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Book 2: A Model for the Family Ideal and World Peace
Part 2: The Path to Exemplary Families and Global Harmony
Chapter 5: True Family and True Universe Centered on True Love
This speech was given by Reverend Sun Myung Moon at the Federation to Save the New Nation Leaders' Banquet on May 19, 1997 in Montevideo, Uruguay, and then by Dr. Hak Ja Han Moon between July 22 and August 8, 1997 at leadership conferences and women leaders conferences for the Practice of True Family Life to Advance World Peace held throughout Korea.
Respected and honored guests from at home and abroad, distinguished ladies and gentlemen whose presence is brightening this venue!
I am grateful for your coming here in spite of your very busy schedules. To express my appreciation from the bottom of my heart on this special day, the most precious thing I can offer is to introduce you to what I consider two very significant speeches that I gave during my latest world tour. I am referring to the speeches titled “The Providential History of Salvation from the Viewpoint of the Principle” and “In Search of the Origin of the Universe.”
Today, we need a comprehensive solution to the problems of sexual immorality, family breakdown and alienation among our young people. These two speeches provide fundamental solutions to these problems. When you return home, I hope you will take some time to reflect deeply on their contents. Reading these speeches together with the members of your family may enhance the love in your family. I believe this can help your family achieve harmony and true happiness.
I suggest that you read these two speeches as many times as your age in years. If your age is more than eighty, then read them more than eighty times. The more you read these speeches, the more heavenly blessing and fortune will come to you. The more you read them, the more peace will flow into your family naturally and automatically. I invite you to read them often.
The title of the first speech is “View of the Principle of the Providential History of Salvation.” Allow me to summarize it. Because Adam and Eve fell, they did not establish an ideal family. Consequently Jesus came at the national level, as the second Adam, to restore the mistake of the first family. The first Adam became fallen Adam, and Jesus, the Messiah, came as the second Adam. However, because Jesus was unable to establish a family from the position of True Parents, the Messiah needs to return as the third Adam and restore the mission of True Parents on the world level. This is the mission at the time of the Second Advent, when the Messiah is to come as the third Adam. This speech also introduces the fact that the fundamental issue of salvation is the restoration of the original lineage.
The second speech is titled “In Search of the Origin of the Universe.” Since the Fall originated from the misuse of love, humankind lost true love. Thus the question arises: How can we recover true love? True love was lost through adultery. In other words, true love became degraded through misuse of the reproductive organs. Therefore, to restore it, we need to use these organs in the right way. Our first ancestors planted the seed of fallen love in the Garden of Eden during their youth. Consequently, during these Last Days, we are harvesting the fruit of the Fall among our young people. That is why today we observe so much chaos and confusion, particularly on the issue of sex. This problem can be resolved only through what my husband refers to as "absolute sex.” Only the concept and practice of absolute sex can prevent the destruction of our families and reverse the corruption of our youth.
The three subject partners principle
This evening I would like to share a new speech titled “True Family and True Universe Centered on True Love.” Everyone here has parents and teachers, and you also have leaders in your nations. Am I right? Everyone undeniably needs people in these positions. However, compared to the true standard, there are many different types of parents. What do you think? To what extent have you, yourself, become a true parent? In the same way, if a person is a professor at an Ivy League university such as Harvard, Yale or Columbia in the United States, or at Oxford or Cambridge in England, does it mean that he or she can be called a true teacher? Similarly, there are different types of leaders in a nation, not all of whom measure up to the true standard of leadership. Does the bare fact that someone is president of a superpower such as the United States mean that he or she is a true president?
In fact, in today's families many children do not trust their parents, spouses do not completely trust each other, and brothers and sisters do not trust each other fully. Furthermore, students do not trust the teachers in their schools, and people do not trust the leaders of their nation. So the question is: How can we attain the true standard of even one of these three most important roles of parents, teachers and leaders?
When I say that you need to become a true parent, true teacher or true owner, who do you think has the highest standard or is the central model for those three positions? God does. And God is the True Parent among parents, True Teacher among teachers, and True King among kings. God is the eternal True Parent, eternal True Teacher, and eternal True Owner and King. If we are children of God, we need to become true parents first, just like God. In addition, we have to follow the way of the true teacher and the way of the true owner, just like God. This is the concept of the "three subject partners.” The ultimate model is God.
Who is the Messiah sent to the people of Israel, as promised in the Old Testament? The Messiah is the one who comes as a true parent, true teacher and true king. However, because Jesus was prevented from establishing a true family and uniting his people, the Messiah needs to come again. In other words, because Jesus did not accomplish the national-level foundation, the Messiah of the Second Advent will come as the third Adam and teach the way of the true parent, true teacher and true king at the world level. This is the messianic concept. Wherever the family, nation, world and heaven exist, we always need to establish the three subject partners of parent, teacher and leader.
If a person is situated in the world of space, he needs to orient himself with up and down, right and left, and front and rear. That is the only way to ascertain one's current position. Also, there are many possible variations in a person's appearance, depending on whether he is correctly situated in terms of up and down, right and left, and front and rear. The same formula applies to the family, the nation and the world. Just as an individual's position is related to what is above and below, right and left, and front and back, the family consists of parents and children, husband and wife, and brothers and sisters. Similarly, on the national level, with the leader in the central position, families ought to embrace all civilizations of east and west and all civilizations of north and south. Then they can embrace all people of the world as brothers and sisters. Ultimately, every level will form a pattern resembling that of a family, with the individual as the central model. In the same manner, a person's existence expands to the levels of the family, nation, world, heaven and earth, and eventually reaches God. Each person has the desire to live as the center of the cosmos and has the potential to make that a reality.
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 are the basis of 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 actually are 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.
The true path humankind should follow
Then what does God want for His children? Does He want them to become billionaires? Does He want them to become presidents of nations, with all the trappings of power? God wanted His children, Adam and Eve, to grow to become children of filial piety, loyal citizens, saints, and a holy son and daughter.
Did you ever consider that, in accordance with God's desire, we have to become children of filial piety in the family, loyal citizens of the nation, saints in the world, and holy sons and daughters before heaven and earth? Just as many saints and sages have taught us throughout history, we are to become children of filial piety, loyal citizens, saints, and holy sons and daughters.
This evening I would like to ask: Do you think you have mastered the way to become an ideal person and to perfect your character? This entails going the way of filial piety, the way of loyalty, the way of sainthood, and the way of a holy son or daughter. Otherwise, you cannot perform the function of true parents in the family. True parents need to teach their children to complete the progression from filial child to loyal citizen, saint, holy son or daughter, and eventually even to reach God. If there were someone who truly taught and exemplified these things, God would consider that person the ultimate true parent, true teacher and true leader.
When you are qualified as a true parent and true teacher, you will be qualified as a true leader as well. Furthermore, you will be qualified to become a true king or queen. Fallen people lack these ideals and do not demonstrate filial piety, loyal citizenship and sainthood, and thus have been unable to become holy sons and daughters. That is why this world is perishing. Who wants holy sons and daughters? God does. Who wants saints? The world does. Who wants loyal citizens? The nation does. Who wants children of filial piety? The family does. This is the way of truth. The truth, based on true love, continues eternally in one direction. We did not know this, and that is why we could not become true parents, true citizens, true saints, and holy sons and daughters. When Jesus came to this world, there were no true parents in the family, no true leaders in the nation and the world, and ultimately there was no true king in all of heaven and earth. People did not know how to follow the true way. Now that the truth has been revealed, however, we have no more excuses.
True parents do not tell their children, "Once you become children of true filial piety, do not become loyal citizens.” True parents teach children of filial piety to sacrifice their family by following the way of a loyal citizen in service to the nation, and to sacrifice the nation by following the way of saints in service to the world. True parents would also teach their children to sacrifice the world in service to heaven and earth, and to sacrifice heaven and earth to substantiate the true love of God.
To start achieving these goals, individuals need to sacrifice themselves for the sake of their family. This is the way to become a child of filial piety. To become a patriot, you need to serve the nation even at the expense of your family. To be a saint, you need to give of yourself in service to the world, even at the expense of your nation. To be a holy son or daughter, you have to work to establish the kingdom of heaven on earth and in heaven, even at the expense of the world.
Likewise, among all parents, those who make sacrifices and live for the sake of their children are true parents. Teachers who make sacrifices for the sake of their students are true teachers, and the president who makes sacrifices for the nation is a true president. We were unaware of this concept of investing and sacrificing. Without it, however, we will never have one eternally peaceful and united world.
Nothing comes into being for its own sake
What is the basis for individualism? No one can claim anything as "mine alone.” When a child is conceived through the love of its parents, grows from a fertilized egg in the mother's womb, and is born, 99.999 percent of its body comes from the mother's bone, blood and flesh, and the remaining 0.001 percent comes from the father's sperm. There is no concept of "myself alone" in nature. No one has such a concept at the time of birth.
Those who regard themselves as the best in their field cannot claim to have achieved that status by themselves. This applies to us from birth. We receive our bones, blood and flesh in our mother's womb. We have to recognize that the important parts of our bodies are extensions of our parents' bodies. Without exception, all the essential instructions and mechanisms for the development of our bodies were included in the egg and sperm. Therefore, there is no basis for self-centered individualism.
When we say that something is "above,” it automatically implies the existence of something "below.” Can one individual stand alone, with only the concept of above? There is no way for someone to live as an isolated individual. Mentioning the right side presupposes the existence of the left side. Likewise, mentioning a front presupposes that there is a back. Similarly, when we talk about a man, we presuppose the existence of a woman. This is a universal truth, not just a claim by a random individual.
Why did God create man? Some men may say that they can live perfectly well alone, and they don't care why they were created. However, each man was born for the sake of a woman. Without a woman, there is absolutely no need for a man. Actually, man can create nothing by himself Nothing was created solely by man or solely by woman.
Consider our five senses. Did God create my eyes to look at my eyes? He created my eyes, nose, ears, mouth and hands for the sake of my object partners. The force that mobilizes and focuses all five senses is true love. God created our eyes, nose, ears, mouth and hands for true love, that is, as instruments for relationships of true love. God created nothing just for myself. On the contrary, a person who claims that what belongs to others is "mine" is called a thief. If someone takes what belongs to others for personal use, isn't that person a thief? Therefore any man who uses his body, including his five senses, for himself alone is a thief, because they actually exist for the sake of a woman.
What is the difference between a man and a woman? Their bodies are different, including their reproductive organs. Then for whom is a man's reproductive organ absolutely necessary? A man's reproductive organ exists for the sake of a woman. The human reproductive organs are shaped as concave and convex. Why are they shaped that way? Both could be pointed or both could be flat. Why are they shaped differently? Each is for the sake of the other. A woman absolutely needs what is part of a man's body, and a man absolutely needs what is part of a woman's body. Until now, we did not consider the fact that a woman's reproductive organ absolutely belongs to a man, and a man's reproductive organ belongs to a woman. By owning each other's reproductive organs, man and woman come to know true love.
Only through the experience of two becoming one can we know the highest level of love. No one at all can deny this fact. Everyone has to recognize it. The ideal couple emerges from the place where husband and wife become completely one. Absolute love exists in that very place. That place of love, which is absolutely unchanging, is the dwelling place of God. Absolute sex places God at the center, and free sex places Satan at the center. Historically, the world's literature and the media have often encouraged free sex. However, from now on, you literary figures and journalists need to lead the way to stop free sex. This so-called "free sex" has to completely disappear.
Reverend Moon has received the seal of Heaven
Now that you have heard the speech that my husband, Reverend Moon, and I are giving, you can change your current direction by 180 degrees, become a new person, and establish a new nation and a new world. There is no doubt that you will change. It is absolutely necessary to change this evil world. We have to transform this world.
Those who are on Satan's side in this evil world do not like people on God's side. Therefore everyone on Satan's side in the world has opposed my husband. They opposed him even on the national and world levels. However, because he belongs to God, God has protected him. Satan does not like him, but God does. No matter how many times the world pushed him down or ignored him, he did not care. He never went down. Rather, he came up to the highest position. Therefore, nobody can oppose him now.
How could he establish this worldwide foundation despite all manner of persecution? How could he come to teach eminent world scholars and leaders? It is possible only because God gave him a special kind of power. God has protected him and directed him, and even now God continuously protects and teaches him, so he is always moving toward the way of success.
Throughout history, there have been numerous religious leaders who could communicate with the spirit world. You ought to know that only one person, Reverend Moon, has fully understood and united the spirit world in order to commence the work of restoration in this world. After uniting the spirit world, he received the heavenly seal of recognition from God. Without that, a person cannot accomplish unity on earth. You need to know that God has trained and raised him in the spirit world and has continued to lead him here on earth.
My husband came to the United States more than twenty years ago. Since then, he has received enormous persecution. Yet he has known that God's plan for Christianity has endured through bloodstained sacrifices for 2,000 years, ultimately settling in the United States. Therefore he could not give up on that country. Please consider this: If America had accepted Reverend Moon years ago, how would that country be doing today? The same holds true for Korea.
Efforts to establish one world under God
Then, where does true love begin? This is true love: After you have sacrificed your own life and are resurrected, you invest yourself repeatedly, over and over again. Since we have inherited a fallen lineage, we have to persevere and overcome difficulties even at the cost of our lives. Therefore, the Bible records Jesus as saying, "Whoever seeks to gain his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life will preserve it” (Luke 17:33). Jesus followed this way when he came to this world. He led the world by example through altruism, not by selfish individualism. In the same manner, although my husband and I have created wealth during our lifetime, none of it, not even one penny, is ours. We invested everything for the world, and then forgot what we had done for others. We sacrificed and invested again and again.
Which do you prefer, one nation under God or one world under God? Among Americans, some people do not like the concept of one world under God. Some white people, for example, do not like black people. Since white Anglo-Saxon Protestants occupy dominant positions in the United States, they ought to lead Americans to adopt the viewpoint that their country exists for the sake of the entire world. If America lives only for its own sake, ultimately it will perish.
The times are now changing. We are coming to the era of one world under God. God is working to establish this kind of world and will always help those who are working for this providence. One problem, however, is that many people who want to lead the world do not yet want to participate in God's providence. In working toward one world of peace, my husband and I have poured ourselves into numerous projects. To build the foundation for the future world, for example, we need to establish an ideal, worldwide academic institution, such as a United Nations university, transcending the barriers of race, religion and language. Also, to exchange knowledge on a global scale, we need a university system for distance learning.
In addition, we need to develop a unified medical science. We not only have to cure the diseases of the body caused by the Fall, we also need to end the conflict between the East and the West by bringing their cultures into harmony. By uniting Eastern and Western medicine, we can cure currently incurable diseases, such as AIDS. In the Korean countryside, among people who never had formal medical education, there are many gifted healers who can cure serious diseases that are incurable by modern medicine. The spirit world has guided these healers to understand special treatments and cures for disease. Without recognizing certain realities of the spirit world, our problems will continue to grow. Already related projects are being implemented at the University of Bridgeport and Sun Moon University.
Moreover, we have founded The Washington Times and other newspapers whose coverage includes the entire Western Hemisphere. This media foundation is expanding to 185 countries to enable all people of the world to learn from one another and cooperate as one.
Since my husband and I came to America, we have not incurred any debt to the American people. Rather, Americans ought to feel indebted to us. We have shared the blessings we received from Heaven with America. We have not received any blessing from America; instead we have given all our blessings to her. My husband and I share the blessings we have received from Heaven with the world. South Americans and Koreans have welcomed us and the blessings we have brought to their homelands. Now the people of the United States also want to receive the same blessing.
Regardless of the opposition a person faces, the one who gives the most love becomes the owner. Those individuals who love more, invest more, give more, and forget what they have given, will become central figures. This is a universal law.
In the future, please follow the heavenly way by offering filial piety to your parents in your family, becoming loyal citizens of your nation, saints in the world, and holy sons and daughters before God. Whoever can stand without shame before the family, nation, world, and heaven and earth will be protected at the center of the cosmos, and can then build a family that receives God's highest love. These people shall transform this world into the kingdom of heaven on earth. They will be registered in the kingdom of heaven in the spirit world and will enter an era of kingship both spiritually and physically, with God in the central position. Such people are those who participate in the international marriage Blessing, which is to establish a world of victory, freedom, happiness and unity. I invite each of you to participate in this year's 3.6 Million Couples Blessing Ceremony, thereby becoming couples who are welcomed by heaven and earth and have found the way of eternal life.
Hoping that we all come to have close ties to God and True Parents, that we can establish the true family and true global culture in a leading role centered on God's true love, and that we can build a peaceful and united world for the twenty-first century, I will conclude my speech at this point. I pray that God's blessing will be with you in your work, and with your family.
Thank you.