3.3.14
2.3.14
ROAD TOWARD THE IDEAL
REVEREND SUN MYUNG MOON September 7, 1986 Belvedere Translator - Bo Hi Pak As human beings, we do not exist separately. For example, where there is a man there should also be a woman; both are dependent upon each other. When there are children, there are parents; they are also dependent upon each other. Surrounding them are the rest of the relatives-brothers, sisters and so forth. Furthermore, human beings are surrounded by an environment, which includes other existence's such as animals and the things of nature-the trees, rivers, mountains and so forth. All these things are a part of our surroundings. We can divide the things of nature into three different kingdoms-mineral, vegetable, and animal. All those are the visible surroundings for humankind. However, there are also invisible surroundings, the phenomena of the spiritual world. When we observe all of these things, we must come to question where they came from. There must be an origin or some root of all the natural phenomena surrounding us. Since we exist in this moment, we must be the result of some process or original motivation. The problem we humans face is that we are still groping for that origin; we are not yet sure of our own source. There is a basic conflict between those who say that the origin of the entire universe is manner, or material, and others who say that there is something other than material, something invisible. They say that an invisible world of mind and spirit exists. The conflict between these two schools of thought has not yet been settled. My teaching has always been that there is an origin of the entire universe, and that is God. God exists and God causes everything to exist; from Him, everything started to happen. There is a certain orderliness built in to our existence; all things exist in an orderly and purposeful fashion. If the universe were nothing more than matter in random motion, then how could we expect any real order within this universe? It is impossible. What about the human mind? Why does it function in a certain way, according to certain principles? When we consider all these things, how could we even imagine that matter is the ultimate origin of this universe? When we examine ourselves as men and women, we see that we have two distinct aspects-the internal and the external. It is most important that these two aspects of human beings-mind and body-exist in cooperation with one another. Once we lose harmony between mind and body, there is disunity, confrontation and contradiction. Then the problem arises: what kind of harmony do we need? Where does harmony come from? Is it from the outside to the inside, from upper to lower, or lower to upper? How can harmony be achieved? The ideal of harmony exists in all directions-between left and right, up and down. between inside and outside. Harmony in all directions is the ideal. There must be a certain cause or pulling factor, some purposeful origin; otherwise, harmony and unity could not be possible because there would be no central rallying point. Again we come to this absolute: there must be a center that can serve as the rallying point to engender the purpose. That purpose will bring all directions into a certain harmony. We cannot deny the fact that before men and women ever came into existence, there must have been something which existed prior to them. There must have been some motion or motivation which preceded and engendered the existence of human beings. When they are first born, men have absolutely no idea that women exist; likewise, there is no understanding on the part of women that men exist. There is some greater cause which already determined, "There should be both men and women; they should be harmonized in a certain way." Man is born and he goes in a certain direction, following what may seem to be a labyrinth; but there is actually an overall direction to his growth. You are constantly being guided by a certain power to move in a certain way. What do you think-do we continually move toward improving ourselves or worsening ourselves? Why are men and women always trying to move toward something better, something improved? Why do we not seek to move toward bad things, such as accidents and disasters? There is some built-in mechanism-we might call it a homing device-which guides us toward betterment and improvement. There must be some guiding will which is outside of us. I am in a difficult situation: if I talk in Korean translated into English, many Japanese members do not understand. But if I talk in Japanese and it is translated into English, many Korean members do not understand. Completely difficult! What shall I do? So now, I ask you Japanese members: what language do you want me to speak? Japanese, Korean, or English? How about spiritual language? The language barrier is one of the most difficult problems in the world. How can we solve this historical problem? We have to resolve it. I think about who will be able to solve this problem. The power of science and technology cannot do it, neither can government power. The only power that can do it is religious power. You have to know that. Therefore, I am always saying to you, "We have to unify the language. We have to shatter the language barrier." Do you understand? I have decided to speak Korean today; that's the mother tongue, after all. Furthermore, you Japanese members here in America must learn English. Turning back to the original subject, let us ask: What is the ideal? The most important description of the ideal is this: it cannot exist alone, all by itself. Take your eyes as an example. You have two eyes that work together to achieve one focus. There is only one focus; you don't see two images. Why does the eye focus automatically? Before each eye ever existed, a concept or a design blueprint existed. The ability to focus didn't come to exist after the eye was created; it was part of the original plan for the eye. The eye was designed in a certain way to fulfill its purpose of proper focus. The ideal of the eye requires that two points work together in harmony and unite with a third point. Actually, we see only the third point but there is also a fourth point which is invisible. It is within your brain; that is what engenders the ability to focus. The two eyes work together and unite with that third point, but there is a certain cause that makes it happen, so there are actually four points. When you look at your eye, you can see that it has a rounded shape, not sharp, or pointed toward the sides or up and down. Why is that? Roundness is the best shape to enable easy harmony. Look at your mouth and lips; there are no sharp edges there. You have two nostrils in your nose but they come together at the top and become just one tube. The English language is so limited in its adjectives. You don't have a word like "wonma." "Won" means round and "ma" means full. One word connotes roundness, richness and fullness. But there is no one English word to equal the meaning of that beautiful Korean word. You have such a poor language! People today talk about evolution as a fact; they believe that everything in existence has evolved. But we must ask whether that process of evolution just happened spontaneously, or whether there was some cause or motivation behind it which allowed it to happen. What about the movement of evolution? Was it along a straight line or in a circle? That is the kind of question we should ask. Evolution must be moving according to a certain order or discipline and that discipline could be along a straight line or a circular line. But then, could evolution itself determine whether to move straight or in a circle? How about going up and down? There must be a certain will which determines that. If some life form moved up from a lower level, there had to be something that caused it to develop into a higher form of life. Who determined that it should move up to a higher level? We might ask this question of Charles Darwin, the author of the evolutionary theory: "How could certain forms of life develop into more sophisticated forms? Why didn't they go in the other direction toward a more primitive form? Mr. Darwin, did you order that those life forms should go higher? Are you God?" Small beings always unite and become absorbed by larger beings. Why do they do that? Why should they bring themselves together into harmony? Why should one atom move together and unite with other atoms, forming more complex elements? Why don't atoms go the other way and become smaller and smaller, getting shattered into pieces? That doesn't happen. The logical person cannot not deny that some concept or purpose pre-existed all these phenomena. I am not planning to teach a long sermon about evolution today. That is not our topic, so let's leave Darwin alone now; we'll come back to him again some other time. Everyone, including each of you, is trying to improve himself and move toward the bigger and better situation. Isn't that true? You don't make effort each day to make yourself more miserable, do you? That universal inclination is found everywhere-in material objects as well as human beings. Thus we can logically conclude that it must be the reflection of some universal principle in action. Your hair grows out from your scalp. Ask your hair, "Why do you do that? Did you decide according to your random will to sprout out all of a sudden on the way to Belvedere this morning?" What about your teeth? Why do they grow where they do, and not any other place? What if your teeth grew inside your belly? No, the teeth are supposed to grow inside your mouth, not inside the stomach, or the hips or anywhere else. They are designed( in that way. That design existed before the teeth did. Imagine if your eye complained, "I don't want to be where I am. I want to be on top of the nose!" Why are the eyes supposed to be where they are, slightly lower than the top of the nose? The eyes never complain or seek to move someplace higher on the face; they recognize there is a universal order which dictates where they are supposed to be. That is the position of the eyes and they must stay there; no complaints are possible. Imagine if your head were upside down on your neck. The original concept and purpose dictated that the head should sit the way it does on the neck. No head can disobey that. Thus the idea within evolution-that there is random mutation or what is called the evolutionary process-is not actually true. Growth and development are not random things. There must be a discipline within them. Discipline toward what? Harmony is the ultimate goal toward which all existence is moving. Let's say that instead of your eyeball being flexible and moving around, it was rigid and immovable, like a stationary hole in your face. What an awkward and inconvenient eye that would be. Knowing about that inconvenience, a certain designer said, "The eyeball must be flexible and able to turn in all directions." It is a tenet of communism that matter is the essence of the universe and that all spiritual phenomena are nothing more than the byproducts of matter in motion. We must ask these important questions: Which comes first, existence or interaction? Is matter everything? Nothing in this universe is completely stationary. If you break down the molecules of even the most heavy, solid rock you will see hat incredible motion is occurring between the electrons and protons. Going back to the eyes-did they just all of a sudden spring into existence by themselves? No, there must have been some prior motion which allowed them to exist. Look at electricity. Does electric energy occur first, or does electric interaction come first? The plus and minus interaction comes first. There is a prerequisite to any action-two parties, subject and object. So every action seeks improvement and greater sophistication. In order for an action to take place, there must be a subject and object-two complementary parties. While you are calmly sitting here listening to me, all sorts of interaction is taking place inside of your body. That is what enables you to keep your balance and inner harmony. The mind and body interact within us to create a certain balance. Therefore we can enjoy a peaceful life; without that, all kinds of imbalance, even trauma, would occur. All the existences within the universe could not come about just suddenly. There had to be some action first. But, as we said, action cannot take place unless there are the two parties called subject and object having give and take. The universe is full of energy, but is energy everything? No, even before energy existed, there had to be action and before that action, there was the interrelationship of subject and object in this universe. The atom could not become an atom until an electron and proton came together; their interaction is what created the entity called an atom. When you are born in the minus form, the duty of that minus form is to go out into the universe and search for a corresponding plus form. Unless you find that plus form, the law of the universe says, "You have no right to dwell in this universe. Get out of here." The universe will kick you out! Within society, all kinds of perversions take place such as homosexuality and lesbianism - men loving other men, women loving women. Before anybody said anything about it, the laws of nature themselves said, "You don't belong in this universe." Human beings have certain aspirations in the pursuit of happiness, but if you go in an abnormal way, those aspirations can never be satisfied. Ultimately you can only destroy yourself. You women, tell me, are you in the minus or the plus position? Do you say, "I do not accept the minus role! I want women to be in the plus position!" Even if you proclaimed, "I am a plus!" for a million years, the universe would not accept that. You might chant to yourself over and over, "I am going to become a man," but nevertheless you would look at yourself and see that you are still a woman. That is absolute. Man is a man; woman is a woman. You cannot change it, either here on earth or in the hereafter. Is that too tedious for you? Do you women say, "I believe in religion because I want to bring about a revolution in the very order of the universe! We women will become men and the men will become women"? No matter how much you might proclaim such a revolution, the universe would just laugh at you and say, "No way. Impossible." The "law of the dialectic" cannot be applied in those circumstances. No matter how much you men might try to become somebody other than yourselves, you cannot do it. Do you say, "Since we are all created equal, men and women should be exactly the same"? Can you act one day like a woman in your relationships and another day like a man? Yes or no? When God created human beings equal, that means they are equal in the highest possible goal - the achievement of love. In that realm, men and women are absolutely equal: they are the children of God, period. Men and women are destined to come together and unite into one. They can never be stationary-either they move up or down; there is always motion and action. Once you form that male/female unity, would you like to move down or up? You say up, but which one is more difficult to achieve, going up or down? Why do you suppose God didn't create things so that going upward is easier? If He had done that, there would be no basis for value or preciousness. When you go upward, higher and higher, you are moving toward the summit, the pinnacle. That pinnacle is always one point, so everyone is moving toward that one goal. As you go up higher and higher, it becomes more and more difficult; getting closer to that pinnacle requires more effort. That means you have to overcome, to control all the elements within that arena in order to reach the top. It takes effort, discipline and drive. Where does that road toward the ideal begin? Does it begin at the highest point or at the lowest place? What is the ideal? Is it the totality, everything, or is it only the highest thing? Can you find the ultimate ideal in the high place or in the low place? Let's say that your grandparents live in your home. Should your grandfather be seated in the lowest, most humble place or in the highest place? What about God, then? As you know, God is the oldest Granddad of everybody, without question. Then shouldn't God have the highest position of all? Is that an easy place or a difficult one? Can you say to God, "Please come down. I want to be up there and You come down to my place"? What is the ideal? We can draw a line on the blackboard to help us understand this concept. Each line always has two ends to it. One end moving toward the other is a representation of the ideal. Take your hand, for example. Its ideal motion would be to move all the way across your body and touch the other arm. Moving from all the way on the right to the left is a representation of the ideal. The left hand moving all the way across the body and grasping the right hand is the ideal. When you have an itch someplace, do your hands argue about whose responsibility it is to scratch it? "That's your territory so you do it!" No, that doesn't happen. From this simple illustration, you can realize that the ideal means the unity of extremes, or end to end. Therefore, the ideal for human beings is for one extreme, man, to unite with woman, the other extreme in regard to sex. It is not man to man and woman to woman. The unity between man and woman is very difficult to achieve; it is a virtually impossible task, but that is the ideal. Achieving unity between you American women and men is especially difficult. Why is this the ideal? Men and women should become one and create a certain roundness and harmony; then you can turn together, moving upward toward the goal. Men and women are created to be interdependent; therefore, when they separate themselves, a certain danger arises. In order to preserve your own self and to assure your own survival, you have to hold on tight to your partner. That is part of the design. Why do you women have to carry around the heavy burden of broad hips and large bosom? It is because there is a certain necessity. That is the woman's bait to fish for men! When men look at women, their eyes always go to those two places, bosom and hips. You women may not know that, but all men, including me, know this. If a man looks at a woman who is straight up and down, with no curves, he has no interest. When he sees a woman with a nice, abundant bosom and hips, he thinks, "Oh, she looks juicy!" On the other hand, when a woman looks at a man, she isn't interested in his chest or hips. If some man had a large bosom and round hips, she would be repulsed by him! Women are interested in a man's muscular build and powerful shoulders. A universal design and will caused men and women to be made the way we are. We didn't decide how we should be built. That universal will made us this way for the purpose of harmony. Even a man's skin is designed to be masculine, which means a rough texture and lots of hair, even a beard on the face. But women are meant to have soft skin, tender like the snow. Thus two extremes are brought together. Let's say my arm has lots of hair on it. Can you imagine how I would feel if I raised Mother's sleeve and saw as much hair? If Mother presented that kind of arm, I would say, "Oh, no!" Women have narrow shoulders, which allows them to be easily embraced. If you had big wide shoulders, it would be rather difficult for a man to put his arms around you. It would never look good in a romantic movie, that's for sure! All these things are the result of the universal will. They are not caused by you. You did not design yourself in such a way. The amazing truth is that all the features you women possess are not for your own satisfaction or liking, but for the enjoyment of somebody else, namely a man. The same is true for men. In other words, women are created for men's liking and men are created for women's liking. That is why we say you are not born for yourself or exist for yourself. The ideal means unity and harmony between extremes, from one end to the other. Once you achieve unity, you do not stand still but begin a circling motion. The question is, what sort of circling motion will you make? Do you want to just circle around in a small area or will you circle around a greater thing and a bigger purpose? You can learn a lesson even from dancing. When two people dance, who leads-the smaller woman or the larger man? Automatically, the one who is the larger will be the leader. Always the anchor is the one at the center the bigger, stronger and taller person, the masculine one. He is the one who takes initiative. Therefore, between man and woman, man is definitely the subject. This is the universal discipline; it's not something people can vote on. It's not something I decided, either. It is the way the universe itself designed men and women. That is why men are meant to be the ones to take the initiative; women naturally enjoy being lifted up when dancing. That is harmonious and beautiful. But if a man is twirled around, he feels uncomfortable. In America today, many men and women are moving toward absolute selfishness. People are saying, "I don't need anybody else. I just want to enjoy life all by myself." What about you women, do you have love? You are not sure? Is your love for the purpose of yourself or for loving a man? Does love exist for the purpose of giving, or just for receiving? The essence of loving is giving. What about here in America? When you women get married, do you say, "I am marrying because I want to give love"? Or do they feel, "I want to receive love"? What do you think? That was a very pragmatic American answer-"both." However, which one should come first? What happens when you only want to receive love? If the woman says, "You give me love," and the man says, "No, I want to receive it. You give love to me," there can be no give and take, no intercourse. Therefore you both stand idle, with no unity. If you cannot unite, you cannot move upward. The ideal requires that you make a circular motion; the horizontal and vertical lines must come together and create the global, circular motion. What is the worst sin of you women? It is that you always want to receive love. That is the sin of sins because it is so destructive of humanity and the rest of the universe. But when you are determined to give and serve others, then you not only unite but you also make a circling motion. You create the rhythm of up and down. Therefore, what is most wrong in our world today is that people just want to receive love. Someone might say, "Nobody ever taught me that before. I certainly didn't learn that in college. Reverend Moon, you have created something brand new." This may be new to you, but it is universal law. No one can deny even one iota of this. You women, please be honest to me and I promise to forgive you: Have you been thinking of ways to receive more and more love, or have you thought about how to give more love? This is the revolution which I have proclaimed, the revolution toward selfless love. That is what the Unification Church revolution is all about. Men naturally pursue women, but for what purpose? To receive love or to give love? That is the most important question. It is a serious problem that American people have not understood how universal law works. You men should never think, "I'm so glad I'm getting married because now my life will be easier. I will have someone to cook breakfast for me and wash my laundry, someone to serve me." But all of a sudden, that is not what happens and you start to complain, "Hey, what's happening here?" Your first concept was wrong; you are not supposed to get married in order to make your life easier. You should think that your life will get tougher, but you should be willing to do it in order to give love. Love is always developing. Once you begin your love relationship, it must always expand. Your horizons must become larger and greater, expanding to the society, nation and world. Why are men and women so essential to each other? It is because you can develop your love to the world level through that most basic unit, the "building block" for love-that relationship between a man and woman. In other words, the husband and wife are the nucleus. When they form the ideal model, the nucleus is there for the ideal world of love. Such a husband and wife can move anywhere-to the level of society, nation and world-and can fit perfectly, harmonizing with everyone. At the same time, you can serve the world better. When you observe the universe, you can see that every thing is in the pair system. There are no bachelors in the natural universe. This is true in the vegetable kingdom or the mineral kingdom-inside the atom, there is the pair system-as well as in the animal kingdom. The entire universe is based on the relationship of pairs. The reason is that the pair system allows for the give and take of love, which is the ideal for the entire universe. Therefore, when men and women become united as husband and wife, giving to one another in the perfect fashion, they are like the guiding light of the universe. Everywhere they go, they will be welcomed, not only by humanity but also the rest of the universe, including all of nature. If we represented love as a railroad track, it would spread out wider and wider. The normal railroad track has parallel lines, but in the love railroad, the tracks open up wider and wider because the sphere of give and take of love gets larger and larger. Love always develops to a higher plane or stage; it cannot go backwards or down. To advance yourself in love, you have to give more and more. Men and women are meant to be the standard for the love of the universe. When you become perfect, you can proclaim, "All of you other forms of existence can measure the quality of your love against us. You can be measured by the scale that we have." All of the other existences will agree and they will come to you. The universe needs that love scale, that standard of measurement for love which perfected human beings represent. The reason so many marriages are breaking down in this society is that people are only seeking their own well-being when they get married. Such couples are sleeping in the same bed, but their thoughts and purposes are different because each person is centered upon himself. Therefore, unity can never come to them. What is the most ideal marriage? It is when a person gives himself up to the point where he doesn't even exist for himself. Only his love, his partner, exists. When both partners say, "I am totally at your service," how can that marriage break up? Imagine the man who loves his wife so much, he just bites off the tip of her nose one night in the utter ecstasy of love. When his wife gets up the next morning, would she go to court and sue her husband? Or if the husband expressed his love so passionately that he gave his wife a scar someplace, would she say, "Oh, no, look at me! I cannot live with you any more!"? If that scar was on her leg, she would look at it and say, "What a beauty mark, a glorious love mark! I want to have another and another- all over me!" Is such a woman unhappy? If her whole body became decorated by those love marks, do you think she would be happy or unhappy? That is what excitement is all about, but watch out for your fingers! You men and women were born in order to pursue excitement and enthusiasm in your life; you desire greater energy for life. When husband and wife are engaging in love in bed, it is almost like a battle-you may tear up the sheets and virtually destroy the bed. Because of the wildness of such love, do you women say, "I'm afraid of my husband, so I'm going to protect myself with a pistol"? No wife would want to do that. Even though it is rather wild, you anticipate it and look forward to it happening again and again! It is exciting. When you get married, you look forward to some fullness of excitement, not something mediocre or half-way. That kind of bubbling enthusiasm will never come if the man and woman are both saying, "You must give love to me. I need it." When you totally commit yourself and give yourself up for the sake of your spouse, great excitement can be generated. I am surprised to see the clock-I have already spoken for an hour and a half on this "love lecture." I could continue all day like this, but what about you? You might be able to enjoy it, but after all, I do get hungry, you know! The most important thing I am trying to explain today is the ideal. The ideal is the coming together of end to end, extreme to extreme. That includes the horizontal extreme to extreme and also the vertical extreme to extreme. When both the horizontal and vertical come together, that is truly the ideal. Plus/minus horizontally and plus/minus vertically having give and take create the ultimate ideal of motion. In order to make that circular motion, you have to be united in a round shape. There are two round shapes, actually-the horizontal, or the husband and wife, and the vertical, between God and man. When this vertical and horizontal love come together, they create the whole love ball. What is the most important point of all in the realization of this ideal? What is the center between horizontal love and vertical love? That center is the love between God and man. The reason the love of this world is so confused is that people are trying to engage in horizontal love alone, without their vertical connection. When you examine any sort of circling motion, you will find that there must always be an axis; without an axis, there can be no turning. This is true for the planet Earth and for the entire solar system, including the Sun and Moon. That principle can also apply in human affairs. We must turn along an axis; without an axis, there can be no turning action. The axis for men and women is true love, centered on God. True love is humanity's common denominator. Within true love, you can fulfill your own unique self; you become a public man, registered and accepted by the universe. True love is the only point upon which God and man can come together, so it is also the common denominator between God and man. I have already said many times that the husband and wife are the nucleus and the basic standard and measure, for the universe. That core nucleus is surrounded by the family, which is part of the society; the society is part of the nation, and the nation is part of the world. The whole world eventually comes under God. That is how it goes, but only if the nucleus is strong. Therefore, each social unit such as the husband and wife and the family and so forth must be properly centered. The family must be centered upon the head of the family. The tribe must be centered upon its chief. The society and nation have a head of state. From the very bottom, you circle upward all the way to the top and within every social unit there is a head or a central figure. We need four directions in order to determine our position. We need to know where we are in relation to north, south, east and west. You must turn in all four directions to make a complete circle. This is why people have the aspiration to visit many different places in the world You want to see places in the north, south, east and west. Where did the white people originate? They are from the northern part of the world. Have you ever seen a polar bear? That is a very white creature! The northern part of the world gets a lot of snow, which is a symbol for the white race and culture. Then there is the equator, which is like the lower valley, which is where the black race and cultures originated. Whenever there is a tall mountain, there is also a deep valley. The valley is always full of odors which attract a lot of small insects and animals; it is a fertile environment for them to enjoy. But on top of the mountain there is nothing to eat, no vegetation; it is barren and infertile. By the same token, it is an emotionally barren place, with no heartistic richness. Thus the color white suggests coldness and even arrogance. Many white people try to elevate and dignify themselves but they lack heartistic warmth. In order to find that warmth, they have to go down into the valley. In the culture and tradition of the Unification Church, white people have the desire to marry black people in order to make greater progress and development. Love between two white people is less dramatic than that between a white person and a black person. When a white couple is together, walking through the lobby of a hotel or in a coffee shop for instance, nobody even notices them. The same is true for a black couple or an Oriental couple. But when a handsome white man and a beautiful black woman are together, looking happy and united, everybody's eyes are drawn to them. Such a pair definitely attracts attention. Why is that? It is human nature to appreciate drama and excitement, and such a couple provides just that. When you go to an amusement park, you can ride the giant Ferris wheel and go around and around all the way up to the very top, and then down again. The beauty of that ride is that you go all the way around, not just to the top, but also down and around. The greatest excitement is when you are going down; that is when everybody screams. When people are riding up the hills on the roller coaster, everybody is quiet, but as soon as the cars start to descend, everybody starts screaming! That downward motion is most exciting. I have been speaking about the definition of the ideal this morning so by now you understand it clearly, right? There is no special dramatic effect to white people just loving other white people. That is almost like scratching your own arm-no excitement. But when white people and black people are loving and caring for one another, that is true beauty and harmony. Who in the world can ignite such a historical social revolution on the earth-political leaders, philosophers, scholars? No, they cannot. It is only one person and one group-Reverend Moon and the Unification Church. This audience is a good example. We have the entire globe in miniature here-all the colors of skin-black, white, yellow, red and brown. If anybody asks you whom you would like to follow, none of you would say, "Ronald Reagan," or "The Chief Justice," or "My Congressman and Senator." You say, "We want to follow Reverend Moon." I would prefer that you say, "Reverend Moon," rather than simply "Father," because that clearly states that even though I am an Oriental, a Korean and so forth, you don't care. Still you can say, "I want to follow Reverend Moon." What is my secret weapon that causes you to feel this way? It is absolutely simple and it is what I have been expounding upon this morning: I have love to give. I am constantly giving my love to you. I came to America to give my very life, and even though this country has put me into its prison, still I love and give to America. It is a universal law that anyone who does that has to have a magnetic pulling power. When the original mind manifests itself, it doesn't require any explanation; people automatically understand and respond to it. That is a characteristic of human nature. When you live according to the original mind and act with original love, people and nature can understand you. That is the secret of my ability to attract you people. When you come to Belvedere on Sundays, you wonder, "Is Father going to speak?" When I don't come, you feel, "Oh, gee, I'm disappointed;" but when I do speak, you feel all sorts of electricity and excitement. Is that true? That is why you Moonies are known to be crazy people- some mysterious power is drawing you and exciting you. But that is not abnormal at all; it is actually a natural characteristic. That is the power of the universe and the way things have been operating from the very beginning. The largest vertical circular motion can be found between God and the True Parents. God is at the highest extreme, while the True Parents are at the center of the universe and of this planet Earth. Therefore, between the highest God and the True Parents on earth a circle is created which is the vertical circular motion. When the highest point unites with the lowest point, they form circular motion and the center or axis comes into being. That is where you can find the ideal. Thus, we say that God does not find joy and excitement by Himself. He doesn't look at His own hands and say, "How beautiful they are." He doesn't look at Himself in the mirror and say, "What beautiful eyes I have!" That doesn't give God any joy. God has the ability to smell, so does He want to smell His own scents? No. God wants to hear things, but not the sound of His own voice. He wants to smell the fragrance and hear the voice of His object of love. When you touch your own hand, it doesn't give you any great thrill, but when you touch the hand of your object, you feel a strong sensation. The same is true of God. He too wants to feel the excitement of love. Even the word "ideal" has no meaning to God unless He has established some give and take relationship between Himself and His object. Today's topic is the road toward the ideal. That ideal can come into being only when there is a subject and an object-or the highest and the lowest point, one end and the other-coming together in harmony and loving one another. The ideal comes into being when you practice living for the sake of others, not for yourself. Unselfish devotional love alone can engender the ideal. When you give to others, you will also prosper, while if you try to take from others, you will become smaller and smaller, eventually finding destruction. Therefore, when you have the strongest desire to give for the sake of others, you can become connected to the road toward the ideal. The Bible teaches this clearly when it says that those who give shall be more blessed than those who receive. Let me ask you, am I telling you the truth? You must think about this deeply. It is a very fundamental question. Are you sure this is the truth? What about yourself? Look and ask yourself, what kind of life have I been living? Have I been living according to that principle to the absolute degree? If not, you have been a failure-you have flunked the course! What does that really mean? You are like a traitor and a rebel to the rest of the universe. But you can reverse that trend; today you can make a change. You can turn yourself around and live according to the absolute level of this ideal. When the members of the Unification Church receive the Blessing, many think, "This is the terminal point, the final goal for the Unification Church way of life." Rather, I am telling you that that is just the starting point! The center of that family is the church and the center of the church is the nation; that is why I have always taught you to live for the sake of the nation. Then the United States, for example, must live for the sake of the world. It is not doing that now, so our determination is to create such a nation. The United States must know this secret: by giving unselfishly and altruistically for the rest of the world, this country will never perish. Instead, it will gain greater power and true dominion over the world. Much greater blessing will come to this country. Reverend Moon has been faithfully practicing this principle and because of it, a lot of sacrifices have been imposed upon the East Garden family. Mother has had a suffering course because I have very seldom paid her much attention. Likewise, my children have not received much attention from me. Mother's life has been very difficult. When she was only a tender young girl, she met with her giant husband. Can you imagine the suffering her heart has endured? She has had absolutely no freedom. Mother has been bearing within her heart so many pains; she could never even speak about them. She has felt that it was her responsibility to bear her cross and support me. Now that I have accomplished on the worldwide scale, Mother has matured and become truly a mother for the universe. The True Parents' position is that of giving endlessly, with no reservation. By doing that, the new world can come into being. There is no other way a new order and new life can be created-that must be practiced to the letter, to the ultimate degree. For example, when I came to America it meant that I had to leave Korea behind; I could not pay attention to the Korean people because I had a greater goal. After the United States government mistreated me and I returned to Korea, the people there told me, "Reverend Moon, why do you ever want to return to the United States, since they have misunderstood you so completely?" But I returned to this country because I operate according to a different principle. My goal is the ideal world, not just one nation such as Korea. That is where I am moving toward-the ultimate, highest point. When you are climbing up toward the top of the world, there are times when you cannot see the goal and the future seems bleak. But now is a different time-we can finally see the North Pole, the destination. Things are getting easier and easier and we are thinking, "Yes, we can make it!" We can see very clearly that communism is failing and that it will come to an end. No question about it. What about the democratic system-is that the ultimate system? No, that too will come to an end; it has so many obvious problems today. Can you imagine that the Messiah or God Himself could be elected by popular vote? Would God be a Republican or a Democrat? Or perhaps we should say, "We don't need an absolute God. We just need to follow the democratic system.'' The road of love is not the road of popular elections. Voting is, in a way, a selfish act because people usually vote for their own desires and goals. But love itself is simply giving. In true love, there is no such thing as oneself; true love is selflessness. That is the ultimate state of the holy man and woman: they have totally emptied themselves. As you know, the ideal never comes alone; there must be partners. Before the establishment of sovereignty for the ideal world, there must be a guiding principle and leaders who are moving this world toward that goal. What citizenship would you like most to have-the United States, the world, or the Kingdom of Heaven? As just an American citizen, you cannot receive citizenship in the Kingdom of Heaven; you must first move up to the world level. No one in secular society has world citizenship today. However, the Unification Church is a place in which people can gain that world citizenship. But is that the end of it? Is the goal of the Unification Church just to acquire world citizenship? No, we aspire to a higher level-that of the Kingdom of Heaven on earth and in heaven. It is best if everybody could enjoy the citizenship of all of these-the nation, the world and the Kingdom of Heaven. But if the situation dictates that you cannot enjoy them all, which one would you prefer to have? You say Kingdom of Heaven citizenship. Is that easy to acquire? Who is going to guide you into that Heavenly citizenship? You say, "Father," but what kind of father-a fallen one or a perfected one? Only the perfected Father has the right to sign your name on the rosters of the Kingdom of Heaven. What was the original plan-to be born directly into citizenship of the Kingdom of Heaven, or to be born into sinful citizenship and then move up to the Heavenly citizenship? How were you born? What is your root, your lineage? The fallen lineage is the root upon which you ( were born. The nature of fallen love is to receive; it is selfish love and that is the essence of fallen nature. Therefore, we have to bring a revolution to that love and turn it into unselfish love. Without that kind of love, you cannot enter the Kingdom of Heaven. That is why the teaching of religions throughout history, particularly in the Bible, has been, "Go 180 degrees opposite from the way of the world." We have been encountering opposition constantly in the role of pioneers. Under these adverse conditions we are struggling to build a highway for our posterity, so that they can follow that road and reach the goal much more quickly. But as the pioneers, we must go the way which is opposite to the way of the world. Although we are resisted, opposed and persecuted, we do not seek revenge. We do not want tooth for tooth, eye for eye, or life for life. Our only revenge is that of true love; we want to reciprocate with forgiveness and true love. That is the difference between our way of life and that of Satan's. That is the boundary line, the point of separation where Satan has to say, "No more. I cannot pursue you any further." As individuals, we want to practice giving love; as families, we want to practice giving love; as a church, we want to do the same. Only one way of life, one direction should appear on the face of the earth-that way of life will bring together all the five colors of skin. There is only one time in history that this will happen. In a way, we are taking a stick and drawing a line on the ground and telling the satanic world, "You cannot come beyond this line. No crossing over." The Unification Church and Reverend Moon are practicing this Principle to the ultimate degree. We think that if, by sacrificing the Unification Church we could save the world, we would do that. We would give anything to pull this world out of destruction. Are we on the right track and following God's principle? Even though people of the world have persecuted Reverend Moon and the Unification Church, their original minds have always known what is right and wrong. Sooner or later, Americans will come to realize that they have committed a serious crime and they have to pay for it. That time has already begun and thus a big change is taking place in the country. The atmosphere is different; people want to repay the wrong they have done, the debt they have incurred. The universe will continue to change in that way. We are a "moving" movement, in a way, going from west to east, north to south, in order to equalize economic discrepancies and bring about a true sharing of resources. Also, we are bringing east and west together to share in one cultural sphere, the sphere of unification. The True Parents are in the position of giving to you, as individuals and as families. From my position as father, I am always the one to give. The True Parents always want to give. This is true on every level-from the individual to the world level. But then the world is, in a way, refusing this gift; what a truly terrible crime that is. You are in the position to receive such a great blessing and such great love. Can you betray it? If so, that is truly the worst betrayal. I want to give to you on the individual level; my family wants to give to you - especially to you, not to everybody. If you don't want to receive this gift, how great a betrayal that is. When can you ever pay it back? Especially you Unification Church members - how many times have you complained or repeated comments against Father? We have to go to the highest level, so Father does not stop but keeps going up, up, up! Going up is not an easy way. More and more the communist world and the KGB are thinking, "How can we assassinate Reverend Moon?" They want to eliminate "that Reverend Moon guy"; they are serious. So this is a very difficult situation, not an easy one. Father thinks about how to save the communist world. How can I give more love to them now, especially, so that their next generation, their young people, can participate in a new revolution? I hear many reports from our underground members working in that area. Think about our way of life. Think about how you have conducted yourself in the past. Our way has not been toward the ideal but in the opposite direction many times. Although we want to do better, we often find that we have gone in the wrong direction. We do not have a nation yet, our sovereignty, do we? That means God doesn't have authority. I have been concentrating upon the United States in order to turn it truly into one nation under God, because it is the microcosm of the world. America can influence the rest of the world more easily than any other nation. This is the reason I came to America. But where is this America heading now? Is it spiritually well-off, or is it declining and going the road of destruction? Where is America going-upward or downward? America is declining, it is true. The United States is beset with a multitude of problems, such as immorality, juvenile delinquency, and drug abuse. The problems of the family are multiplying and there is tremendous ideological confusion and loss of values. Do you think the Unification Church has the solution to all these incredible problems? If you believe it, how can you prove it? The proof is very simple. You can say, "Look at us. We were once part of that perishing America, but we are very different now. We are new people with new life and new goals. I made a 180 degree turn, so I am the example, the testimony." Isn't that true? Thus the hope for all the millions of people in America is quite simple: it resides within you. If they can turn around just as you have, this country will be saved. The secular education system in America is totally on the satanic side; it is bringing the people straight toward destruction, not life and hope. Within this country I have been able to establish a sort of alternate educational system-our movement-in which young people can be re-educated and turned around. That is the victorious testimony of this great movement here in America. We know that our road is not an easy but an arduous one, so we have made up our minds to go through it. But the rest of the world has been suffering without understanding why. The difference is this: we have a most difficult road today, but we know that tomorrow it will change; thus we have hope for a new day. Although people in the secular world may be happy in the moment, they have no reason to hope for tomorrow. In fact, they feel that tomorrow will certainly be darker; they will become more confused and disunited. That is a big difference. When persecution came to Reverend Moon from the United States government, I did not want to avoid it. I wanted to go over it. Do you follow? My way of life is different-I always overcome the difficulties. You blessed couples, husband and wife, must be ever more determined to go out and work harder. If you just stand still as a married couple, you will isolate yourselves from the rest of the universe. You have no way to stay connected. If there had been any other way, I would not have come to America for this most arduous road of persecution. By my coming here and creating this incredible and controversial movement, all the True Children were exposed to tremendous pressure and emotional pain. When they go to their schools, the other children make fun of them and whisper, "That's Reverend Moon's son and daughter. Oh, those Moonies." The children have had to endure that kind of daily scorn and come home with heavy hearts. I know that. This is different from your own position or that of your children; My children have to carry an extraordinary mental burden all the time. My message to them is always, "Look at me, your Daddy. I am receiving worldwide persecution and I am receiving it willingly, gladly. Can't you take this small persecution that comes from your school? That is really very small compared to what people have done to me." However, I have the vision and the experience to see well beyond the present moment, so I never become discouraged or disheartened. But within the minds of my children, these experiences are gigantic because they cannot see as far beyond. For that reason, their suffering is much greater, in a way. You don't know about these kinds of things. If I had not come to America, these things would not have happened to them. But I came here for a purpose: for the sake of the world and the entire providential goal. I have never become discouraged even one iota or moved backward one step, even though my own children have had to be overburdened in that fashion and sacrificed, in a way. But what about you? Do you think, "Well, Father is Father. He is going his way and we are going ours"? Can you take that easy route? Do you think, "Let's just wait for a while until Father becomes victorious. Then I will f show up on that day to share in the victory"? I want you to understand this very well: instead of trying to shy away now, thinking, "I'll come back later when things are easier," think, "I am a representative of Father. I am on the forefront of this nation and I will be responsible. I would like Father to take the glory and comfort; I want to take the hard work and suffering." That is an example of giving, which is the standard for the ideal. Reverend Moon's life is the model in three most important aspects. If I am asked, "When did you give for the sake of the world?" my answer is, "Always, every minute of he day." If I am asked, "When did you live for the sake of others?" and "When did you love?" I say, "Up to this moment. There was no moment in my life without love." Because of that loving heart, I have always forgiven others. All beings, even a tiny mouse, will welcome you when you are trying to live for its welfare. That is the law of nature. Do you understand? Nature is waiting for such a master. The trees and the grasses are saying, "You human beings are the supreme form of creation. You are the masters of the universe; therefore, we are waiting to be served by you, loved by you." All of nature is awaiting your love. Somebody has to initiate love. That is the role( of the subject. Human beings have to initiate love and then the rest of the universe will respond by giving and serving and loving; but unless someone takes the initiative, nature can never respond. Because God has already given to us, lived for our sake, and loved us, in our hearts there is the desire to respond to God. When you practice God's principle: giving and living for the sake of others, as well as loving others, you will move gradually and surely toward God. Now the paths of East and West are converging. Throughout history, the Oriental way of life has been basically centered upon the mind and the spirit. Thus their concept is to turn inward, deny the material, and focus on giving, serving and moving upward in that way. That has been the Oriental mentality. At the same time, the Western way of life has been centered more upon external things, such as acquiring scientific knowledge and material wealth. We could say that the Orientals are spiritually rich and the Occidentals are materially rich. But now the time has come for these two halves of the world to come together. They have to swap with each other-the West must share their material wealth and gain spiritual well-being. The East must give their spiritual wealth and pursue the scientific and modern-day material wealth. Therefore, a swapping mission must begin, where Orientals bring their ideal elements to the West and pour them out and the West gives its material wealth for the sake of the East. Who is the model and the center of this swapping mission? Reverend Moon has been that center. Reverend Moon, as a representative of the Orient, came to America and poured out everything of internal value. Now we have to see the reverse-Westerners need to go to the Orient and pour out their external wealth. When each part empties itself out-spiritually and materially- they will automatically begin revolving in harmony. The world is already seeing this phenomenon-the Western world is showing more and more respect and appreciation of the Oriental world. American people are interested and attracted to everything Japanese-restaurants, clothing, cars, everything. This is not a problem; it is combining the two worlds. God is working in this way; it is the providential way. This is the final chapter of fallen human history-the West must bring its material wealth to the Orient and pour it out there, while the Orient must bring its spiritual heritage to the West. The two twins can become one and create perfect harmony. This is the final chapter. Then absolutely we will return together back to God. That is the ultimate dispensational role of the Unification Church. Our responsibility is to be like glue-bringing things together. There is a type of glue nowadays that is so strong that once two things are glued together, they are bonded and cannot be separated. We have to make such oneness between different cultures and ways of life. The quickest way to bond together two different ways of life is through our international marriages-bringing East and West together in one home. The Japanese women who married Western men, please raise your hands and let me see. Who gave you your Western husbands? Did I force you, or did you want that? These marriages represent two extremes coming together. That is the most beautiful and dramatic thing in the universe. No matter what other people may say, the most important thing is that you live happily, in an exciting and rewarding way. Furthermore, when you have children you can be most proud of them because they are the fruit of the unity of East and West. Be proud of the fact that those children are the closest to God's heart and a joy to Heaven. Think, "I may be further away, but my children are close to God. God really loves my children." How wonderful! If there had been no opposition from established Christianity forty years ago, perhaps I would have married a British woman. That's true. At that time, the Eve nation was Britain. America was born from that country, so America is the son. The son is the representative of Adam and Eve. Standing in the middle in the archangel position at that time was France. France always goes either way, every time. The most important, valuable way to live is to follow the way of truth-giving, serving and loving. You have to know that clearly. God is an absolute being and He has to protect anyone living this way. I know that clearly. That is why I could survive all these years. I understand the laws of original existence and I am following those laws, so no matter how much opposition comes against me or how difficult the atmosphere, it is no problem. I will continue following the way of truth. Do you understand? My life testifies clearly to the truth of this way. Many people in the past thought, "Reverend Moon is too controversial. He is destined to fail." But they were wrong; Reverend Moon has become more and more successful. Now people testify, "Reverend Moon is the happiest person, even though he has had such a difficult life. No one else has reached such a successful position." People are amazed to see how happy Reverend Moon is. This is the testimony-my life. This is the way of truth. I know it and I am teaching you this clearly at this hour. Now you know clearly, right? What should you do in order to follow me? Should you only think about your life? No, you have to make effort and gain results. You can achieve the same position as mine only by taking action. Otherwise, there is no way. Father is showing you that standard. This is really the most valuable and precious way. Who is really against me? No one, only Satan. Satan and man came together through the fall, but I have been teaching people this truth. Your original mind is following Father's words and now many people are dedicating themselves to sacrificing and separating from Satan. Someday in the future you will die and go to the spiritual world; that is certain. When you stand before God at that time, He will say, "Who are you?" You might say, "I am a Moonie." Then God will say, "Are you a real Moonie or a fake one?" What will you answer? Will you be able to say, "I am a genuine Moonie." Do you have that confidence? Show me your result. The real Moonies' way is that of giving everything, forsaking everything, and loving everyone. God knows that, so He will ask you, "Did you live all your life on earth according to those three criteria?" At that time, how will you answer Him? Will you say with assurance, "Yes, God, I did"? God created the entire universe with that heart. He gave everything, thinking only of others. We received that wonderful gift, so we have to return it. Where? Not to God directly-we must give back to this world. The world is your training course for Heaven, where you learn to forsake, give, and love. Become the kind of fruit for Heaven who feels: God's happiness is my happiness; His joy is my joy. What power do we need to make God's world? We need love power. How wonderful a life we have! God is our subject of love; we are His objects of love and we are meant to become united into one. That is man's purpose and destiny-that is your destiny! Every person has to become that way with God; we have to reach that purpose in reality. This is the real purpose of man. Is this clear? Now you know that this is our responsibility. So the Kingdom of Heaven is a place where no one can live alone, because the ideal cannot be found by an individual all by himself. It has to be two-husband and wife. What about you American people-do you want to go at least once to Africa? America is in the highest place, at the summit. The highest place and the least developed place must have the exchange of give and take. As much as I have given every ounce of energy for the sake of the United States, you in turn must do that for the sake of unfortunate nations, as in Africa. The United States is protecting Korea today almost reluctantly, but some force has been holding the two countries together. The international situation has always forced America to stay closely connected with Korea. At the same time, Reverend Moon has been holding tightly to the United States. The only difference is that the United States is trying to push Reverend Moon in one direction but I have been pushing them in the other direction. This is the battle. The United States has been saying, "Reverend Moon, you are all right as long as you will turn around and be centered upon the United States. We are the subject and you are the object." But Reverend Moon has been saying, "No, no, this is not true." Who is bigger-the United States government or Reverend Moon? Reverend Moon is even shorter than you, so how could you say the! I am bigger? The population of the United States is 240 million and Reverend Moon is only one Oriental person, not even a citizen. That is the way America sees it. Whose eyes are bigger-Reverend Moon's eyes or the U.S. government's eyes? What about this-between the U.S government's nose and smelling power and Reverend Moon's smelling power, which one is greater? Even though Reverend Moon's physical ears are not too big, which is greater-his listening power or the listening power of the U.S. government, which is greater? What about verbal power-which one is stronger? When I shout out something, everybody is shocked. But the U.S. government can issue statement after statement and nobody listens; everybody is dozing. The difference is this: what Reverend Moon speaks is what he does. The U.S. government speaks but often there are no deeds to follow it up, so it is just empty rhetoric. The scale of the U.S. government is quite puny, but that is what they are trying to measure Reverend f Moon with. They just don't have the right kind of scale to measure with. They try to use binoculars to watch him, but those lenses cannot encompass him; Reverend Moon is so big, they cannot see all of him through those particular binoculars. They cannot see anything clearly. They say, "Where is Reverend Moon? Who is he?" You Americans tell me: Which one will surrender, the U.S. government to God, or the other way around? If they refuse to surrender out of arrogance, what will happen? The government will remain only as a facade, while the entire population of the country, particularly the young people, will eventually come to Father. They will be like a paper tiger, with nothing inside. You Americans are different, at least. You understand that God should be at the center and the U.S. should be the object. Is that true? If you found some precious treasure, would you feel like giving it to the President of the United States, or to Father? You are crazy people! That is why they say you are brainwashed. However, we know that we are true love-washed, not brainwashed. Other people do not know or understand the touch of true love, but you Moonies have tasted something unique. That is why other people cannot understand the Unification Church-they do not understand true love. And that is why we are such at mystery to them. Would you like to see Reverend Moon treated with greater respect than the president, or lesser? At this time, what do you think-is my position higher or lower than President Reagan's? A simple way to look at it is this: If President Reagan came here trying to take the place of Reverend Moon, he could not lead the Unification Church for even one day. that's for sure. But if Father were to move to the White House, I could guide the country with no problem. One aspect of this democratic country is very good-the fact that I can speak like this today. If I were to speak like this in a totalitarian system, within a few moments I would be taken away and possibly executed. What they call the WASPs-White, Anglo-Saxon Protestants-look at Reverend Moon and cannot accept him. There are many Americans saying, "No, no," against Reverend Moon now, but they are getting very tired and they will fall asleep. When they wake up, the rest of America will have gone to follow Reverend Moon's movement. Are there any CIA agents in the audience? Go ahead and tell the director of the CIA everything that Reverend Moon is speaking. The CIA is clever and at least they understand the truth. They say, "Well, Reverend Moon is a true anti-communist, and he is teaching good moral standards to young people. That is all good for America. The only problem is that he won't become Americanized; he is trying to Moonize America!" All kinds of people have come from around the world and become Americanized, but has that made them better human beings? On the other hand, you American men and women who have become "Moonized," what kind of people have you become? You have become purpose oriented, moral, dedicated, and unselfish. What is wrong with that? That means the battle is already over; the umpire has already made his call. It is only a matter of time now. Do you agree? Nothing really bothers or disturbs Reverend Moon; I am solid like a rock. I can chortle and laugh, "HA, HA, HA." The key point is this: Moonizing is not bad, but what is the final result, what are the consequences of it? Is Reverend Moon just trying to use everybody like bait in the Pacific Ocean? No, Reverend Moon is Moonizing young people to truly create the Kingdom of God on the earth. What is wrong with that? By using the American citizens as raw material, Reverend Moon has produced people of much higher quality, with heavenly citizenship. This is the most ideal, sought-after position. Anybody who seriously opposes this is actually a traitor to the United States. If the government opposes it, then the government is actually betraying the American dream. Do you follow? American people live well, and they ask, "Why shouldn't we?" That is fine. I have no objection to all the American people living well, except that such a high level should be reached by going through the level of Africa. Two extremes must come together in harmony- the top American way of life and the most difficult African way of life. That is why my message and training for you have always included both the highest ideal and the lowest, most difficult way of life. We do fund raising, witnessing, fasting and so forth. We work very hard all the time. People say, "Reverend Moon, your teaching is good but your practices are terrible. Why do you put American young people in such bad situations, such as selling flowers and other hard work?" But I say, "I am helping to create Americans who can embrace both the top and the bottom in life, people who can have dominion and control over everything." American people should give everything for the sake of Africa. Suppose people sold their fine homes and possessions and took that money to Africa where they could buy land, build hospitals and schools by which to serve the African people. If you could do that, would you strive I only to make yourself comfortable instead? Would you do that for your own sake? The way you can win Africa is to do three things: give to them, live for their sake and love them. You will not lose yourself, either. That is the truly wise way, the way that Reverend Moon is teaching. I have been pouring everything, all my energy and resources, into America, but I have never felt that I have lost anything. Instead, I have gained something much greater: I have gained America. Korea, in the lower place, gave to America, which is in the higher place. I have been the personification of that standard of giving. Now America, in Reverend Moon's tradition, should give everything to Africa, which is in the lowest place. That will never bring about your destruction; rather it will enable you to live truly. That is where your true life and your true hope lie. I would like to see America pour out everything she has into the continent of Africa, just as I have poured everything into America. What about you American young people, do you agree with this? Do you think Reverend Moon's teaching is wrong? You accept this? Then you never know what might take place. For instance, this brother here never knows when I might say, "OK, now I want you to pack up and move to Africa." Will you complain, "But I need a little time to take care of this and that, a few days." Then will you say, "I need a few weeks"? Then will you say, "A few more months"? Finally, would it be, "I need a few more years here in America"? The wisest men and women are those who don't feel they need to have some nice apartment or townhouse to live in, but are content with living out of their suitcase. Then all you have to do is pick up your suitcase and go, saying, "I'm ready, Father." It is almost like a seasonal bird who moves from one hemisphere to another. They don't have apartments or houses or possessions; they don't even have automobiles. All they have is their two wings. But the male and female birds are very happy to fly together and their little offspring follow them, also very happy. The family of birds travels happily together. What if I issued moving orders to all of you to go to Africa? Would you resist going? What would happen? You American white people here who can say, "Father, as soon as you issue your moving orders to go to Africa, I will be ready," raise your hands. You are great people. Unbelievable! I'm not saying "Grey" people. I don't like grey. I like "Great!" Let's imagine if the children of the U.S. Cabinet members sold all their belongings and went to Africa to do missionary work. Would that create bad public opinion? What has been the policy of most white Americans in the past? Basically, it has been exploitation: "Let's go to Africa and take away the resources, such as the diamonds and gold and iron, and make ourselves richer." Therefore, the people of the world have resisted Americans. On every continent people have expressed their resentment toward the "Ugly American" and have waved banners saying, "Yankee, go home!" America has been given all its riches and resources from God so that it could exercise stewardship. America is safeguarding that properly until the Master comes, but when the true Heavenly owner and Master arrives, they should relinquish ownership. If America realizes that, they will be all right. When the Master comes, will he say, "OK, it's all mine now"? No, he will say, "Open up the doors of the treasury and give out everything for the unfortunate people of Africa and the rest of the world." Is that role of the Master parallel to what I have been teaching you this morning, or is it contradictory? The Kingdom of Heaven must begin from Africa-not the United States. So the American people should walk and let the African people ride in their big cars; let the Africans take comfort while the white Americans fulfill the role of missionary. The white people brought black Africans over to America and used them as slaves; the white people were their masters. Now you should go to Africa and say, "I want to be your slave; you are the masters now." If Americans did that, would this country perish? No. That sort of action has never even been discussed by anyone in history, much less has anyone been doing it. Only Reverend Moon has had the logic, the reasoning and the pride to be able to do it. That is what Reverend Moon's training program is all about: Asian people come to America and work for the sake of America; American people go to Africa and work for the sake of Africa. If American people say, "I will not do that sort of thing because I am a first-class citizen of this fine country," the future of this country will be very dismal. I will watch to see how you American people respond. The blessings of this country-material, technological and every other sort-are for the sake of the whole world. If Americans try to hold on to them just for selfish purposes, to promote the well-being of the white, Anglo-Saxon people, this nation will definitely perish. The Moonies' hope is in turning. By turning and making a full circle, we create a center; that is our hope-to create a center. Once we turn, the axis shall be formed. That axis should be always on a vertical line. The more you turn without an axis, the more problems you create. But with the right axis of true love, the more you turn, the more construction that can take place. Is this very clear? It doesn't matter how much book learning you may have, or how many courses in philosophy you may have taken. What do you think-just holding on to one way is better, or holding both sides is better? What about East and West, is it enough to just hold hands, or shouldn't they embrace? Then when they embrace, what should be their center? True love. There should be movement- Oriental people should love Westerners more than they love Easterners. Western people should love the Eastern people more than they love themselves. The spirit world is coming down to love the physical world and the physical world is loving the spirit world. Again, this is give and take with the highest ideal. In the name of God, we can have the exchange of love; you can f go joyfully to the lowest place or the widest, highest place. We can move to the east, west, north or south; we are the God-created independence movement, bringing true freedom on the face of the earth. Reverend Moon is not only speaking about an Oriental philosophy or ideology; I am also teaching a Western ideology. Within me the two realms are harmonized. Reverend Moon is not only harboring the earthly ideal but the heavenly ideal as well. Reverend Moon's ideal is universal-it can go anywhere and in all four directions. When the True Parents go to your home would we be guests or like hosts or masters? Would you welcome us in your home, or would you want to charge us for the room? Or will you say, "Father, if you want to come to my home, you have to call first and make an appointment"? That is the American way, isn't it? What if I just showed up all of a sudden and kicked your door, saying, "I'm here!" Would you immediately say, "Don't invade my privacy!"? Would you tell me I couldn't come in? No, you say you would welcome me in anytime. Unless you embrace the two worlds of East and West, there is no way the ideal can be created. It is the Korean custom that whenever you present a gift or some object to another person, particularly an elder or someone in a higher position, you always use both hands. In America, since you have no such concept, you always give something with one hand. Some Americans even give me papers or things like that with one hand, sometimes not even looking at me. The eyes are very important when you present something. You should present something with both hands and your eyes should be directed toward the recipient. When your eyes are there, it means your heart is also there. Your heart, mind and body are all there, focused into that act of giving. The other way is almost barbaric-virtually shoving something at somebody in a casual and careless manner. In summertime, many women walk around on the streets half-dressed. That is not so pretty, either; it is certainly not a reflection of a highly cultured society. That is also vulgar and barbaric. The way of life in the United States is based on pragmatism. I am not really opposed to pragmatism. The road toward the ideal is actually the most pragmatic way of life because that is the way you will gain the most in your life. You will eventually gain more this way than any other way. Suppose I said that everybody here at Belvedere today should go do missionary work in Africa. Those who oppose such a thing, please stand up. Nobody is standing up so that means, at least, that everybody here is aspiring to go to Heaven. In 1971, God spoke to Reverend Moon and said, "My son, go to America." What should I have said? "God, don't you know that I need time to prepare myself? I have to learn to speak English and study the customs there. I need some time!" Should I have said that? The important thing is not the language, the customs or culture. The only really important thing is obedience. "Yes Sir, Heavenly Father" is what I said and I just took off. If God told me now, "Leave America. The job is done there, so go to Africa," then I would be gone by the next morning. I wouldn't even have to say, "Members, assemble I want to say good-bye to you." Do you think that I would say to God, "But Belvedere and East Garden are just getting shaped up. Now that we have built more room at East Garden, I want the chance to enjoy it before I leave for another country"? No, not at all. What about you, would you do the same? I may go back to Korea and you would want to come there, isn't that true? All right, but you can only come to Korea by way of Africa. You have to go to a land hostile to America, where the people shout, "Yankee, go home." Go there and transform that hostility until they want to pay respect to you good American people. When you have earned respect as their brother, their teacher, their master, then you can come to Korea and see me. Do you follow? Why should it be like that? The road toward the ideal is designed in exactly that way. To go on the road to Heaven, you have to embrace Cain; Abel must love Cain and gain dominion over him before he can enter the Kingdom of Heaven. This is the teaching and ideology of the Unification Church. The Principle teaches this point, particularly in the Principle of Creation; it is absolutely the basic, fundamental truth of the universe. Everything must be manifested according to that law; no shortcuts or deviation are possible. This is why you are doing the things you do; you are tasting Africa here in America, in a way, by doing fund raising, fasting, witnessing and so forth. African people will also come to America and work diligently; they do not just sit passively and wait to be taken care of. They work side by side with the American people and white people. Look at me. I came as a foreigner to this country. Have I sat passively and waited for other people to take care of me? No, I have always stayed ahead of everybody. Many changes have taken place in America and now a lot of people are saying, "Reverend Moon, we really need you here. Could you please reconsider and stay here?" You know, I have no sense of time while I am speaking, but my stomach is telling me that it is getting late. When I looked at my watch just now, I was surprised to see that it was 10:00 o'clock. In a few days, I will be leaving America to go somewhere, probably Korea. I do not know when I will be back. This is the reason I have spoken this particular sermon today, which is very important. When I am here in America and speaking at Belvedere, you come to Sunday Service but when I am not here, are you going to stay away? Actually, the ideal is for you to attend even more regularly when I am away. When I am not here, you should work even harder. That is the ideal way. Am I wrong? No, you know that this is correct. Thus when I am away working on some other project, you should be assembling at Belvedere with even more passion and prayer, and working harder, giving even more. While I am away, I will ask, "How many people are assembling at Belvedere?" and if the answer is, "Not many," then I will say, "Those Americans are just hopeless; I'm not ever going back there. I don't want to deal with them any more." I would like to go to Red China. Does one Chinese person have the same value as one American? Yes, in God's eyes their value is the same. Which would be easier to transform-one American or one Chinese? Of course, the Chinese would be easier. If we could go to China and spend the same amount of money and resources as we have poured out in this country, you think about what would happen. Wouldn't China virtually turn around, or would it just remain immovable? Deng, the Chinese leader, would certainly enjoy meeting with me. Now that gigantic country of China is taking an objective position; they are trying to grab onto me. Now you know the way toward the ideal. You have learned it this morning. Two must become harmonized- two arms, two legs, two eyes. Heaven must be entered by men and women together. When a child is sick, the parent's heart is completely concentrated on him. The sick or crippled child receives the most sympathy among all the children from the parents. That is the quality of the parental heart. The parents are at the peak position, so their heart goes down to the lowest valley. That is the ideal-extreme to extreme. How can anybody rebel against that? Nobody can oppose this law. It is absolute. How can we make the bridge between the extremes? You should imitate my way of life. You know that now. You have to work for the world, not just the nation. Our ideal way is to always pursue the higher goal. Shall we conclude now? The conclusion is very simple: if you are ready to die honorably for the sake of God and the world, you will surely live honorably. If you have such a noble conviction, you will certainly live in an honorable way every day. But anybody who wants to get away with living just for his own happiness will go the opposite direction. This is the most central point of Jesus' teaching, as recorded in the Bible: "Whoever wishes to save his own life shall lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake shall find it." Jesus truly knew the universal law. We all should live according to that teaching, as Jesus did. Once again, you cannot enter the ideal level by yourself. Either as an individual, society or nation you must be paired. The United States must be paired with Korea; therefore, Reverend Moon has been holding the United States tightly. Although the United States is reluctant and resisting, it is still holding on to Korea. This is happening because of some greater power. When Korea comes to the United States' position and vice-versa, uniting and making a perfect turn, then the entire world will have become one at that point. All you Moonies want to go to Korea, don't you? Who controls that? I did not instill that desire in you, but it is the manifestation of the universal law. If you go to a festive celebration and everybody starts to dance, what if you have no partner? What a miserable feeling to have to just sit and watch all by yourself. The entire universe is like a grand hall or ballroom. Everyone within that hall must be a part of a pair; otherwise, you cannot stay. God Himself will tell you to leave. That dance hall has a door which opens automatically to any pairs who want to come in and dance. There is no discrimination or refusal to anyone. If you Westerners or American people feel you can remain forever in a very high place, you are wrong. The only way you can go to Heaven and the ideal place is by lowering yourself. That is the teaching of Reverend Moon. The problems between black and white people in America will be solved once this teaching is understood. Whites will humble themselves and embrace with the blacks; blacks will make the effort to elevate themselves to equal give and take with the whites. Then the problem will be gone. The circling motion will bring us down into the center, into the focal point. Once we reach that focus, we return the other way around and develop outward. It is wrong for black people ever to think, "Because it is Reverend Moon's teaching, you white people have to come here and serve me." That is the wrong attitude and equally as evil as white arrogance. Black people must humble themselves and work hard, clean up their atmosphere and orient themselves in an altruistic direction; then give and take will occur. Then we will have a focus, a true center. Without that center, you will be thrown out of orbit, never to rejoin the community of the universe. Do you understand what I have said this morning? When I have been gone from the United States and I call and ask the American leaders how many people have f been attending Sunday Service at Belvedere, I want to hear, "So many that they spilled out onto the lawn because there was no room for them in the auditorium." Do you think I would be resentful and say, "Gee, why didn't that many come to hear me when I was there?" No, I would say, "Hallelujah! Finally, America has understood my message!" If such a booming Belvedere service ever happens, I will feel great confidence and comfort in America and I will think, "I'm glad I gave them the sermon, "Road Toward the Ideal." They must have gotten my message that day." Those who pledge to me that you will do it, raise your hands. Thank you and God bless you. |
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