Pyeong Hwa Gyeong (051) - True Family and True Universe Centered on True Love
2. The true family is like the core of the universe
Thus, the core concept of the universe is the concept of the family. Heaven represents parents and earth represents children. In the case of east and west, east symbolizes man and west symbolizes woman. When a woman gets married, she usually follows wherever her husband goes; however they have equal value. When the west reflects the sunlight coming from the east, both have the same value. The relationship between siblings is similar. When the older sibling works, the younger ones naturally help him or her. Therefore, people need to live in relationships like those between parents and children, husband and wife, and elder and younger siblings. Moreover, these three types of relationship must meet at a single central point. Above and below, right and left, and front and back must not have different central points. Otherwise the balance between these three types of relationship will be broken.
Taken together, there are seven positions: above, below, right, left, front, back and the central point. Thus the number seven represents the unity of all components, with God and perfect true love at the center. Together, these seven components form a complete sphere and eventually a family structure of harmony and unity. So, as you can see, seven is truly a lucky number.
When this sphere becomes complete and rotates, it becomes a new entity based on the number eight. As long as love remains true and does not change, the central position can rotate without change. However, because of the Fall, God was expelled from the central position. Since God’s true love was expelled, the true family ideal collapsed.
There are many differences in the lifestyles of people in the East and the West. In many ways they are complete opposites of one another. For example, when we Koreans call someone to come, we motion with the palm down, like this. If we do that in the West, people go the other way. We often misunderstand and wonder if people do not like us, because they go away when we are actually beckoning them to come closer.
Furthermore, Western script is written horizontally, proceeding from left to right. Oriental script in its original form is written vertically, proceeding from top to bottom and from right to left. Consequently, Westerners open their books from left to right, whereas in the Orient we open our books from right to left. Thus Western civilization is more horizontal in orientation, while Oriental civilization has more of a vertical orientation. As another example, shaking hands is a horizontal greeting, while bowing is vertical. In Oriental tradition, ancestors are at the core of the family system. In the West, however, there is no strong concept that regards ancestors as the core. Westerners generally regard the self as the center.
Because every part of an entity is connected at the core, if the core does not move, the whole entity does not move. Therefore, all six positions and the central core have equal value. In a three-generational family—consisting of grandparents, parents and children—there are twelve types of relationships. These twelve ideally will fit wherever they are placed. The grandchild will not object to anything the grandparent wants. Also, the children of the grandparents will want whatever their parents desire. Ultimately, all three generations will unite, sharing the same desire. All members of the family—grandfather and grandmother, father and mother, husband and wife, son and daughter—will resonate with the center.
Let us consider a family that is based on love. Since the relationship between parents and children is characterized by unity, we can say that they form one body. Likewise, husband and wife form one body through their mutual relationship, as do brothers and sisters. All members of the family form one body. In such a case, what is the common center shared by these relationships? In forming one body, they have God’s true love, which is at the center of all love, as their common center. With true love as the center of their relationships, parents and children become one, husband and wife become one, and brothers and sisters become one. Through this process, each member of the family becomes equal in value. |