Cheon Seong Gyeong Ⅱ - 406. Steps Toward a World of Peace 1 When peace is realized within the individual, family, tribe, people, nation, world and cosmos, and liberation is attained, a free heaven and earth will unfold. In a world of such freedom, happiness abounds. Until today, no one could discover such peace. What does that tell us about the origin of this peace? God and Satan are fighting. God, the ideal being, and Satan, the evil being, are fighting each other. How can God and Satan, who are fighting, prepare the basis for peace? Who can stop them from fighting? In addition, our mind and body are fighting. That is the problem. The problem is not just that God and Satan are fighting; it is that the battle continues within each and every one of us. (388-030, 2002.07.27)
Peace advances from the individual to the cosmos 2 The path that we are walking becomes the path of history. The direction in which we advance conforms to the flow of history as we deal with history’s issues. We are pursuing this goal placing our entire life course at stake. It is not only individuals that mobilize to go down the path that begins from me and goes all the way to the destination. Families, tribes, peoples, nations and the world, as well as God and all things, mobilize. Because humanity fell, the path in this direction passes through almost no level terrain. As they move toward the goal, people encounter struggles. Individual, family, national, global and cosmic struggles block the path. (13-316, 1964.04.14)
3 You may say that you have to go and find a peaceful world somewhere, but such a peaceful world does not exist. There is no such world out there. Go to America, go to Russia, go anywhere else in the world; you will not find it. That peaceful world has to begin with you. You need to start with a peaceful mind. The value of that mind is greater than that of the entire world! Human beings desire to own everything in the heavens and the earth; they want to stand in the position of having attained every central value. The only way to accomplish this is to pass through an integrated formula course. That course is based on fundamental standards, and you need to calculate every portion of that formula course correctly to reach the goal. It is fine to strive continuously to abandon your personal desires, but you cannot reach the goal if you do not adhere to the formula. Everything in the universe moves according to rules and formulas. The development and accomplishments of today’s science and technology are based on the application of rules and formulas. (230-318, 1992.05.10)
4 We must not get entangled as we move from the individual to the family, tribe, people, nation and world. The family has to inherit the victories of the individual, and the tribe needs to inherit the victories of the family. This pattern of the tribe inheriting the victories of the family expands, with the people inheriting the victories of the tribe, the nation inheriting the victories of the people, and the world inheriting the victories of the nation. With this pattern you can overcome anything. The final providential victory that God desires cannot appear on earth unless every level from the individual to the world inherits that unchanging pattern from the start. A foundation with consistent links has to appear on earth. Without that, there cannot be peace on earth. (57-068, 1972.05.28)
5 Everyone in our world today is hoping for peace, dreaming of one united, ideal world. But without each and every one of us, that ideal world will not appear. There is only one way to achieve that world. It is for each of us to establish a foundation to pursue the ideal and then to work within our environment to realize it. Friction exists in every society due to rival factions. People struggle even within their families. We see that even our own mind and body are in conflict. So, the way to peace and unity cannot be discovered anywhere but within. There is no path other than that difficult search within. (061-247, 1972.09.01)
6 The standard that all the world’s people can affirm as correct, the standard that can gain public approval, needs to be a standard that no one can change. World peace can blossom through the adoption of that standard. Based on that, a good individual, a good family, a good tribe, a good people, a good nation and a good world can begin. No matter how good a nation may be, it will break apart if it cannot adjust to this global standard and direction. Therefore, the issues we need to deal with are ideologies and ways of thought. These issues include our views of the universe, the world, human life and ways of living, and the character of the new world. (033-048, 1970.08.02)
7 When we think that we rely on the world, rely on the nation, on society, on our family, on our parents and our spouses and our children, we discover that there is nothing within ourselves upon which we can rely. Our body and mind are separated, so we cannot expect to rely on ourselves. What is the problem here? The problem is not the world in which we are living. The world is far distant. Your nation is not the issue, your society is not the issue, nor is your family the issue. Your husband or wife is not the issue. In the end, the issue is how you will prepare a foundation of unity within yourself. From this viewpoint, to discover a world of peace and unity, the first thing we have to do is attain inner oneness. To attempt to join a united world without first being a person of unity is a contradiction. (128-077, 1983.06.05)
8 The issue is not World War II or today’s Russia and America. The issue is how to end the war inside myself, which could continue for eternity, and bring peace. You need to understand how extremely important this is. If it does not happen, then even if the world becomes a peaceful place, it will seem like hell. When I started on this path my first motto was, “Before you seek to master the universe, first attain mastery over yourself.” People who cannot conquer themselves can never conquer the world. (131-034, 1984.03.11)
9 We were born with the fate to dwell in the fallen realm. So the only way for us to recover our family is to sacrifice ourselves. Individual investment is the only way to make a foundation for peace in the family. If your attitude is that you will sacrifice for the sake of your family, your family can become the foundation for you to advance to the people and the world. It will become your foundation for settlement. It is vital that your family become the foundation from which you reach the people. You lead your relatives so that you can reach the people. (168-114, 1987.09.13)
10 Jesus said, “The kingdom of God is within you.” The kingdom of God is in your mind. However, God cannot dwell in your mind unless it is united with your body, because the kingdom of God is one world. Therefore, what the Unification Church emphasizes is not the unification of the world. Before the world can be united, a nation needs to be united. Before a nation can be unified, a united people, tribe, and family are needed. Before a family can be united, an individual must be united. This means you need to attain unity within yourself, with your mind at the center. Your mind is your fundamental starting point. (160-264, 1969.05.17)
11 The way to achieve unity is simple. All you need to do is to unite your mind and body. When someone who has attained mind-body unity becomes one with his or her family, there is peace in that family. When a family that is united in this way becomes one with its society, that family will be so happy that its members will not envy anyone in society. When a society united in this way becomes one with its nation, it will develop a realm of unity that is so strong that no one in the nation will deny it; everyone will respect it. Furthermore, when such a nation becomes one with all the world’s people, the kingdom of God will be realized on earth. (199-238, 1990.02.20) |