csg-10-01-a-perspective-on-human-life

Section 1. What Is Human Life?

1.1. Problems in life have been like a maze

Why were we born, why should we live, and where should we go? You should not think that you were the cause of your birth. People are born into this world yet do not know the origin and purpose of their birth; they are ignorant of the motivation and purpose of their existence. Neither our birth nor our life nor our death stems from our own intentions. Then, what do we have to be proud about? We have no control over our birth, we are merely custodians in this life, and we cannot avoid the path of death. Thus, any attempt at self-praise and holding self-indulgent pride is pitiful. Once born, we are destined to live, and destined to die and pass away to the next world. (7-178, 1959.9.6)

Up to this present day, philosophy has historically labored to solve the problems of human life. Many philosophers arose and took great pains to come up with all kinds of theories with regard to true human value and perfection, and to succeed on their own in order to be proud before the whole universe. However, today we see that all ideologies and assertions that led to the establishment of new ideological systems were tested in practice by human society and found to be failures; they all fell by the wayside. (141-125, 1986.2.20)

Why do people live haphazardly, hating to die, yet harbor many questions in their minds, such as, “Why am I living? What is the origin of my life?” The answers to these questions cannot be found in books written by philosophers because the purpose of philosophy lies in seeking and paving the way toward God. Then what is religion? Religious life begins from learning about God in order to live together with Him. (186-12, 1989.1.24)

What is the purpose of this life? You should reflect on this question once more. Since we are not the cause, it follows that the purpose does not lie with us alone. No one would object to the idea of being happy in life. No one would reject a dazzling life. Yet none of us is free to live as we please. Still, each of us wishes to feel pride in ourselves, live freely with respect to our own will, and be remembered accordingly. These conflicting elements can all be found within our hearts. (7-178, 1959.9.6)

Let us say you live up to eighty years of age. If you subtract the hours you spend sleeping, you are left with about fifty years of life. Would you say you are alive when you are asleep? When you are asleep, you are as good as dead, because you are inanimate. Sleeping is the same as being dead the whole time. The number of hours you labor each day to make a living is about half of the twenty-four hours in a day. Now deduct the time you spend eating. From whatever time is left subtract the time spent visiting, going to friends’ parties, attending the sixtieth birthday celebrations of village elders, attending funerals and wakes, and being bedridden. In short, if you were to exclude all the days you lose for whatever reasons that might arise, you cannot claim to have actually lived very much. Would it even be half of your entire lifetime? When I calculated this recently, it came out as roughly seven years. Even so, of those seven years, how many days could you claim to have truly lived? (49-336, 1971.10.24)

Life passes by very quickly. After attaining maturity and coming to know the affairs of the world, doing things here and there, you will find yourselves crossing the forty-year mark, and soon after that, the fifty-year mark. A decade will fly by in the twinkling of an eye, and in what will seem like only seconds, you will be sixty years old. Then very soon you will be seventy, but only for a minute before you age again. When you think about it, the saying, “Life is but a fleeting dream,” has never sounded so true. (188-38, 1989.2.16)

A person’s fortune stretches and shrinks like an elastic rubber band. If someone who is born with fortune valued at 100 spends 120 in the course of his life, his descendants will perish. If he spends only 80, he can bequeath the remaining 20 as a blessing to his descendants. (78-332, 1975.6.10)

You can change your fortune, but not your inherited destiny. Can you change your homeland? Can you change your parents? However strong a nation’s sovereignty and customs might be, it can never change the fact that you were born as the son or daughter of your parents. As can be seen, the path of restoration is also a destined path. (172-55, 1988.1.7)

When you make a wrong start, you end up in a totally unexpected place. Hence, when a ship sets out into the great ocean, it should chart its course and follow the compass from the moment it first sets sail from port. Then, what is the port of departure for human life? People do not know. Where can we find the direction and guiding compass to reach our destination in the world beyond? People have not been able to find this, so they have been wandering about back and forth. However much they try, they are not able to overcome their human limitations. (172-28, 1988.1.3)

1.2. What is our destiny?

Where will we go after this life? People must resolve this important issue. Religions and philosophies arose historically to do this. You therefore cannot deny that all of you too are caught up and driven by this destiny. That being always the case, where are our minds and bodies trying to go? Where are our hearts, wishes, hopes, and ideals trying to go? Toward what do our lives incline? Even if we cannot answer these questions, we are still destined to eventually pass away. When we die, our bodies will be buried in the ground. So then, will our minds, lives, hearts, ideals, and even hopes be buried together the day our bodies are buried? Do they disappear? Unless you have sound contents, solutions, and a purposeful perspective, you will inevitably become unhappy people. (8-194, 1959.12.20)

In order for cicadas to become adults, they must first hatch from eggs and then pass through the maggot or larval stage. While in that stage, they live either underwater or underground, but that is not the final stage of their life cycle. Their ultimate destiny is to fly in the air. Before they can do so, however, they need to make preparations while they are underground or underwater and these preparations are indispensable. For them to pass on from the larval to the adult stage, they need to make thorough preparations to fly while still in the previous stage. To pass from the former to the latter, they need to first shed their shell, the final barrier before their state of maturity, and molt into adult insects. While living in water as nymphs, they need to be broad and flat, to float easily; on the other hand, when they have become adults and must fly in the air, retaining such a shape would not work. Thus, they need to undergo a complete metamorphosis to adapt accordingly. (120-222, 1982.10.17)

For what reason are we born? What should be the focus of our life, and for what purpose do we pass on? These questions can never be answered without God. Without Him, we cannot find our true purpose in life. Those who lack purpose can neither reap the fruit of their work nor have their value recognized. A building is constructed according to an architect’s blueprint. Without reference to that original blueprint, it cannot become what was originally intended in the design. (21-100, 1968.11.17)

The arrival of autumn foretells the coming of winter. Only those with vitality can pass through the course of winter. Things without vitality cannot but retreat from it. Thus, they need to be infused with new life before the coming of winter. We need a new principle and thought based on a new love, and a new outlook on life, the world, and the universe. Without these, we cannot survive through winter. The course is arduous, but once you acquire the vitality to pass through winter, spring will draw nearer with each passing day. The mild spring days will soon arrive. This is the path trodden by the Unification Church. (35-68, 1970.10.3)

Section 2. Human Beings Are Resultant Beings

2.1. Human beings was born from God’s love

We were not born of our own free will, or as a result of plans drawn up by our parents to have a particular son or daughter. Thus, we were not born at the request of our parents. If we were to research further into the origins of our existence based on God’s providence, there would be no other way than to conclude that we are in accord with the origin of the providence, and were born on earth to bear the important responsibility of forming a relationship with the ever-shifting history based on that origin. Therefore, although each individual seems small in the process of history, it does not mean that we will end up as nothing more than small insignificant beings. (34-155, 1970.9.6)

Where is the origin through which human beings can connect their births and themselves? Faced with the principles of this great universe, where should they begin to look to find the origin that they can claim to be theirs? Born as resultant beings, those who do not know the causal being, but who yet assert themselves as wise, are all out of their minds (83-191, 1976.2.8)

There is a very simple answer to the questions: “Why were we born?” “Why did God create humankind?” “Why did He create all things of creation?” God requires an object of His love, and thus He created human beings in order to fulfill this. At this moment aren’t you thinking, “I am worthless; therefore, it would not matter whether I continued to live or not”? Yet there is no reason for you to think in this way. Being the object of God’s love is like being loved by your parents; they do not love only their more capable children. They love all of their children equally regardless of their capability. Similarly, parents with disabled children ache more for them. God, who is the center of heaven and earth, has a heart of love that transcends the limits of our capabilities. What is most important is whether you can manifest love through your original nature. Hence, you need to know why you were created and why the whole universe came into being. You need to know that you, as well as the whole universe, were created to realize the ideal of love. (130-44, 1983.12.11)

Why did God create the whole universe, and why did He create us? It was for love. Why were we born? We were born due to God’s love. We were born from His love and destined to live in His love. To become a person who can claim to be loved by your family, your society, your nation, and the world, as well as by God, you would first need to live in His love. (97-266, 1978.3.19)

What was it that you were born with as an endowment from your parents? It can be said that you were born as the connectors of life. At the place where your mother and father united, you were born with the value of the vital force of both parents within you. That vital force exists for love, and that force and love exist to fulfill the purpose of the universe. That is how it is. In short, you were born to fulfill an overall purpose. Whether man or woman, everyone is born from the union based on the vital force in order to perfect themselves as co-creators in fulfilling the great purpose of the universe. (110-72, 1980.11.9)

Why were we born? For what purpose were we born? It was for God’s love. According to the nature of that love, if we were to go “boom!” here, God would feel a “ting!” directly on His head. If you throw something into the middle of a pond, “plop!” ripples would spread out to the edges of the pond. In the same way, if you were to cast love into the center of the universe, “phut!” the ripples would spread out to all corners of the universe. Such is the work we are doing. The question is through what you can create great ripples. (103-254, 1979.3.4)

Who is God? He is the Creator. Who is the Creator? The religious world conceives of God as our Father and us as His children. What kind of a father is He? In what way is He our Father? It gets rather vague after that. Is He a foster father, a father from the next town, or an adoptive father? What sort of parent is He? Is He the father of a groom or a bride? The word “father” has various meanings. Without solving this fundamental problem, however deep or wide you delved into the world to solve it, you would never find the solution. Even after tens of thousands of years, you would not be any nearer the solution than you are now. The answer lies in the relationship between humankind and God. Let us say that He is our Father; have you ever felt that He is indeed your Father? Before you existed, your father and mother already existed. Based on this premise, it follows that before you can claim to exist, you should first claim that your parents exist. That is only right. Asserting your existence and leaving out your parents is foolish. (188-190, 1989.2.26)

Human beings are not the first or causal beings. They are the second or resultant beings. Hence, before speaking of yourself, you should first affirm the existence of your mother and father. From this point of view, is it not obvious that you should first settle the fundamental question of God as the Origin of the universe? If you were to go further than your mother and father up your genealogy, would you not eventually arrive at God? Following this logic, before you can assert yourself you need to reach a conclusion with regard to God and His nature, that He is our Father, and that as such He has a certain type of character. That is why the Unification Church is teaching you this. (188-190, 1989.2.26)

You need to comprehend properly the original starting point of human life. As resultant beings, human beings need to conform to the causal starting point. Although you need to conform to that causal point, it cannot be devoid of content. Since God also possesses human character, all people have within them the God-given faculties of intellect, emotion, and will. That is why the motive of His love should be greater than its substance of the origin. It must also be absolute. If something starts out wrong, its path can never be rectified. (172-32, 1988.1.3)

2.2. Original purpose for the birth of human beings

God is the first Cause of the universe and the Creator of everything under the sun. He is also our beloved Father. He made all the things of creation in order to fulfill His unique will. His purpose lies in the manifestation of love. Though He may be the Origin of true love and omnipotent, He cannot feel the joy of love by Himself. He needs an object for His love, and desires to receive voluntary love in return. The culmination of all the creation, created to be in the highest position, is man and woman. Consequently, we have a purpose in our life. That purpose requires our becoming mature and realizing a relationship of eternal true love with Him. This is the fundamental principle through which harmony can be achieved between Him and us. (166-131, 1987.6.1)

It may be important to live in affluence and to do something in life; however, before anything else, you need to fulfill your duties of filial piety and loyalty to the vertical Heavenly Parent and surpass living saints in your devotion to Him. Such is the original purpose for humankind’s birth. He created us in order to meet such people. Such is our underlying purpose. (58-231, 1972.6.11)

Where is the righteous path in life? From where did human beings originate? They were born from love; then what path should they follow in life? It is that of love. For what should they die? The logical conclusion is love. What kind of love is that? It is that which can be welcomed by the macrocosm, not just the microcosm. The purpose of life can be perceived as originating in the heart of the macrocosm and approved by God, the angelic world, all creation, all people, and our parents. That purpose is to live in the universe, to love in it, and to die in it. (83-164, 1976.2.8)

When people are pleased about something, they wish to share their joy with their parents, siblings, and relatives. Pleasure brings about happiness. Happiness is eternal, and what is eternal is the heart of love. What is the center of the universe? It is parents and children, that is, parents and us. It is God and us. God is our Father and we are His children. Our ultimate purpose in life is to find our Father and to feel infinite joy by forming an inseparable relationship with Him. (12-104, 1962.12.16)

Once I was walking down the street and happened to strike up a conversation with an old man. I asked him, “Where are you going?” and he answered, “Where else, where else but my son’s home?” I then asked, “Is that so, what will you do when you get there?” and he replied, “I will eat whatever is placed before me, and if they are so good as to serve me chicken, I will relish having some of that too.” I questioned him once more, “What will you do after you have had your meal?” and this is the answer he gave, “Nothing much.” Do we have to spend our lives like this? (19-289, 1968.3.10)

When balancing the ledger of a store, you have to calculate revenue and expenditure accurately. In balancing the accounts of a mere store, you have to exercise care. However, do you pay as much attention when you balance the accounts of your life? Have you ever even tried to balance the accounts of your life? Have you gone into the red, or are you in the black? If you see red ink, you should lament most grievously. People should be able to sing for joy on their deathbed. If you find yourself struggling to accept the reality of death when face it, that struggle only goes to show that you have lived a life in the red. We should lead our lives in the black in the realm of heart, based on the absolute standard. (19-289, 1968.3.10)

For whom do people live? If you were to answer, “For myself,” you would get a failing mark. Could a family sustain itself through those who live only for themselves? They could not form a family of hope. Could a nation sustain itself through them? It could not. Can the world sustain itself through them? It could not. There would be no place for the world in their lives. The public mind of heaven and earth would reprimand them, “You individualistic villains! Get out of here!” If people always put themselves first, will there be a place for their families? Would there be a place for an ideal nation? Could they enter through a hole that is even narrower than the tip of a knife? However much they tried, they could never enter through such a small space. (57-66, 1972.5.28)

You should understand love. The purpose for every existence is love. You must keep this unchanging principle in your heart that tells you to pursue love and exist for love. Birds fly around, chirping, delighting in each other’s company, all because of love, and the positive and negative poles of magnets attract each other and stick fast, all because they want to become one in love. People always seek to meet their other half to become one with them. (67-159, 1973.6.1)

2.3. We live for the sake of love

How should we lead our lives? From where and for what purpose were we brought into existence, and how should we live? The answer is simple. Since we were born of the love based on God and because of love, we should seek out the path of love, and follow it to its destination. In this manner, we can continue moving in an endless cycle. Love is an eternal concept, and therefore we will ultimately arrive at the center in our search for love. This can only be realized through love. (125-65, 1983.3.6)

The life we are leading on earth is not for our own sake. We are living for the sake of God’s love. For that purpose, we are in a continuous state of action and existence. How splendid that is! Those who lead such a life can never be brought to ruin. Hardships, tears and misery would not make us miserable, bitter, or sad because we would be enduring them all for the love of God. You should understand this principle. (67-159, 1973.6.1)

For what purpose are we living? Absolute true love! Let us live for true love! Everything is included in it. Even the handkerchief in my pocket exists for love. I work and sweat for love, for the sake of true love. I speak for true love, I eat for true love, I play for true love; in fact, everything is for true love. (107-205, 1980.5.1)

What should be the purpose of humankind? Rather than setting the purpose as an individual, a family, a social organization, a nation, the world, or heaven and earth, human beings should progress towards the common goal of God and humankind centered on Him. Then what would be the ultimate purpose? That which is based on the individual, family, society, nation, or world is sure to drift away. What remains at the very end, after everything else is gone, would be the purpose pursued jointly by God and humankind. Only such a purpose, and no other, can remain to the final day of history. (41-323, 1971.2.18)

What is the final destination where your minds settle in the end? Even when you have found God and made Him yours, you would not try to rest your mind there. The final destination of your mind would be the place where you have taken possession of God and His love. Thus, if you fail to possess His love, everything will be in vain. (24-17, 1969.6.22)

Regarding the final purpose of life, the question is not whether we can meet with God, the Center of heaven. It is whether we are living together with Him. The question lies in where we would meet Him, if we were to do so. If we were to live with Him, what sort of a place would that be? In short, we need to meet Him and live with Him at the central place, and that is the place of His love. That is why the greatest aspiration of the human conscience is to follow heavenly fortune, to become one with God, and to possess His love. That is the conclusion. (24-17, 1969.6.22)

The final desire of human beings is to become the object of love to the greatest being, who is our Father, and at the same time, God. (65-46, 1972.11.13)

Originally, all people, regardless of who they may be, were endowed with the privilege of being born as the crown princes and princesses in God’s Kingdom. Such is their value. Such was the dignity of human beings as originally intended. (68-326, 1973.8.5)

Once they establish a relationship of heart with Him, everyone can become God’s children. The value of human beings does not depend on their cultural backgrounds, historical environments, or current situations. Nothing on earth can determine the value of human beings. What determines their value is whether they know God, His purpose, the purpose of human beings, and the purposes of all the things of creation. (15-83, 1965.9.29)

We need to search for a new set of values upon which to base our lives. We need to seek new values with regard to the world, humankind, ideology, and love. When that set of values begins to take shape in accordance with God’s will, its matrix will be completely different from the current set of values established through human will. (44-227, 1971.5.23)

In this world of today, we need a definite set of values that go beyond the worldly view. The Unification Church has placed God at the center of a new set of values. Our aim is not just to return to the world, the ideal world. We are arguing that we should return to God. If we fail to return to Him, there can be no ideal world of happiness, eternity, and love. This is because the primary factors of happiness, every situation we desire, can only begin from God. For this reason, we need to return to Him. Therefore, you must understand that institutions of religion emerged in history, yearning for and in pursuit of this primary need. (68-138, 1973.7.29)

The Unification Church is presenting the world with absolute values, and at the same time, True Parents. Where is the final destination of the standard of absolute values, the one desired by everyone? It is to become sons and daughters of True Parents. It is to become God’s children, who can harbor eternal life and love. There is no other way. At the time of the Fall, Adam and Eve did not establish their conjugal relationship with God’s permission. They did so of their own accord. The only relationship that began with God’s consent was that between father and son. Yet, that was shattered, and therefore needs to be restored and rectified. (68 -138, 1973.7.29)

Section 3. The Great Value of Human Beings

3.1. Original human value is akin to that of God

How great is the value of humankind? They are the only beings that God would long for over tens of thousands of years, leaning on his walking stick. According to my observations, this fact happens to be the basis for the creation of the universe. Since God and human beings related to each other as internal and external, vertical and horizontal perspectives about the world of love could be established. Both vertical and horizontal views on the world of love can come into existence once upper-lower and left-right relationships are formed. God can come to reside in the center of them all. That place, which can bind them all into one at the deepest core of the heart, is the central place of the vertical and horizontal. If they are not bound into one, the standard of the vertical and horizontal cannot develop into the ideal form of love. The existence of the vertical form alone does not guarantee the existence of the horizontal form. Therefore, you should understand that God had no other choice but to create human beings in this form. (48-224, 1971.9.19)

As an absolute being with an absolute ideal for His creation, God pursues beings who can relate to Him with absolute value. This is something that cannot be exchanged for anything in this world. A being that can relate to God has a value that is greater than that of God Himself. The term “the value of one’s counterpart” seems difficult to comprehend. The value of a partner, of any being as a counterpart, is so great that it cannot be exchanged for anything or anyone, even for God. God cannot exchange it with Himself, for if He did, He would be left alone as a result. He would be left all by Himself. This is why God invests Himself and exhausts His own strength and His own energy. He is engaged in a war of attrition. The forms of existence thus created with relational value that cannot be exchanged for God Himself are human beings. The form of existence with absolute value is none other than humankind. God created people as beings of value with such an idea. (68-134, 1973.7.29)

God created humankind for the sake of love. Why were human beings created? They were created because of love. The reason human beings are different from other forms of creation is that they were created as God’s sons and daughters. They were created as object partners who can receive love directly from Him. Such is the privilege of humankind. (132-245, 1984.6.20)

Whom do human beings resemble? God. Therefore, it follows that He also desires love just as they do. In the world of the ideal of creation based on love, human beings embody God as His image and the rest of creation embodies God symbolically, according to the Unification Church’s teaching. Based on what? Love. When God rejoices, people will automatically rejoice, and when they rejoice, the creation will automatically rejoice as well. What would bring this about? Only love, nothing else can achieve this. (166-48, 1987.5.28)

When creating an object to reflect His love, whom would God make it resemble? Would He not create it to resemble Him? If He creates the object to resemble Himself, that object should have all His characteristics, both His male and female characteristics. Human beings resemble God, and they are the substantial manifestations of His internal nature, His invisible form and His invisible mind. Hence, the Book of Genesis is correct in saying that God created human beings in His image. (170 -167, 1987.11.15)

God’s invisible form is symbolically reflected in all parts of our body. Whose eyes do ours resemble? God’s! Hence, when you closely study the facial features of human beings, you see that the eyes are set deeper than other features. The deep-set eyes can thus observe everything. Next, the nose symbolizes Adam and Eve. It rests at the center. Next, the mouth symbolizes all the things of creation. It is horizontal and encloses thirty-two teeth, or four times eight, based on all the things of creation in the world and the number four. Next, the ears symbolize all directions. The features found above the neck symbolize heaven. In other words, it is the information center of heaven. (201-83, 1990.3.4)

The Lord of Creation has placed every part of His form in the face of human beings. Hence, God’s characteristics can all be found in the human face. The eyes symbolize God. Thus, when a being comes into existence, the first feature to develop is the eyes. Since the center of the universe is God, the eyes symbolize Him. Therefore, you can tell just by looking into the eyes of someone, indeed anyone, whether that person is conscientious or not. (39-247, 1971.1.15)

Whatever form truth may take, what would be its core? It is not money or power or knowledge. The core of truth is love. The essence of love is vertical, and truth that embodies love is horizontal. Hence, you can know God just by looking at His creation, and since Adam and Eve were created in His image, you can know Him by looking at them. They are His object partners of vertical true love while standing as subject partners to the creation. If the love between these two, man and woman, can be made to fit together with the axis of the world through east, west, north and south, then God, the spirit world, and the entire physical world would be connected. (179-290, 1988.8.14)

You need to attain oneness with your spouse. Through the unity of subject and object partners, reproduction takes place. Only through give and take action can reproduction take place. The place where reproduction occurs is truly one of joy. Does God Himself have dual characteristics of internal nature and external form? When separate, neither can be the subject partner. Only when man and woman unite, can the subject of the couple be established. When they are united, the man automatically becomes the subjec partner, even if he did not wish it to be so. (42-115, 1971.2.28)

Human beings, of their own volition, need to engage in activities that demonstrate God’s original love; they need to love Him and come closer to Him. The first commandment in the words of Jesus was, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.” What comes first is to love God. You need to love Him with all your body and soul. Stopping halfway will not work. You need to go to the very end. In such a manner, you need to attain the state in which your heart reflects God’s image, with an original nature that is absolutely aligned to become one with Him. Through this, you will attain the beginning and the end of everything. The first commandment dictates this as the way to love God. (149-237, 1986.11.23)

The rhythm of delight, the rhythm that brings God and human beings together in harmony, is the expression of joy. In its presence, everything, each in its own unique form, can dance, either symbolically or substantially, in tune with that rhythm. When that happens, all creation will say, “Yes, my existence in this world is worthwhile!” To take an example, would it not be the greatest wish of even the smallest creatures in the world to be a part of the feast day celebrating the love of God and humankind? (166-46, 1987.5.28)

The creation is the foundation on which God’s sons and daughters can be created. This foundation connects them together in a relationship. This is true of animals, as well as minerals. Positive and negative charges exist in the mineral kingdom. Stamen and pistil are found in the plant kingdom; similarly, male and female are found in the animal kingdom. The greatest masterpiece of creation, the combination of all forms of creation brought and bound together, is the internal nature and external form of human beings. (144-236, 1986.4.25)

Then why did God create night and day? If the sun were up in the sky day in and day out, how stimulating would the morning be? People say it is a glorious morning, a bright morning, but if the sun was up there all the time, what would be so glorious and bright? It would become boring. In reality, however, everything exists to be exciting, and so it possesses a rhythm that can harmoniously bring together the stimulating symbols and forms to fulfill the undertaking of love. (124-85, 1983.1.30)

Where can you find the root of your life? It lies with unfallen parents. Then can the unfallen parents of goodness be found here? As the Lord with dual characteristics, God created the universe and human beings in His image to reflect His dual characteristics. Adam is the manifestation of His male characteristics and Eve His female characteristics. From this perspective, although we usually say, “Our Heavenly Father,” because He is just one being, the concept of God actually includes the idea of God being “Our Heavenly Father and Mother.” (140-123, 1986.2.9)

3.2. Human beings: temples for God to indwell

What would have happened had our first ancestors Adam and Eve not fallen? They would have attained oneness with God and stood in the same position as Him, inheriting and experiencing His joy in His great work of creation. Such would have been the relationship formed between God and humankind. Original, unfallen human beings would have become His temples. (54-64, 1972.3.11)

Adam and Eve were God’s son and daughter; at the same time, they were also His temples. Once they had matured, that is, once the temple had been built completely, He intended to dwell in them. Then, when the fully matured Adam and Eve performed the ceremony of holy matrimony, centering on God, they would have become as one with Him. He would then have become the internal God, and human beings would have become His external form with substantial bodies. In 1 Corinthians 3:16 it is written, “Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?” If those who are saved by faith can become God’s temples, then surely Adam and Eve, in the position of the originally intended true ancestors of humanity, should have become His temples. (54-139, 1972.3.22)

Even though God is our Father and we His children, it still feels like a relationship in which He is superior and we are inferior. At such times, what would be our thinking? We have this desire in our hearts that cries out to Him, “Father, let me have Your place for just once. I want to sit in Your place!” If He were to answer this cry with, “No, you scoundrel, I won’t allow it!” then we would be crushed. Hence, He cannot answer thus. On the contrary, He knows we have such a desire in our hearts and so encourages us with words like “Of course, by all means!” and gives up His place for us. He wants us to occupy His place while He vacates it to enter our hearts and indwell us as His temples. (54-89, 1972.3.20)

In the Bible it is written, “You are God’s temple.” What do these words mean? No one has succeeded in interpreting these words. They are great words. That is because, no matter how great God is, we are given the right to inherit the universe after we have formed the realm of an objective relationship of love with Him. In that relationship we can whisper words of love to each other and attain oneness with Him. Through the foundation of the principle of love, we can obtain the right of inheritance to this universe and everything in it, that is, all of the spiritual and physical worlds as created by Him. No one knows about this amazing truth. (137-67, 1985.12.18)

Adam was God’s body in substantial form. 1 Corinthians 3:16 testifies to this fact with the words, “Do you not know that you are God’s temple.” The temple is God’s dwelling place. The place in our hearts where the original love blossoms would then become the Holy of holies. God would have erected the temple of universal love in Adam’s heart, expanded the power of love from there, and let the flower of love blossom. This is the purpose for which He created Adam and Eve and blessed them to create a family that would eventually fill the whole world. (121-113, 1982.10.24)

Where is the most sacred place of all? When asked where the most holy place is, we cannot answer that it is the temple in Jerusalem. Something man-made cannot be the most holy place. God builds the greatest sanctuary, where His love can dwell. This sanctuary, however, was lost. Thus, how great is the sin of humankind? (136-310, 1985.12.29)

God created human beings as His substantial bodies. 1 Corinthians 3:16 attests to this fact, with the words, “Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in you?” What is the temple? It is God’s dwelling place. Adam was God’s body and Eve in the position of His wife. If they had fulfilled their destinies, their children would have been born from God’s lineage. It is the Principle that they were to be His kindred. (135-313, 1985.12.15)

What would happen to people who have reached the stage of perfection when passing into the spirit world? Adam would have become God’s body. It is alluded to both in the Gospel of John, Chapter 14 and in 1 Corinthians 3:16. We infer from these words that we are designed to be God’s temple and dwelling place. Then how can we come to resemble Him? Once we have reached the perfection level in fulfilling our portion of responsibility, He will indwell us and all human lives will come together in oneness through love. When a man and woman come together as husband and wife and form a family, they are mutually assimilated and united in love. In the same manner, the power of love would enable us to be assimilated to God; that is, we would be as one with Him. (130-21, 1983.12.11)

When human beings have fully matured into adulthood, the invisible God can then enter them and make a love nest. He is also capable of climactic love pleasing to both Himself and Adam at the same time. Therefore, love is the greatest and most sacred temple. The word temple in Korean is Seong Jeon, and Seong ( 聖) is a Chinese character meaning “sacred.” Therefore, God can be found wherever there is true love. Why do human beings like true love? Whenever they encounter true love, they know that they have met God as well. Hence, when Adam and Eve have fully matured and are making love, God, the Creator of the universe, would enter their bodies and make them into the most sacred temple of all. (128-325, 1983.10.2)

Eve is Adam’s wife. Adam is God’s substantial body. It has been said that we are God’s temple. He is the invisible Father indwelling Adam’s heart. These two fathers can then become one. They attain oneness. Thus, Adam’s standard of original nature is the starting point where the invisible spiritual world and the visible physical world come together in unity. What is that standard of original nature? It is not a bundle of money, or greed. In the innocence of adolescence, the faculties of one’s cells are fully mobilized, and that manifests as a feeler or antenna, which can later settle down once God has come to reside in him. (120-70, 1982.10.3)

1 Corinthians 3:16 states, “Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?” This means that we are His temple. When you have attained a mystical state, and offered Him a prayer, asking, “Heavenly Father, where are You?” you will be rewarded with a wonderful answer. He will say, “I am here! What is all the fuss about? Didn’t you get anything to eat for breakfast? Why are you making so much noise in the middle of the night?” When you ask, “Where are you?” He will answer, “Where else would I be? I am in the innermost depth of your heart! I am inside your heart!” Where is heaven said to be? It is in your heart. (224-214, 1991.11.24)

Section 4. Original Human Nature and the True Lifestyle

4.1. Live in harmony with your original mind

The teacher closest to you is none other than your own original mind. More precious than even the closest of friends is your original mind, even more precious than your own mother or father. You need to consult your original mind. God dwells there. You should learn to listen to what your original mind tells you. You need to enter into such a state. In Buddhist terms, you need to purify your inner nature. What Buddha meant by the words, “I am my own Lord throughout heaven and earth,” is that once you look into your own heart, you will find that the Lord God dwells inside you. Nothing would be impossible. (133-178, 1984.7.10)

Loving minds always try to sacrifice, to concede, and to give, and give again. For instance, if I had ten billion dollars in my possession and went out into the street to give it all to others, I would still not have helped every person in the world, and so my mind would not rest easy in its desire to give out more. There is no end to it. God’s heart is too great to be fathomed. Therefore, you cannot boast of yourselves. Even if you performed the most generous act of all, and then checked with your loving mind, it would answer, “You need to do more!” (133-180, 1984.7.10)

You need to purify your mind. You need to cleanse it. Your original mind is better than I am. It is your eternal master. Hence, you should not harbor evil thoughts in it. Instead, you should always be of the mindset to contribute to the common good from a public position. (133-178, 1984.7.10)

Looking at someone, your mind can know what kind of a person he or she is just at a glance. In a moment, you would already have formed an opinion. Hence, the closest teacher to you is your own mind. Thus, you should not torment it. You should not make it unhappy. If you do, you make the Owner of the universe and me unhappy. Your mind is the master of your life. Consequently, when you make your mind sad, you make the master of your life sad. You should follow a path that gives it joy. (133-180, 1984.7.10)

You should set aside some time to experience joy with your mind. To others it may seem as if you are all alone, but during that time, you would become friends with your mind. Sit with your mind at some tranquil place and meditate. Then you will enter a state of deep prayerfulness. You will thus enter a world unknown to anyone else but you. You need such experiences. (133-181, 1984.7.10)

4.2. Human perfection means mind-body unity

The Unification Church emphasizes a mind-body unity that can only be achieved through true love. Delving deeper into the questions of concept and reality, you will find many stories behind them. Once you clarify all these stories, you will find out that this path toward unity is the correct one; it will be borne out by experience. (227-12, 1992.2.10)

What are a righteous conscience, righteous actions, and mind-body unity based on? Words alone are not enough. Actions alone are not enough. Where is the place where complete mind-body unity occurs? The answer lies first in achieving perpendicularity. To achieve that, establish a standard that can stand upright as the center of the worldwide horizontal plane. Become exemplary people who can be connected to the world wherever you go, be it the East or the West. You should set the standard that can be proclaimed as correct at any time in history, whether past, present or future. (205-49, 1990.7.7)

The precious value of a perfect score can be awarded to people only when they have attained oneness with true love. Mind-body unity refers to the state in which the body resonates in harmony with the conscience. When you strike one prong of a tuning fork, the other prong vibrates at the same frequency. In a similar manner, if you strike the conscience with true love, the body will resonate. Alternatively, when you strike the body with true love, the conscience will resonate. There is no need for you to be taught all this. Once you find yourself in the center of all this, you will know without being taught. (223-355, 1991.11.20)

The brave soldiers of the Unification Church must achieve mind-body unity in whatever circumstances. How can you achieve this unity during your lifetime? Those who cannot achieve it, and yet think of love and the ideal, should feel ashamed of themselves because it is contrary to God’s will. The new path of hope opens only to those who wish for it after having achieved perfect mindbody unity. If you stagnate in your current position, the path leading to God’s new kingdom of hope will not open up before you. (205-45, 1990.7.7)

How do you achieve mind-body unity? Throughout history, the mind and body have been in constant conflict. If God had intended it at the time of creation, such a god would be the enemy of humankind. Bearing in mind the fact that your own mind and body are in constant conflict, if you were to ask God, “Do Your mind and body also fight each other as ours do?” what would be His response? Is there anyone who ever considered such a situation? If you were to ask God if His conscience and body were not united but instead in constant battle, He would definitely answer that it is not so. You have never attained such a state, and so there is no way for you to know, but as the founder of the Unification Church I have reached that state and can connect to Him whenever I so desire. Therefore, I can plainly answer on His behalf, that God’s mind and body are completely united. (223-349, 1991.11.20)

Religious life involves having control over your body. You need to make it habitual within three to five years. If this is not the case, and after all those years you still find yourself uncomfortable, however much you desired it, you could never achieve perfect mind-body unity. My number one goal is, “Before desiring to dominate the universe, first achieve dominion over the self!” If people cannot achieve total oneness within themselves, there is no way that they can relate to the universe, however much they may have gone around the world in their endeavors. (222-340, 1991.11.7)

The human body inherited Satan’s lineage. Your conscience must attain the standard of God’s conscience, developing to the top of the growth stage reached by Adam and Eve. That requires having faith. Our first ancestors were deceived by Satan, and strayed in the opposite direction due to a force stronger than their conscience, that is, the power of love. At that moment, the conscience had no choice but to follow where the body led it. It must become stronger. Once you endow more power to the conscience than to the body, the latter, however strong, would have to obey the former. If you fail to do so, and the body remains stronger than the conscience, you will fall even lower than where you are currently situated. There are two paths lying before you. Thus, people choose to fast, take cold showers, sacrifice, and engage in voluntary service. There is no other way. Those gathered here, do you perform these actions too? Are you following this path? Do you pledge to sacrifice and serve others even at the cost of your own lives? If so, you need to follow the path of subjugation at the risk of your lives. The path of religion is that of submission. It transcends the mind-body conflict. Unless you tread the sacrificial path, you will not be able to achieve mind-body unity. (222-333, 1991.11.7)

No matter how long you have been in the Unification Church, you should not leave your sins buried as they are. They need to be cleansed. You need to start afresh with a clean slate, be resurrected anew, and become men and women who can live in the Garden of Eden without sinning. You need the awareness of God’s intention for the complete unity in love of your mind and body, as created by Him. Do you understand? Otherwise, you cannot return to the homeland. You need to find the way back to your house in the homeland, where our original house is located, and where God, our original Parent, dwells. That is where the descendants of the nation who have the birthright of the firstborn should live and reign over all other nations based on the life of the imperial family. That place is your new home. How shall you go about finding your way back, not to your birthplace but your new homeland, the original home? First, you need to acquire the qualification to enter that homeland. In order to do so, you must achieve a realm of oneness through total mind-body unity. (233-168, 1992.8.1)

No matter how great your sin is, admit it frankly to God, saying, “Heavenly Father, I have committed such a wrong thing!” In confessing your sins to Him in your prayer, you can declare to Him, “Shouldn’t the original mind, the heart of a father, the heart of a teacher, and the heart of the citizens of a nation be like this? With such a heart, I will be filial and loyal and be connected to Your love. My heart will never waver. Please take into consideration this resolution, and forgive me for all the wrongs that I have done as I have now made this resolution. Won’t you forgive me?” Then God would reply, “Hmm…” You need to know how to pray. Do you understand? (149-37, 1986.11.1)

Where on earth is God? Where would His dwelling place be? God settles in the most precious thing of all, namely love. Then if this love happened to be that between a man and a woman, where would He reside? He lives perpendicularly in the deepest part of the love that is completely united and unchanging. The central place of His residence would be the place where man and woman attain oneness. When you reach a mystical state while praying, such that you undergo spiritual experiences, then if you call out to God, “Heavenly Father,” you will hear the answer coming from inside you, “Why are you calling me? I am right here!” “Here” would be the center of your heart. He would be at the central point of love, in a perpendicular position, inside the person whose mind and body are completely united. If you consider God’s point to be the intersection of two perpendicular lines, it would be a position of complete self-denial. (224-148, 1991.11.24)

When your mind and body have attained oneness, the force of the universe will protect you. In such a state, your parents, as well as your siblings, would also be protected. Everyone would be connected to each other in such a relationship. The race and the nation must also form a relationship. This is an excellent conclusion. Thus, if you were to go to another nation, having achieved mind-body unity, you would be connected to that nation also. It will work wherever you are. In soccer, what happens when the ball just stops rolling? At the point of contact between the two surfaces, a perpendicular axis is necessary. Hence, a sphere is considered the most ideal existence. A perpendicular axis can reside at any point on the surface. That is how the ball can roll around on it. Therefore, once your mind and body are united on a perpendicular axis, you will fit in anywhere. Regardless of whether you are a Westerner, an Oriental, a person from the past, present, or future, you can harmonize anywhere. (205-53, 1990.7.7)

4.3. The original mind is the teacher and closest to God

What is the mind? It is your master and teacher. Since your body resembles your mind, it is the origin of your body. Thus, on the horizontal level, the mind stands in the place of your mother and father, teachers, and masters. (222-157, 1991.11.3)

Your original mind does not need a teacher. It is your second god. Do not try to follow a teacher or me; instead, try to serve your mind. What about the mind? You wake up at daybreak, all alone, and it is so quiet that you can hear even the squeak of a mouse or the buzz of a fly, and you think to yourself, “Well, I should like such and such a thing. I should try to do a good deed.” Your original mind will then tell you, “Good! Good! Do it now!” On the other hand, if you harbor only evil thoughts in your mind, it will chide you with words like “No! No! You fool!” Would it not know what you are thinking? Of course it knows. That is the way it is. It knows only too well. (138-124, 1986.1.19)

Have you ever considered the value of your original mind, how valuable it is of all your attributes? Whenever the body tries to do something wrong, the mind always advises it not to, and tries to block it from doing that. However, the body always attacks, ignores, treads on the mind, and it tries to do as it pleases. Have you ever taken into consideration how your mind inside your body sacrifices time and again in order to fulfill its duties as the subject partner, even amidst persecution, as your comrade and teacher until your death? (217-91, 1991.5.4)

Our master is our conscience. How many times has your conscience advised you whenever you had evil thoughts in your head? How much has it worried about how to lead you over the hill and across the river, untiringly recalling you to the right path? In this way, the conscience tries to protect you in the form of the true master. However, the treacherous body has treated this teacher contemptuously, although it was the one and only honorable teacher sent to you by God and the universe. The body has trampled upon the conscience, which was sent on behalf of the parents in order to connect the body to the mind of original love. Do you love this body, which has become the enemy of the mind? No, you should not! (201-353, 1990.4.30)

Now the time for us to listen to someone else’s words has passed. Rather than the words of a brilliant teacher thousands of times greater than you, or any other truth in the world, you should listen to the words of your original mind. No matter how much you have heard from it, you should return repeatedly to listen some more. Then you would receive something of infinite magnitude from it, something unimaginable, which would reveal the greatest secrets of the creation. (7-201, 1959.9.6)

You cannot even begin to fathom how much the conscience has sacrificed itself for the sake of the body. Do you understand the circumstances of the conscience, which has been trampled upon throughout its entire life? It is always tired because it has to manage you night and day. Yet it does not tire of preventing your body from committing any wrongful action. It tells the body, “You have done more than enough. Shouldn’t you stop and listen to me now?” It is closest to you, and stands in the place of God, your parents, and teachers. It does not need to be educated. However, the body definitely requires an education. (214-282, 1991.2.3)

When you consider your body and mind, how pitiful is your original mind? It stands in God’s stead. It represents all of your ancestors, your antecedents. The original mind represents the teacher as well as the ruler. Yet, it has been disrespected and treated with contempt for an endlessly long time. As the center of the universe, it stands in the position of true parents, true teachers, true masters, and the one Subject Being with true love. It sacrifices itself over and over again to save you while you live on this earth. Isn’t that true? Though it sacrifices so much, has it complained even once? Although it is continuously dragged around and treated contemptuously – to the extent that one would presume it to be dead – whenever you harbor an evil thought or attempt an evil deed, it comes alive once again to advise you not to do so, calling you to your senses with the words, “Hey, you devil!” How much have you made sport of the mind? The original mind stands in the stead of parents, teachers, and masters. In the world of the mind, there is no need to hold a court trial, because you yourselves know better than anyone else what you have done. There is no need for third party witnesses. (209-154, 1990.11.28)

No one knew that within oneself is a great teacher. The original mind stands in the stead of the great mother and father. The counsel of the mother and father is never contrary to the original mind. Whenever it counsels you, just as your mother or father would do, you should learn to obey. An orderly life requires a moral standard that can serve as its original reference. Such a formula based on the original mind has yet to be formed. You should not torment your mind. Do any of you like having a dual personality? The original mind stands in the stead of the teacher, parents, and God. There is no teacher who can teach the mind. (207-266, 1990.11.11)

Throughout their lives, all people have within themselves the most important teacher of all. Despite this, they frequently mistreat, abuse, and trample on it. That teacher is none other than our own conscience. It always speaks to us in its efforts to help us, and tries to connect us to true love. Like our parents, it encourages us to become good and unselfish, and guides us to act according to God’s will. However, within each of us is a rebel that goes against the words of the conscience. That rebel is our body. (201-208, 1990.4.9)

“Before desiring to dominate the universe, first achieve dominion over the self!” This was the motto at the time when we were pioneering the path of truth. I told everyone, “Before desiring to dominate the universe, before establishing a connection with everything in this world, first dominate the self!” (201-154, 1990.3.30)

The original mind has three great personas. It can be the master, teacher, or parent, and only when the body finds itself dissatisfied and lacking in its service towards the mind, even after serving it for tens of thousands of years, can heavenly fortune finally come and reside within you. The mind wishes to serve the body, but the body does not serve the mind. This is the problem. The problem lies within the self, not society. (201-154, 1990.3.30)

The original mind tries to protect you in the form of the true master. However, the treacherous body has treated this teacher contemptuously, though it is the one and only honorable teacher sent to you from the universe. It has trampled upon the conscience, sent in the place of parents to connect the body to the mind of original love. Do you love this body, which has become the enemy of the mind? No, you should not! Unless you stop the conflict between the mind and body, the Kingdom of Heaven can never be established. Not a single saint thought of this. (201-154, 1990.3.30)

Yin and yang, the internal nature and external form, the positive and negative are complementary; they cannot be conflicting. However, within today’s fallen humanity, the voice of the mind as well as that of the body can be heard. They have not been united. How did the mind and body of man and woman, who were created to resemble God, come to be separated? This is the problem. God is absolute, and therefore the basic human attributes of mind and body should be absolutely united and assimilated into the whole world created by Him. Together, they should act as the center of that world. Instead, however, they were separated. How did this come about? If they were intended to separate from each other, there would be no God, and the basis for such things as ideals, unity, peace, or happiness could never be found. (195-304, 1989.12.17)

God is not far away from us, but within us. Is the original mind your master? When you attempt to carry out an evil deed in the middle of the night, the mind stands in front of you and tells you not to go. It appears whenever and wherever you are as your master; it guides you as would your mother or teacher. Hence, your body is your enemy. (201-74, 1990.3.1)

What is God like? He is both masculine and feminine, like human beings. You cannot see your mind, can you? Do you want to see it or not? The same is true of God. From the spiritual perspective, we understand that God does not have a body. This has been the case until now. Since Adam could not reach perfection, God has been dispossessed of a body. He exists instead as the mind-like master, teacher, or manager, a mind-like parent in a mind-like universe. (197-44, 1990.1.7)

Nothing can be achieved unless mind and body are united. This is what you should focus on. If something weighs on your mind during prayer, you should repent. When repenting, you should not do it alone. The four directions of north, south, east, and west need to be arranged first. You need to speak it aloud in front of those closest to you, such as your parents or your teacher. After doing so, you also need to make public what you have done wrong in front of your children and students. “I have done this thing; do you think I can be forgiven?” In this manner, you need to walk a path where those closest to you can support you with one heart. Do you understand what I am trying to say? (184-301, 1989.1.1)

When can your mind and body be unified? You have never thought of this, have you? This is a very serious matter. They are engaged in a lifelong fight, and who can stop them? This is the problem. Your father or mother, your king or your teacher, even saints cannot stop it. Where is the master who can stop it? Have you ever looked for him seriously? That master is true love. (184-211, 1989.1.1)

The original mind is your watchman; it protects you night and day and gives you no rest by telling you over and over again, “Do good deeds. Do good deeds!” So, can you imagine how exhausted it must be? From the day you are born, from the day you can think for yourselves, from the day you acquire intellectual faculties to analyze every situation in society, the conscience follows you around until death and tells you what to do forever. This is something that not even your own teacher, your mother, or father can do. It tells you to take after God, the saints, the patriots, and the children of filial piety. It orders you to resemble them all and keeps saying, “You, the body, should take after me!” (179-311, 1988.8.14)

Mind-body unity can be brought about only through true love. Hence, the mind sacrifices itself for the sake of the body and forgets it has done so, repeatedly. The original mind stands in God’s stead, and is the teacher of all teachers for you. Your original mind is your center, dispatched by God on His behalf. It is the vertical you. (226-60, 1992.2.1)

Section 5. The Path of True People

5.1. The path people should seek

When people follow their original mind, the whole universe will open up before them. Something must bring this about. Once they enter such a state of being, they will be able to converse with their mind. They will be able to hold a conversation with their mind. As soon as they think of doing something, the answer will already be right in front of them. They are advancing towards such a state. Would not such people know the path they should take? The way they should go definitely would be laid down before them, and so all the forces in the universe would help them follow it. Though they may have been dragged into the circumstances of being tested, once they are there, everything will aid them. Only then would they be able to do great things. (120-313, 1982.10.20)

Those whose lives are under girded by great power are true people. True people have a background of infinite power that propels them forward in the direction they wish to take. They would know in a second if the direction were wrong. The Unification Church that you know is not a worthless church. It has a deep and high background, a background of great force backing it up. As such, once you have risen to such a level through your own efforts, everything would be taken care of thenceforth. In this aspect, you need to decide on the direction you should take by yourselves. This is something you alone must determine. It is something you know best. (120-313, 1982.10.20)

You must find the way you should go. Would money solve all problems? No, it would not. There will be times when you need money and other times when you will have to follow another path. Hence, you need to decide your own path. You need to look deep inside your mind and consider the intrinsic qualities you were born with originally, and by considering them, you should decide the future purpose that you will pursue. Though God may point you in the right direction, it is up to you to follow it of your own accord. (120-298, 1982.10.20)

The influence of a magnet is stronger than the gravitational pull of the earth. What makes such an influence possible? The actual force of a magnet is weaker than the gravitational pull of the earth, but when the two forces come together, the former surpasses the latter. The same is true of our conscience. From your birth, you already know the background against which you were born. This is something that only you can know. If you are unable to discern and pass judgment on such things, you will never be able to do great things. (120-301, 1982.10.20)

You might look at nature and say, “Oh, I don’t need the four seasons. I only need spring; I hate summer, autumn, and winter!” But, if you were to ask God, He would answer, “I love all four seasons.” Hence, you need to learn to love summer, autumn, and winter, even though you may have hated them to begin with. When the winter snow comes, God looks upon the world covered in white and derives pleasure from it. Therefore, you should say, “Oh, I love it too!” That is the way it should be. (133-29, 1984.7.1)

You should be able to look at nature with a mind similar to that of God. Such should be your mindset. If there is a rainstorm or streaks of lightning, do not say things like, “Oh man, I hate that!” because God experiences them thinking, “Ha ha, they are kissing and making love!” He scolds those who say they do not like them, “Stop that, you fools! You rascals!” (133-29, 1984.7.1)

You should love people and you should love all five skin colors equally. Would God say something like, “Oh, I only love the whites?” If He only loved white, then everyone would have to wear white clothes. All white people would have to wear white. They would have to throw away all their colored clothes. They would not wear black. They would not wear any other colors. That is contradictory. When you enter their rooms, you will see all kinds of colors. You will see pianos there. Would they have only white pianos, or would some be black? Why would they have blackboards? Such people should not have nights. Nights are dark, so they should not have them. Why, why is everything centered on the whites? What is white supremacy? It is the road to ruin. How many years do you think it will last? How long? Though the winter may be long, it only lasts three months. For the sake of eternity, you must love all four seasons. As such, you should not love only white people. (133-29, 1984.7.1)

God’s love encompasses all of His creation and humankind, not to mention people of the past, present, and future. Hence, He is heading a movement to liberate even those spirits in hell. People must walk the paths of truth, life, and love. No matter how great they are, if they do not live for the sake of others, nobody will follow them. Those who do will naturally become leaders. They become people of true life. (133-30, 1984.7.1)

You yourselves should know which way you must go. Once you have set a direction, you should invest all your energy into following it. You should invest everything to such an extent that you would be too exhausted to even open your eyes or be sensitive to sounds around you. (120-315, 1982.10.20)

If you have led a proper religious life in the Unification Church, you already know what you should do. On the other hand, those who live self-centeredly and act in their own interests will have no idea. When a storm is coming, the rats aboard a ship sense it, and know that the ship will be destroyed. Therefore, before it lifts anchor, they abandon the ship by climbing over the ropes to the harbor and to safety. If rats can sense danger, human beings should surely sense it too. They should know where they have to go. The ants know when a rainy season is about to set in. I once witnessed a colony of ants moving to another place in single file; that showed they knew the onset of the rainy season. It is because you are given to daydreaming that you do not know. Not having any idea about your own field of mission is a serious problem. You need to come to an understanding with God with regard to the serious problems in your life. You also need to adapt yourself to the environmental circumstances of your own accord. Who else can do it for you? You are the only ones who can do it. (120-298, 1982.10.20)

When people are self-assured, there is a place deep within their hearts where the mind can be at ease. Your mind should find its way to that place. Once it has slept off some of the weariness, it will become sensitive again. If you seize that moment to focus your mind, with no other thoughts in your head, you will be able to find out everything. Hence, you need to meditate and pray. (120-306, 1982.10.20)

Even I pray and offer devotions. You need to offer devotions always. They are not something you can offer just once and then put aside for some other time. You need to whet a knife all the time. If you used it and did not sharpen it, what would happen? In order to keep it sharp, you always need to whet it. In the same manner, if you lost your temper, you need to sharpen your senses once again. That is the problem. You need to calm yourselves and set your minds at ease. (120-306, 1982.10.20)

When you reach the center of the realm of heart, you will find it in motion up and down. You will be in motion automatically. This realm is inhaling and exhaling. Did you know that even the Earth breathes? It inhales and exhales, moving almost a meter with each cycle. It is regulating itself. In the same manner, the core of the realm of heart also moves up and down centering on its axis. It is in motion. (120-306, 1982.10.20)

All beings have something elliptical about them. Thus, when you enter the center of the mind or heart, you can feel an infinite force reverberating in it. Therefore, if you make a perpendicular line, you can maintain the infinite force at right angles. Hence, you need to cultivate your spiritual senses. You need to devote yourself to experiencing the deep spirit world from all aspects of life on earth. You need to do that to tap into a driving force that will fuel you throughout your lifetime. (120-308, 1982.10.20)

Even I give serious thought to my work if it is so great that it requires a power greater than my innate power. When it is necessary to acquire a force greater than my own, where I can get that power from remains the problem. If I fail to acquire such a power, there is no choice but to retreat, but that is not an option. That is why we need to pray, and we need God. That is why we need the world of heart. There are no limits in the world of love, no matter how much you pull out from it. The world of substance ends at some point, as does the world of knowledge. The world of power can be destroyed in a second, but the world of heart is endless. Hence, you need to act based on the world of heart. (120-306, 1982.10.20)

God is not a dictator. He invested Himself for human beings. He exists for their sake. Hence, people have tried to follow Him for tens of thousands of years and still do. In order to maintain one’s position of being in front of the universe, which follows the heavenly way of existing for the sake of others, you also need to exist for others. By living for the sake of others, East and West, and past and present can be connected. God has the same love now as He had in the past, He loves East and the West equally, and so the differences between them can be overcome, just as with the past, present, and future. What this means is that because the differences between past, present, and future can be overcome, development can take place, and since those between East and West can be overcome, the two can be unified. All this is made possible only through love. (187-89, 1989.1.6)

When you insist on yourself, you destroy yourself, your reciprocal partner, and God; in fact, you completely alienate yourself. From such a place, a theory of unity cannot be discovered. These words may sound simple, but their simplicity does not make them any less important. At the very end of our search for the ideal, at the ultimate end, what is required is to be vertically united with God’s love, and in order to have that vertical standard pull you faster towards the goal, you need to live for the sake of others. Complete unity can be achieved only at the place where you live for the sake of others. (187-89, 1989.1.6)

How is unity achieved? How shall I achieve unity? Through what? Through brute force, power, money, authority, or knowledge? Everything can be resolved only at a place based on love. Isn’t this conclusion simple? The conclusion is that the satanic world can be re-created into God’s Kingdom only by living for the sake of others with true love. This is only logical. (182-134, 1988.10.16)

5.2. The way true human beings should go

Anything that engages in action for its own sake brings about evil. Anything that acts for the greater good brings about development. You should bear this in mind. When you live for the greater good, all doors will open before you. The individual, family, tribe, race, world and heaven, in fact, the path of love and all other paths in the world will open their doors wide before you and welcome you. So what would be this path? We need to consider this. Thus, the Unification Church teaches that to live for the sake of others is a principle of heavenly law. (133-16, 1984.7.1)

Where does the path of true life lead? We must establish as a public law the heart to live for the sake of others. This law is everlasting because it is a principle that is true wherever you go. It was also true in the past, it is true in the present, and it will be true in the future, that you should live for the sake of others. If God were to appear in front of the saints and sages like Jesus, Mohammed, Buddha, and Confucius, and ask them, “What is your opinion with regard to this?” Would they answer, “That law is right.” or would they answer, “That law is wrong.” Of course, they will say that it is right. It is the law of the universe. It is a law that enables people to live truthfully. Such is the true path laid out before you. (133-16, 1984.7.1)

In order to become a world figure, what should you do? Basing your life on ethics and morality is not enough. Basing your life on people is not enough. If you do that, you will never be able to transcend the nation. What would enable you to transcend the nation lies with God. Without a cosmic ideology, you cannot transcend the nation. (38-260, 1970.1.8)

Saints introduced to the world the best of humanity and God. When you consider the people counted as saints of the world, did they worship God or not? Is there anyone who ever became a saint without God? (39-316, 1971.1.16)

Moreover, the saints taught not only the moral principles of humanity, but also God’s moral principles. (33-291, 1970.8.21)

Those who live for and love their parents in their families are filial children, those who live for and love their nation are patriots, and those who love the world are saints. Then what is it that I have been teaching you? It is to become God’s divine sons and daughters, who love Him, the world, and the universe. What will you become? Will you become God’s divine sons and daughters, or filial sons and daughters? In order to become them all, you need to maintain in your heart a godly love. (129-99, 1983.10.1)

God had no choice but to endow human beings, who live a short lifetime on earth, with the very best motto and the very best task to fulfill. Therefore, He gave them the motto “Love God more than anything else” as a task for them to accomplish. By doing so, people can become His children, which is unprecedented in history. On the day you become His children, it is understood that you would also be perfected as saints, patriots, and children of filial piety. You would have become all of them perfectly. Once you have done so, you would not only stand in the position of victory in your own family, but you would also become the victors on the national and global foundations. (100-157, 1978.10.9)

What is it that the Unification Church seeks to accomplish? It is not seeking to make great people out of anyone, but to make us all into saints. Great people have enemies before them, but saints do not. Great people love only their own race, but saints love all humankind. Therefore, if great people sought to stand before God, He would tell them, “You loved your race, but you failed to love all of the world’s people, whom I sought and loved, didn’t you,” and then those people would not be able to stand in His presence. On the other hand, those who have fulfilled the duties of saints can go directly into His presence. What is the Unification Church seeking to accomplish? Is it trying to create great people or saints? (38-263, 1971.1.8)

What kind of a being is God, who created the universe and established universal laws? He stands in the representative position of living for the sake of others more than anyone else does in the universe. Such a being is God. Therefore, in order to meet Him, you need to live for the sake of others. Though He is the King of knowledge, He does not expect you to come before Him with knowledge. Though He is the King of ability, He does not ask you to come before Him with ability. Though He is the Master and the King of authority, money, and materials, He does not ask you to bring these things to Him. Instead, He tells you that anyone and everyone can come before Him by living for the sake of others. (133-16, 1984.7.1)

5.3. The rationale for establishing

the law of living for the sake of others We can discern that words like love, ideals, happiness, or peace cannot be realized individually. These are words that can only be realized through relationships; thus, even God, the Absolute Being, cannot achieve the happiness, peace, and ideal that He desires on His own. Until now, we did not comprehend that the object through which His ideals, love, happiness, and peace can be fulfilled is none other than humankind. What would be the use of His loving if He were alone? What would be the use of His ideals if He had no one with whom to share them? Therefore, it is reasonable to conclude that these conditions cannot be met without going through a relationship with humankind. (75-315, 1975.1.16)

Between subject and object partners, where would God, the King of wisdom and the center of the cosmos, place the origin of true love, ideals, happiness, and peace? In this question lies a great dilemma. On the one hand, there is the subject partner, while on the other hand, there is the object partner; between the two paths, one for the sake of the subject partner and the other for the sake of the object partner, where are conditions for the ideal to be found? This question cannot but pose a serious dilemma for God the Creator. God had to consider, concerning true ideal, true love, and true peace, whether He should set the subject partner as the center and place the root of the ideal in the object partner’s living for the sake of the subject partner; or set the object partner as the center and place the ideroot of the ideal in the subject partner’s living for the sake of the object partner. After considering, God decided that if He were to place the subject partner as the root of the ideal, not only God Himself, but all people in the world would require the object partner to live for them; in other words, all would seek to become subject partners and not object partners. If this were the case, the path to unity would be blocked. You need to understand this. (75-318, 1975.1.16)

Where is the path leading to unity and the origin of peace? God had no choice but to establish the principle that not only Himself, but also all human beings need to live for the sake of others. Hence, true love, as well as true ideal, true peace, and true happiness, can only be achieved by living for the sake of others; they cannot be found in any other case. Until now, human beings have not known that this is a fundamental law of the creation of the universe. (75-318, 1975.1.16)

Why were men and women born? Men were born not for themselves but for women, and vice versa. Neither was born for themselves. Though they were not born for themselves, they are in fact asserting their own desires. This ideology focusing on “I myself ” should be demolished. Once it is demolished, the world can be unified. (61-266, 1972.9.1)

Those who pursue their value with their reciprocal partners rather than themselves as the focus – in other words, focusing on their partner as the standard – are not unhappy people. Anywhere and anytime, their foundation of heart has a realm that includes the partner, and so wherever they may be, they will not be lonely, but happy. (59-200, 1972.7.16)

Why did God have no choice but to set the principle of existing for the sake of others? Before I answer that question, let me ask you another. If someone sacrificed 100 percent for you at the risk of his life, would your original mind tell you to return his kindness with only 50 percent, whilst keeping the other 50 percent in your pocket, or would it tell you to repay him with everything you have? How does our original mind work? It wants to repay with a greater amount. If you realized that he did what he did for you with a true and earnest heart, you would wish to repay him with more than 100 percent. If the 100 percent given were requited with 110 percent, then that 110 percent would be requited with 120 percent because the return was just as true and earnest as the first act. In this process, the concept of eternity can be established. This is how eternity originates. Hence, such a principle had to be established in the very beginning, so that development and prosperity could take place. (73-326, 1974.8.10)

Even though the ideal and love are more precious than life to human beings, the people of today believe that such things come from themselves. This misunderstanding must be cleared up. Where do love and the ideal come from? They come from one’s reciprocal partner. That being the case, a law of living for the sake of others needed to be established. Since God, who is the King of wisdom, anticipated the present consequences, He could not help but establish such a law. (73-326, 1974.8.10)

The concept of eternity is impossible when everyone lives for his or her own sake. When you see an object in motion, you can discern that the greater the pushing and pulling force between the reciprocal partners, the faster it moves. The reason God, the King of wisdom, established the law of living for the sake of others was to make the existence of eternity possible. (75-322, 1975.1.16)

I know that many among us think that we would rather die than be under someone else’s control. In fact, you can see this tendency in the highly educated strata of society more than anywhere else. Nevertheless, people have been happy in times past when they were under the sovereignty of someone who lived for their sake. When you look at the structure of the spirit world, you will see that God is the great Sovereign of the cosmos, as well as the central being, existing in the heart of everything in the universe. You, however, have no idea how blissful it is to be ruled by Him. Since He knew that the ideal realm of unity, in which we would be grateful even if He governed us eternally could be established at such a place, God had no choice but to establish the principle of living for the sake of others. (75-322, 1975.1.16)

Love does not begin from the self. Without our reciprocal partner, we cannot find love and the ideal, which are more precious than life itself. We did not realize this until now. The being in whom we find this precious love and ideal and through whom we receive it, is our reciprocal partner. In order for us to reach the state where we can humbly accept this precious love and ideal, we need to live for the sake of others; hence, God had to establish the principle of living for the sake of others. (75-322, 1975.1.16)

Love cannot be fulfilled alone. Where does it arise? It does not come from the self, but from one’s object partner. That being the case, you need to bow to and live for the sake of your object. This is where the heavenly law dictating, “Live for the sake of others” emerges. A very precious thing is coming to you, and in order to receive it, you need to respect and live for the sake of the giver. Only when you practice altruism can you receive love. (143-277, 1986.3.20)

True love is the love that gives, forgets that it has given, and gives once again. False love is the love that gives as part of a transaction to make a profit, the love that tells the receiver, “Since I gave you so much, you should give me more in return.” Such is the love of Satan. (138-172, 1986.1.21)

Our original homeland is a place that only welcomes those who lived for God, a place where only those who were born, lived, and died for others can enter. This is the fundamental nature of our original homeland. Therefore, God raised up many religions throughout the course of history to train people to seek the original homeland. Religion has historically taught people to be meek and humble and to sacrifice because such are the laws of the spirit world. Since human beings are destined to pass on to the spirit world, religion had to train them in preparation for that world while they were still on earth. Hence, the more advanced religions emphasize a higher level of sacrifice and service in order to raise people to be aligned with the spirit world through their daily lives. (75-320, 1975.1.16)

People in this world often ask, “Oh! What is life?” The immediate issue lies in establishing a view of life, the nation, the world, the universe, and consequently, God. How should they be established? Most important is the question of how to create a system of priorities in life and how all external things can be connected to that system. Nevertheless, based on the principle of living for the sake of others, the most valuable view of life would be that you exist for all humanity, the whole world, the nation, society, family, spouse, and children. To be able to create happiness from such a position reflects the best outlook on life. (75-323, 1975.1.16)