or interfere with you, even when you are later elevated or promoted. That is why in prison you can make a new start that connects you to a new world. In prison we can experience the heart of God and become one with Him. (034-050, 1970/08/29) 10 People wanted me to die or come to ruin, but I didn't. Why didn't I? I was insulted and isolated, but the more people cursed me and drove me into a corner, the more people shed tears for me and comforted me.
Our members fought for a place in line to visit me in prison. Visiting hours began at 8:00 a.m., but our members waited in line from 1:00 a.m. to get a pass. Seodaemun Prison had never seen such a thing in its history. Some people even waited in line more than 24 hours. (168-264, 1987/09/27) 11 When I first arrived at Seodaemun Prison, people disparaged me as "Moon of the Unification Church." It sounds odd, but in prison everyone thinks he is a prince. Everyone thinks he is better than the others. However, whenever inmates spoke to me in a derogatory way, I kept silent. From the first day, I did not say a thing. I could stay that way for one or two months. However, after one or two weeks, the inmates started to regard me with some kind of awe. When they woke up in the morning, they saw me praying. Who could stop me from praying?
One inmate was giving everyone a headache, and the other prisoners wished he would die. However, I took him under my wing and started speaking with him. People said that after I came to the prison, this troublesome man changed. When, after some time, that inmate no longer said anything to insult the other prisoners, the rumor started, "That troublemaker listens to Moon very well."
This happened because I try to have the heart that the president of Korea should have. My heart prompted me to live for the sake of all the prisoners. I believe that it is the right heart for a loyal citizen of this nation; it is the heart that all the people of Korea should have. So I prayed, shedding tears for that prisoner. In other words, my heart was the heart of an owner. That is why he bowed his head to me. It is heaven's principle that people bow their heads in front of a good person who takes responsibility for them. (024-041, 1969/06/22) 12 I can still picture the faces of those who tormented me when I was in Seodaemun Prison. Vicious rumors about me circulated inside the prison, but I did not say a word in response. Despite the negative environment, my cellmates came to like me very much. Also, I had many visitors. Some of those who came had bad intentions toward me. Aware of their intentions, I admonished them, "In the future, do not visit me with such a heart."
There was an inmate who used to be a pastor. He called me a heretic and an enemy, and angrily challenged me, shouting, "What you teach is no good!" But after hearing me, he came to see me on a regular basis and we became very close.
The rumors about me spread quickly, so much so that even the warden wanted to meet me in person. In the meantime, my disciples who were imprisoned with me served and attended me wholeheartedly. Then the people there started to say, "Many people insult and accuse Reverend Moon of the Unification Church, but he withstands it so well. Truly, he is an extraordinary person."
In this way, even though I was in the lowest place, I upheld my position as God's representative with integrity and authority. I had to, because there was no one else who could take my place. There is no one else, no matter how much worldly power he has, who can take over my responsibility before heaven. (021-160, 1968/11/17) 13 People looked at me with jaundiced eyes and said, "That guy Moon is no good." Yet I am not ashamed of anything in my past. The question is: Did others fabricate this image of me, or did I create it by my own deeds? It is either one or the other. If others fabricated it, it is their fault and they will perish, even as the one who is unjustly criticized will prosper. Evil perishes but good prospers. You will never perish when you stand in a position that is true, pure, and attested to by history.
When I was in handcuffs, Christian women passing by would look at me out of the corner of their eyes and grimace. I thought to myself, "Now your path seems holy, and this man whom you look upon seems miserable. But you cannot tell the outcome because you do not have the standard for comparing my situation with yours. When that is revealed, the judgment will come as to who is right and who is wrong." With these thoughts in my mind, I could come this far. (040-325, 1971/02/11) 14 1 should have been able to guide the Republic of Korea centering on the Unification Church, but instead I was put in prison. Yet even in prison, I was not anxious about when I would get out. I was calm and peaceful, because I regarded prison as my path for the sake of the Will. I was resolved to stay on my path no matter how many years I might spend in jail, even to the end of my life. This is one way that I am different from others. Even in that situation, I focused on spiritual self-cultivation.
What kind of self-cultivation? I meditated on how to resolve the situation of the Republic of Korea, which had lost a glorious opportunity. I contemplated how I could create a path of hope for the nation, one that would bear fruit. It was as if I was surrounded by mountains, and I had to look for ways to drill through them one after another to make a tunnel and build a highway.
I thought that if I happened to collapse, God would take responsibility. However, as long as I had energy to go on, I would not ask God for help. Therefore, I did not pray for myself. Without asking God for help, I gave out all of my energy, knowing that by doing so, God would surely help. (033-167, 1970/08/11) 15 As the Unification Church advances, the question is, within the limited time you have every day, how much can you wholeheartedly invest yourself for the whole purpose? We will rapidly advance and win victory if the standard of our life is higher and deeper than that of the early Christians. It is good to taste the sorrow of loss. Experience shame and suffer humiliation to such a degree that you cannot lift up your face.
I had such a time. In the courtroom before going to Seodaemun Prison, an ex-member said to me, "You were in jail in North Korea, and here you are again. You just cannot give up the old habit." I cannot forget those bitter words.
While going in and out of prison, I carried on the fight to dissolve all of God's bitter grief. Although I faced many painful, even resentful situations on the way, I knew that if I kept going, the time would come when it would all be dissolved. That is why even now I cannot afford to grow weary. Though my lips are blistered and my body suffers aches and pains, I will move forward until the day I defeat the enemy Satan, until he lies prostrate and I am standing with my two feet upon his back. I will fight him all the way to the end. (025-332, 1969/10/12) |