Chapter 18
Humility and Self-Denial Humility AN ATTITUDE OF HUMILITY IS ESSENTIAL ON THE PATH to God. Any self-conceit, whether nurtured by superior intelligence, wealth, high status, or the praise of others, is an obstacle blocking our way. Genuine humility requires a constant willingness to deny oneself, to be critical of oneself, to endure hardship without complaint, and to be open to Heaven’s guidance even when it differs from one’s preconceived concepts. Humility requires sincerity and honesty; thus some passages liken the humble person to a little child, whose natural spontaneity and acceptance of life is the antithesis of the often-complicated personality of the adult with its many masks, hidden resentments, and prejudices. Other scriptures teach us to cultivate humility by meditating on the insignificance and transience of the human being, who is nothing but a puff of wind, a bag of excrement, food for worms. Here, too, is the paradoxical wisdom that the humble and self-effacing person ultimately prospers and wins more respect from others than the person who is arrogant and powerful. We have the example of Jesus, who took the path of humility to triumph over the Devil’s most deadly attack. Father Moon explains this in terms of the principle that humility, being in accord with the original way of life in Eden, aligns us with God and His creative power, while arrogance places us in Satan’s camp—ultimately a losing cause. In another passage, he alludes to the natural cycle of rise and fall, where arrogance places us at the peak of the cycle where the only way forward is to decline, while humility places us at the bottom where all roads lead upward.
1. Blessed Are the Meek Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. Matthew 5.5
Successful indeed are the believers who are humble in their prayers, and who shun vain conversation, and who are payers of the poor-due, and who guard their modesty. Qur’an 23.1-5
Turn not your cheek in scorn toward folk, nor walk with pertness in the land. Lo! God loves not each braggart boaster. Be modest in your bearing and subdue your voice. Lo, the harshest of all voices is the voice of the ass. Qur’an 31.18-19
This is the man to whom I will look: he that is humble and contrite in spirit, and trembles at my word. Isaiah 66.2
If you desire to obtain help, put away pride. Even a hair of pride shuts you off, as if by a great cloud. Oracle of Kasuga (Shinto)
Now, in exile, the Holy Spirit comes upon us more easily than at the time the Temple was still standing. A king was driven from his realm
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and forced to become a wayfarer. When in the course of his wanderings, he came to the house of poor people, where he was given modest food and shelter, but received as a king, his heart grew light and he chatted with his hosts as intimately as he had done at court with his high courtiers. Now that He is in exile, God does the same.1 Dov Baer of Mezirech (Judaism)
Be humble, be harmless, Have no pretension, Be upright, forbearing; Serve your teacher in true obedience, Keeping the mind and body in cleanness, Tranquil, steadfast, master of ego, Standing apart from the things of the senses, Free from self; Aware of the weakness in mortal nature.
Reflect upon three things, and you will not come within the power of sin: know from where you came, to where you are going, and before whom you will in future have to give account and reckoning. From where you came—from a fetid drop; to where are you going—to a place of dust, worms, and maggots; and before whom you will in future have to give account and reckoning—before the Supreme King of kings, the Holy One, blessed be He. Mishnah, Avot 3.1 (Judaism)
The Prophet said, “Have I not taught you how the inhabitants of Paradise will be all the humble and the weak, whose oaths God will accept when they swear to be faithful? Have I not taught you how the inhabitants of hell will be all the cruel beings, strong of body and arrogant?” Hadith of Bukhari (Islam)
Bhagavad-Gita 13.7-8 (Hinduism)
All men are children of Adam, and Adam was created from soil. Hadith of Tirmidhi (Islam)
Be of an exceedingly humble spirit, for the end of man is the worm. Mishnah, Avot 4.4 (Judaism)
O Lord, what is man, that thou dost regard him, or the son of man, that thou dost think of him? Man is like a breath, his days are like a passing shadow. Psalm 144.3-4
It is humble people whom God protects and liberates; it is the humble whom He loves and consoles. To the humble He turns and upon them bestows great grace, that after their humiliation He may raise them up to glory. He reveals His secrets to the humble, and with kind invitation bids them come to Him. Thus, humble people enjoy peace in the midst of many vexations, because their trust is in God, not in the world. Hence, you must not think that you have made any progress until you look upon yourself as inferior to all others. Thomas á Kempis, Imitation of Christ 1.2 (Christianity)
Teachings of Sun Myung Moon God’s love dwells upon the foundations of meekness, humility, fasting, sacrifice and even martyrdom. (282:227, March 26, 1997) The higher the religion, the less it stresses the self and the more it stresses meekness, humility, and one step further, sacrifice and service. Why must it do that? Those are the laws of the original homeland. People are like wanderers searching for their original homeland. To train people in the laws of that homeland, the higher religions teach the way of sacrifice. (77:190, April 6, 1995)
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Satan’s basic nature is arrogance and wrath. That is the way he deals with people in the world. Jesus, on the other hand, came before the people with meekness and humility. Satan ultimately acknowledged Jesus because he knew that humility is in accord with the heavenly law. When you act with gentleness and humility, the satanic world naturally surrenders. Jesus knew this principle, and therefore he assumed the posture of gentleness and humility. You, too, can open up a new way to reach God… when you remain always gentle and humble. Examine yourself: are you living by Jesus’ teachings of gentleness and humility, meekness and obedience, and sacrifice and service? If you are not practicing these teachings in your daily life, know that you still belong to Satan’s tribe. (3:187, October 27, 1957) I examined the Book of Life in heaven. I saw that the people whose names are recorded in that book were all simple and lowly. Millionaires, famous preachers and politicians are not found there. (107:21, February 21, 1980) The Garden of Eden is not a world filled with disputes. It is not a world where people promote themselves, but a world full of humility and love. (98:31, April 8, 1978) How can we hold on to individualism? There is not one part of us that we can claim as our very own. When we were conceived from our parents’ love and grew beginning from our mother’s ovum, 99.999 percent of our being was our mother’s bone, blood and flesh, and the other 0.001 percent was added from our father’s sperm. No one at the time of their birth has the concept, “I belong to myself.” (299:113, February 7, 1999) At the Fall evil began first and rose up, so we must carry out a strategy to push evil down and pull goodness up. How shall we carry this out? First, we must take control of our arrogance. The Fall occurred when the archangel Lucifer and human beings pushed God aside and attempted to elevate themselves. Arrogance was Satan’s original nature. Arrogance is the desire to elevate oneself without regard to law, discipline, obligations, or the affect on the surrounding environment. It is the desire to live unconstrained by justice or law. How do we describe a person who lives in accordance with the law? Do we say he is arrogant? No, we say he or she is as an honest person… We must put a stop to behavior that ignores the law and disregards one’s position and surroundings. We must suppress arrogance and take on the quality of humility. (37:112, December 23, 1970) When you are in a high position, there is no way to unite your mind and body. It is better to let yourself be stepped on. God has trampled on me for forty years, lest I get above myself. As you are stepped on, those elements in you that want to exalt themselves are smashed and brought back to unity. Do you understand this? You should be cursed, trampled on and mistreated, just like the vagrant Bamboo Hat Kim. Regardless of how you are treated, you should discover the self that can accept all these tribulations gratefully. (144:231, April 25, 1986) I never asked for blessings in my prayers. I never said, “God, please give me some money.” I thought, “I need to suffer more since I have not undergone enough hardships.” God likes such thinking. (102:314, February 21, 1979)
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2. A Simple and Lowly Heart, Like that of a Child At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them, and said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”2
to submit to all things which the Lord sees fit to inflict upon him, even as a child submits to his father. Book of Mormon, Mosiah 3.19 (Latter-day Saints)
The great man is he who does not lose his child’s heart.
Matthew 18.1-3
Mencius IV.B.12 (Confucianism)
For the natural man is an enemy to God, and has been from the fall of Adam, and will be, forever and ever, unless he yields to the enticings of the Holy Spirit, and puts off the natural man and becomes a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord, and becomes as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing
Within the world the palace pillar is broad, but the human heart should be modest. Moritake Arakida, One Hundred Poems about the World (Shinto)
Teachings of Sun Myung Moon What kind of person does God choose to carry out His works? There are eminent and powerful people who are ambitious to influence the world, but God does not choose them. He selects ordinary people, even laggards. God does not choose the people on top, but people on the bottom. (102:300, January 21, 1979) Jesus said, “I thank thee, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast hidden these things from the wise and understanding, and revealed them to babes.” (Matt. 11.25) He was lamenting over the spiritual ignorance of the Jewish leadership of his time, while on the other hand, he was grateful that God bestowed grace upon pure and uneducated believers by revealing His providence to them. In today’s Korean Christianity, at a time parallel to Jesus’ day, similar phenomena are taking place, albeit in more complex ways. Through pure and innocent lay believers, God has been revealing many heavenly secrets concerning the Last Days. However, because they would be chastised as heretics if they were to proclaim them in public, they are keeping these truths to themselves. Meanwhile, like the priests, rabbis and scribes of Jesus’ time, many Christian clergy take pride in their knowledge of the Bible and their ability to interpret it. They take pleasure in the reverence they receive from their followers; they are content to carry on the imposing duties of their offices; yet, to God’s grief, they are entirely ignorant of God’s providence in the Last Days. (Exposition of the Divine Principle, Second Advent 3.3.4) May we lay down before Thee, Father, all the rituals, ideologies and concepts of the world. We ask that Thou dost grant us meek, humble minds like those of children. May we have humble minds that can be molded as Thou wouldst mold us. (7:7, July 5, 1959) Father! Allow us to open our hearts, and to have hearts that long for Thee, like hungry babes longing for their mothers’ milk. (20:7, March 31, 1968)
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3. Taking a Humble Position and Placing Others above Oneself Do nothing from selfishness or conceit, but in humility count others better than yourselves. Philippians 2.3
Whoever proclaims himself good, know, goodness approaches him not. He whose heart becomes dust of the feet of all, Saith Nanak, pure shall his repute be. Adi Granth, Gauri Sukhmani 12, M.5, p. 278 (Sikhism)
A gentleman does not grieve that people do not recognize his merits; he grieves at his own incapacities. Analects 14.32 (Confucianism)
Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, “God, I thank thee that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week, I give tithes of all that I get.” But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, “God, be merciful to me a sinner!” I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for every one who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted. Luke 18.10-14
He does not show himself; therefore he is luminous. He does not justify himself; therefore he becomes prominent. He does not boast of himself; therefore he is given credit. He does not brag; therefore he can endure for long. It is precisely because he does not compete that the world cannot compete with him. Is the ancient saying, “To yield is to be preserved whole” empty words?
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Truly he will be preserved, and all will come to him. Tao Te Ching 22 (Taoism)
He who knows the masculine but keeps to the feminine, Becomes the ravine of the world. Being the ravine of the world, He dwells in constant virtue, He returns to the state of the babe. He who knows the white but keeps to the black, Becomes the model of the world. Being the model of the world, He rests in constant virtue, He returns to the infinite. He who knows glory but keeps to disgrace, Becomes the valley of the world. Being the valley of the world, He finds contentment in constant virtue, He returns to the Uncarved Block.3 Tao Te Ching 28 (Taoism)
In the barren north, there is a sea, the Celestial Lake. In it there is a fish, several thousand li in width, and no one knows how many li in length. It is called the leviathan. There is also a bird, called the roc, with a back like Mount T’ai and wings like clouds across the sky. Upon a whirlwind it soars up to a height of ninety thousand li. Beyond the clouds and atmosphere, with only the blue sky above it, it then turns south to the southern ocean. A quail laughs at it, saying, “Where is that bird trying to go? I spurt up with a bound, and I drop after rising a few yards. I just flutter about among the brushwood and the bushes. This is also the perfection of flying. Where is that bird trying to go?” This is the difference between the great and the small. Similarly, there are some men whose knowledge is sufficient for the duties of some office. There are some men whose conduct will
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benefit some district. There are some men whose virtue befits him for a ruler. There are some men whose ability wins credit in the country. In their
opinion of themselves, they are just like what is mentioned above. Chuang Tzu 1 (Taoism)
Teachings of Sun Myung Moon If you stay in a low position and try to put everyone else in a higher position, no walls will block your way. (230:35, April 15, 1992) Goodness is quiet when evil is active because it cannot act in conjunction with evil. Goodness emerges only after the evil departs. (Way of God’s Will 1.1.2) Evil started from one being who was arrogant and put himself in a high position. The opposite of arrogance is humility. Our first task is to be humble. We must take the position opposite to what Satan takes delight in, or else we cannot succeed. Instead of being arrogant, we must put ourselves in the position to sacrifice and do things at the cost of our lives. (52:302, January 9, 1972) People who justify themselves cannot enter the Kingdom of God. The position of absolute faith is not a place to justify yourself. Rather, someone else should defend you while you keep silent. In the Kingdom of Heaven, you cannot be proud of your achievements. What you thought was one hundred percent might from God’s viewpoint be only one percent. Therefore, a self-centered person cannot enter the Kingdom of Heaven. The Kingdom of God starts from absolute faith. When you live by absolute faith, you cannot insist on your own opinion… Instead, you must rely on other people who defend you and declare that you are correct. That is the only way to establish the correctness of your opinion according to the standard of absolute faith. If you are not living this way, than you had better change and live by the absolute standard; only this way can you establish the Kingdom of Heaven. (46:79-80, July 25, 1971) If you are clinging to God, it is okay to boast that God is helping you. God likes to hear people proclaiming His works. However, if you boast about your own doings, everything you did will be shattered. (342:11, December 29, 2000) What kind of being is God? Does He say, “I am God Almighty! I created you to serve Me. Love Me and sacrifice everything for Me!”? A being who says such a thing is not the true God. God has set the tradition of sacrifice and service by changing babies’ soiled diapers and cleaning up after feeble and doddering parents. God wants you to live by this tradition and be His textbooks for education in meekness and humility. (116:68, December 20, 1981) Some people follow God’s Will for a time but then abandon it. Some people when they learn of God’s Will do not want to separate from the secular world; they may go back and forth for a time but end up living no differently than secular people. Some people think that they are living for God’s Will, but whenever they do something good they brag about it. Finally, there are people who sacrifice for God’s Will yet still feel ashamed that they did not do more. They are always looking at things from the perspective of God’s Will, not from their own perspective. Among these four categories of people, only those in the last category will last all the way to the end. (89:232, December 1, 1976)
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America emerged as the fruit of history, but now she must go back and connect with the Cause of history. In other words, she must rediscover God. America is the most powerful nation in the West, but on its way back should it continue increasing? Or should it decrease? This is a question. In seeking for God, America should lower itself. Why do arrogant people need to learn humility? It is to return to the Cause. However, you [who are returning to the Cause] should not only be humble. Sometimes you need to assert yourselves. You cannot just be humble all the time. Powerfully march forward! This means advance to the result. (117:93, February 14, 1982)
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Turn the Other Cheek JESUS TEACHES US TO TURN THE OTHER CHEEK—to bear insults and abuse without complaint and putting aside all thoughts of revenge. The discipline of non-resistance, even to the point of death, has great value for self-conquest. If we respond to evil in kind, the evil can attach itself to us and can dominate us. The hatred of our attacker only feeds our resentment at being a victim, and as a result we lose our balance and spiritual strength. But by bearing with insults and abuse without diminution of our own goodwill and mental concentration, we can digest the enemy’s hatred and preserve a foundation of spiritual independence and subjectivity. Ultimately, it is only by preserving our spiritual subjectivity in the midst of the insults that we can have the strength to love our enemy and win him over. Although some question how an ethic of non-resistance can be reconciled with justice, scriptures affirm that God vindicates those who turn the other cheek. Father Moon cites Jesus’ crucifixion as a prime instance of how one man’s submission to the cruelest torture and death can yield a tremendous historical victory. Yet at the same time, Father Moon teaches that even God must turn the other cheek and bear with countless insults, and for the same reasons as human beings. God must also uphold His absoluteness in the face of insult by continuing to love even the unlovable archangel who turned against him. God, too, seeks His justice, but only through the principle of love—overcoming evil with God.
You have heard that it was said, “An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.” But I say to you, Do not resist one who is evil. But if any one strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also; and if any one would sue you and take your coat, let him have your cloak as well; and if any one forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles.4 Matthew 5.38-41
Those who beat you with fists, Do not pay them in the same coin, But go to their house and kiss their feet. Adi Granth, Shalok, Farid, p. 1378 (Sikhism)
Those who are insulted but do not insult others in revenge, who hear themselves reproached without replying, who perform good work out of the love of the Lord and rejoice in their sufferings… are “as the sun when it goes forth in its might.” Talmud, Yoma 23a (Judaism)
Brethren, if outsiders should speak against me, or against the Doctrine, or against the Order, you should not on that account either bear malice, or suffer resentment, or feel ill will. If you, on that account, should feel angry and hurt, that would stand in the way of your own self-conquest. Digha Nikaya 1.3 (Buddhism)
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There should be neither harming nor reciprocating harm. Forty Hadith of an-Nawawi 32 (Islam)
Victory breeds hatred, for the defeated live in pain. Happily live the peaceful, giving up victory and defeat.
If you, monks, were to attend repeatedly to this exhortation on the parable of the saw, would you see any form of ridicule, subtle or gross, that you could not endure? Majjhima Nikaya 1.129 (Buddhism)
He who, without anger, endures reproach, flogging and punishments, whose power and potent army is patience—him I call a Brahmin.
Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God; for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” No, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him drink; for by doing so you will heap burning coals upon his head.”5
Dhammapada 399 (Buddhism)
Romans 12.19-20
No one is more patient over injury which he hears than God.
If an evil man, on hearing of what is good, comes and creates a disturbance, you should hold your peace. You must not angrily upbraid him; then he who has come to curse you will merely harm himself.
Dhammapada 201 (Buddhism)
Hadith of Bukhari and Muslim (Islam)
The Lord… is forbearing toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. 2 Peter 3.9
Monks, even as low-down thieves might be carving you limb from limb with a two-handled saw, even then whoever sets his mind at enmity is not a doer of my teaching. Monks, you should train yourselves thus, “Our minds shall not be perverted, we will not utter evil words, we shall abide cherishing thoughts of good, with minds full of goodwill and with no hatred in our heart. Beginning with that thief, we shall abide suffusing the whole world with thoughts of goodwill that are extensive, exalted, and immeasurable, without hostility and malevolence.”
Sutra of Forty-two Sections 7 (Buddhism)
To our most bitter opponents we say, “We shall match your capacity to inflict suffering by our capacity to endure suffering. We shall meet your physical force with soul force. Do to us what you will, and we shall continue to love you… Throw us in jail, and we shall still love you. Send your hooded perpetrators of violence into our community at the midnight hour and beat us and leave us half dead, and we shall still love you… We shall so appeal to your heart and conscience that we shall win you in the process, and our victory will be a double victory.”
Martin Luther King, Jr., Strength to Love (Christianity)
Teachings of Sun Myung Moon When two boys are fighting, one yields to the other with a heart of tolerance. Though he may want to fight to the finish out of anger, he yields because he thinks that someday they might become friends. If God were to judge between the two boys, He would decide in favor of the boy who forgives and embraces the other with tolerance. (100:84, October 8, 1978) Among the saints and great people of history, are there any who were not mistreated or persecuted during their earthly life? All the great figures of history encountered opposition, but those who defended themselves as being right are not reckoned among the saints.
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Jesus was condemned; he carried with him all of history’s pain and injustice; yet he went his way in silence. Nevertheless, he reappeared as the historical victor. Why? It is because he did not fight with the evil. (80:34, October 4, 1975) Jesus said, “But if any one strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also,” (Matt. 5.39) because when giving totally it is necessary to go that far. If you give completely, everything will come back to you—this is Heaven’s principle. Jesus blessed the Roman soldiers who nailed him to the cross and pierced his chest with a spear because he had determined to give himself completely before he passed on. He knew that by doing so, even the country of his enemies would return to him. And indeed, the Roman Empire eventually became a Christian kingdom. (69:88, October 20, 1973) The person who wins by striking someone three times will be subjugated by the person who yields ten times. Jesus followed this principle; isn’t it true in today’s world as well? Good people yield and sacrifice themselves. Those who use their fists well are not good people. The person who tries to win another over with love even as he is being beaten, who endures without complaint or regret, and who loves even at the sacrifice of his family—this is a good person. Why is that? It is because God is that way. The One who is the center of the universe follows this path; therefore it is the standard of goodness. We take this path as we journey toward the world of goodness. (101:68, October 28, 1978) Never pray like this: “O Lord, send a legion of angels to attack the people opposing me, so they cannot oppose me anymore.” You should rather pray, “O Lord, please save my enemies, for they are in need of Thy mercy and Thy blessings.” Why? They are in the position of Cain, and as Abel it is your responsibility to love and embrace Cain. Once you achieve oneness between Cain and Abel, you will prosper and not decline.6 The New York Times and The Washington Post oppose me and slander me, yet whenever I need to take out a newspaper advertisement I instruct my people to give them my advertising dollars. It may seem strange, but I always maintain the magnanimous position of Abel. We do not really have enemies. Even though people insult us, we patiently endure them and keep advancing. We have no need to avenge ourselves, because God will take care of everything. (89:114, October 4, 1976) Without maintaining the standard of eternal love, God would have no basis to someday exercise His authority over Satan. Therefore, God had to set up the condition of loving Satan no matter how viciously Satan opposed God. Thus, God’s philosophy is one of non-resistance. Why is that? Until the world of heavenly ideal is fulfilled on this earth, God must love the archangel, who became Satan, regardless of the circumstances. (316:79, February 10, 2000) God has the power to sweep away all satans in an instant. Yet what would happen then? God’s omnipotence would be broken. That is why, in order not to be invaded by Satan, God always retreats when Satan shoots arrows at Him. God is omnipotent, but only by patient endurance can God eventually subjugate Satan and set him under His dominion, where Satan cannot escape no matter how much he tries with all of his power. Only then can God secure His position and His omnipotence.
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What would happen if God were to say, “I can’t take it any more!” and turn everything upside down? The universe would be gone. God would become unthinkably miserable. Now can you appreciate the incredible value of patience? In this aspect, patience can be the incentive for renewal and re-creation. In other words, by enduring our enemy’s insults, we can forgive him. In doing so, we can gain dominion over him. Always. (76:219-20, March 2, 1975)
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Repentance REPENTANCE IS THE FIRST STEP on the road to recovering our relationship with God and realizing our original self. Sins, attachments, and mistaken views must be acknowledged as such; then it is possible to turn away from the old life and set out on the new path of faith. Since accumulated sins and delusions form a barrier obscuring the presence of God, repentance is a condition for God to forgive the sin and eradicate illusion, that the divine Presence may once again grace the penitent’s life. Repentance begins with words of contrition uttered in prayer—heart-felt and accompanied by tears. The forgiveness, release and insight that follow should awaken the will to make amends for previous wrongdoing and lead to changing the direction of one’s life. Father Moon teaches that repentance goes beyond expressing remorse for one’s individual sins. People are more than just individuals; each human being contains within him or herself the fruit of history, and furthermore each represents his or her society, nation and world. Therefore we should repent for more than just our individual selves; we should repent for our ancestors’ sins, our nation’s sins, and the world’s sins. Going deeper still, when we recognize how distant we are from the divine ideal, and how much God suffers, longing to embrace us in His bosom but unable to reach our hearts, we can repent for that as well. Thus, repentance becomes a journey of self-discovery that penetrates ever deeper into the depths of the soul.
1. Recognizing Sin, Confessing Sin, and Tearful Repentance for Sin Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.7 Matthew 3.2
If one hides the evil, it adds and grows. If one bares it and repents, the sin dies out. Therefore all Buddhas say that the wise do not hide sin.
Truly, God loves those who repent, and He loves those who cleanse themselves.
Mahaparinirvana Sutra (Buddhism)
Qur’an 2.222
Concern over remorse and humiliation depends on the borderline. The urge to blamelessness depends on remorse.8
The sacrifice acceptable to God is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise. Psalm 51.17
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I Ching, Great Commentary 1.3.4 (Confucianism)
All our righteousnesses are as filthy rags.9 Isaiah 64.6
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As was the will of God, so I ought to have thought; As was the will of God, so I ought to have spoken; As was the will of God, so I ought to have acted. If I have not so thought, so spoken, so acted, Then do I repent for the sin, Do I repent by my thought, word, and deed. Do I repent with all my heart and conscience. Patet 6 (Zoroastrianism)
Our transgressions are past counting, There is no end to our sins, Be merciful, forgive us, O Lord; We are great sinners and wrongdoers. There is no hope of our redemption. O Lord, dear Lord, our deeds weighed in the balance Would get us no place in Thy court! Forgive us and make us one with Thyself Through the grace of the Guru. Adi Granth, Shalok Vadhik, M.3, p. 1416 (Sikhism)
I question myself on my sin, O Varuna, desirous to know it. I seek out the wise to ask them; the sages all give me this answer, “The God, great Varuna, is angry with you.” What, then, O God, is my greatest transgression for which you would ruin your singer, your friend? Tell me, O God who knows all and lacks nothing, so that, quickly prostrating, I may sinless crave pardon. Rig Veda 7.86.3-4 (Hinduism)
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Though I seek my refuge in the true faith of the Pure Land, Yet my heart has not been truly sincere. Deceit and untruth are in my flesh, And in my soul is no clear shining. In their outward seeming all men are diligent and truth speaking, But in their souls are greed and anger and unjust deceitfulness, And in their flesh do lying and cunning triumph. Too strong for me is the evil of my heart. I cannot overcome it. Therefore my soul is like unto the poison of serpents; Even my righteous deeds, being mingled with this poison, Must be named deeds of deceitfulness. Shameless though I be and having no truth in my soul, Yet the virtue of the Holy Name, the gift of Him that is enlightened, Is spread throughout the world through my words, Although I am as I am. There is no mercy in my soul. The good of my fellow man is not dear in my eyes. If it were not for the Ark of Mercy, The divine promise of the Infinite Wisdom, How should I cross the Ocean of Misery? I, whose mind is filled with cunning and deceit as the poison of reptiles, Am impotent to practice righteous deeds. If I sought not refuge in the gift of our Father, I should die the death of the shameless.10 Shinran (Buddhism)
Teachings of Sun Myung Moon Jesus’ very first teaching was, “Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.” What should we repent for? Very simply, we should repent for all those actions which violate the rule stating that we should live by sacrifice and service to others. (105:92, September 30, 1979) We should repent. Our first assignment is to repent. Before a criminal is released from prison, he must pay the price for his crime. Likewise, under whatever name, unless we make a condition to liquidate our crimes, we cannot be released. All people today are faced with this situation. (99:75, September 1, 1978)
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It is a normal fact of life—when a child hurts or offends his mother or father, he has to apologize with tears before the parent will forgive him. It does not matter what country you live in—crime leads to punishment, and punishment, whether by inflicting pain or physical restraint, causes suffering. What is the purpose for giving punishment? Repentance. Therefore, when you repent you have to shed tears. You should feel much pain in those tears. Your repentance is not genuine unless you feel more pain over your mistakes and sins than if someone were giving you a beating as punishment. (99:76, September 1, 1978) Have you repented? How can you help others unless you have thoroughly repented, and God has accepted your repentance? How can you save others? Can you become the judge of others’ sins if you have not yet been forgiven of your own sins? Have you ever deeply experienced that you are a sinner? You do not just carry your own sins. You must understand that you carry the sins of history, sins committed by past generations. Also, you should understand that you are responsible for the sins of the present world. Furthermore, you should recognize your responsibility for the sins of the future. You bear these three levels of sin [on top of your own]. (99:90, September 1, 1978) People go to the church and pray, “Father, I committed such and such sins. I repent of them and pray for Thy forgiveness.” We should rather pray, “Father, please forgive me for having destroyed the heavenly order, for having violated the original relationship with Thee, for having violated relationships with other people, for damaging the creation, and for all other sins that I personally committed, especially violations of the heart.” If you make such repentance, receive God’s forgiveness, bring victory and gain God’s approval, then everything will be solved. Heaven is looking for the individuals who make such repentance… You should understand that there is no sin greater than having violated someone’s heart. Today, fathoming God’s heart, you should understand that you are sinners who violated God’s heart of love, sinners who rejected the heart of all creation, and obstructionists who blocked the fulfillment of the world of heart. I hope you understand this and repent from your hearts. (9:160, May 8, 1960) In American society you have a strong sense of freedom. You interpret the meaning of freedom to mean, “I can do whatever I please; why should I feel ashamed or feel pangs of conscience?” Yet suppose your father was a thief or a traitor, would you still be able to hold up your head? Suppose your father was a felon, would you still be proud? What if you were the offspring of an adulterer? If you were to face your own sin, and also realize that you are descendants of sinners, could you still proudly say, “I am free; I can do whatever I please”? The answer is only too clear. Before enjoying your freedom, you proud people had better die and be resurrected. You had better first cleanse yourselves by atoning for these sins, going the reverse way, so that you may be forgiven. (66:14, March 11, 1973) Inadequate as we are, how dare we show ourselves before Thee? How can we raise our heads before Heaven? Even if we died ten million times, it would be a deserved penalty. We are held prisoner by the chains of sin,
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and deserve to go through the suffering of the judgment. Therefore, we bow ourselves with souls bared, hoping for Thy merciful love and grace. (2:168, April 14, 1957)
❖ 2. Repentance for National Sins and he arose from his throne, removed his robe, and covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes. And he made proclamation and published through Nineveh, “By the decree of the king and his nobles: Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste anything; let them not feed, or drink water, but let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and let them cry mightily to God; yea, let every one turn from his evil way and from the violence which is in his hands. Who knows, God may yet repent and turn from his fierce anger, so that we perish not?” When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil way, God repented of the evil which he had said he would do to them; and he did not do it.11
If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land. 2 Chronicles 7.14
Jonah arose and went to Nineveh, according to the word of the Lord. Now Nineveh was an exceedingly great city, three days’ journey in breadth. Jonah began to go into the city, going a day’s journey. And he cried, “Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!” And the people of Nineveh proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them to the least of them. Then tidings reached the king of Nineveh,
Jonah 3.3-10
Teachings of Sun Myung Moon Religions, especially Christianity, have focused on repentance for personal sins, but not for social and national sins. Look, however, at Jesus and the saints and prophets; they did not focus on repenting their own personal sins but rather on social and national sins. (99:75, September 1, 1978) Have you repented? Are you shedding tears to repent for your own sins? Are you repenting for your ancestors’ sins? Beyond that, are you shedding tears to save the nation and the world? There are two kinds of tears. The first kind of tears we shed for our own forgiveness; the second kind of tears we shed to save others and bring them to repentance. You should shed both kinds of tears. Only then can there be complete repentance. (99:75, September 1, 1978) As God proceeded with the providence, in what did He inspire people to believe? What was the first thing He caused people to experience? It was not joy. First, He caused us to grieve for ourselves. Next, he inspired in us a heart to mourn over the situation of our family, society, tribe, nation and world, and then over how distant we were from Him. God set up this basic attitude to open the way by which we could stand before Him. (4:51, March 2, 1958)
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3. Genuine Repentance Requires Changing Behavior And whosoever repents and does good, he verily repents towards God with true repentance. Qur’an 25.71 (Islam)
be harmful, are of no avail. Futile is it to bathe an elephant if he is straightway to roll again in the mud. Srimad Bhagavatam 6.1 (Hinduism)
If a man finds that he has made a mistake, then he must not be afraid of admitting the fact and amending his ways. Analects 1.8.4 (Confucianism)
Whosoever looks upon his wrongdoing as wrongdoing, makes amends by confessing it as such, and abstains from it in the future, will progress according to the Law. Digha Nikaya 1.85 (Buddhism)
How is one proved a repentant sinner? Rab Judah said, “If the object which caused his original transgression comes before him on two occasions, and he keeps away from it.” Rabbi Jose ben Judah said, “If a man commits a transgression, the first, second, and third time he is forgiven; the fourth time he is not forgiven.” Talmud, Yoma 86b (Judaism)
He who has committed a sin and has repented, is freed from that sin, but he is purified only by resolving to cease: “I will do so no more.”… He who, having either unintentionally or intentionally committed a reprehensible deed, desires to be freed from it, must not commit it a second time. If his mind be uneasy with respect to any deed, let him repeat the penances prescribed for it until they fully satisfy his conscience. Laws of Manu 11.231-34 (Hinduism)
Expiation and repentance, to a man who continues to commit sinful acts, knowing them to
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Say, O My slaves who have been prodigal to their own hurt! Despair not of the mercy of God, who forgives all sins. Lo! He is the Forgiving, the Merciful. Turn to Him repentant, and surrender unto Him, before there can come upon you the doom, when you cannot be helped. And follow the better of that which has been revealed unto you from your Lord, before the doom comes on you suddenly when you know not. Lest any soul should say, “Alas, my grief that I was unmindful of God, and I was indeed among the scoffers!” Or should say, “If God had but guided me, I should have been among the dutiful!” Or should say, when it sees the doom, “Oh, that I had but a second chance, that I might be among the righteous!” Qur’an 39.53-58
Do not procrastinate the day of your repentance until the end; for after this day of life, which is given us to prepare for eternity, behold, if we do not improve our time while in this life, then comes the night of darkness wherein there can be no labor performed. You cannot say, when you are brought to that awful crisis, that I will repent, that I will return to my God. Nay, you cannot say this; for that same spirit which possesses your bodies at the time that you go out of this life, that same spirit will have power to possess your body in that eternal world. For behold, if you have procrastinated the day of your repentance even until death, behold, you have become subjected to the spirit of the devil, and he has sealed you his. Book of Mormon, Alma 34.33-35 (Latter-day Saints)
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Teachings of Sun Myung Moon We are people who recognize that we are in a disordered and diseased state, and we have come to this place to be repaired. We have individual problems, family problems, national-level problems, and global problems, all of which need fixing… How then can you prove that you are completely healed? You are in good shape when you feel disgust for your old self and your former way of life. Do you still have fond memories of those days? Do you sometimes dream of the good times you used to have? If so, it means you have not yet fully recovered from your illness. Again, you meet a handsome man who whispers in your ear, “You are so beautiful! Why don’t you forget about that difficult husband of yours and come live with me?” If such a temptation pulls you in the slightest, it means you have not yet fully recovered from your illness. You are cured when you have become immune to such temptations, when they do not affect you at all. (May 1, 1978) Most people’s lives vacillate back and forth between good and evil, between a public life and a selfcentered life. They often end up falling into a self-centered life. But if they continue that way, they are destined to perish. Therefore, from time to time they repent of their self-centered past and strive once again to live a public life, biting their teeth. Nevertheless, they do not endure it for long and again fall back into self-centeredness… In such a way, people vacillate back and forth. Eventually, they are inclined to live a private life, distant from the standard of public goodness. Most people’s lives of faith have been like that. This is why people who lead private lives need to continually repent. (31:242, June 4, 1970) Although God joyfully receives you this day, you should nevertheless have a tearful heart of thorough repentance. Question yourself: “Why did I not know Heavenly Father sooner? And why did I not understand the standpoint of God, who is so worried over humankind?” When you think of your former ignorance, you should wail with indignation. God will sympathize with you if you have a heart of repentance over the past. If you lack a heart of repentance, you have no business participating in God’s work. (13:330, April 14, 1964) Until the last moment of your life you should be repenting. You must not leave the earth without doing it. (99:110, September 1, 1978)
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Judge Not SCRIPTURE CAUTIONS US NOT TO JUDGE another person’s faults, even when they are evident, because neither are we perfect and free from error. Scriptures of all faiths echo Jesus’ teaching, not to regard the speck in your neighbor’s eye before removing the log from your own eye. Father Moon teaches the rule of three: before criticizing another person once, criticize yourself three times. Furthermore, before we correct another person, we should first invest in loving and helping them.
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Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment that you pronounce you will be judged, and the measure you give will be the measure you get. Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, “Let me take the speck out of your eye,” when there is the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye. Matthew 7.1-5
Easily seen are others’ faults, hard indeed to see are one’s own. Like chaff one winnows others’ faults, but one’s own one hides, as a crafty fowler conceals himself by camouflage. He who sees others’ faults is ever irritable—his corruptions grow. He is far from the destruction of the corruptions. Dhammapada 252-53 (Buddhism)
The vile are ever prone to detect the faults of others, though they be as small as mustard seeds, and persistently shut their eyes against their own, though they be as large as vilva fruit. Garuda Purana 112 (Hinduism)
Do not judge your comrade until you have stood in his place.12 Mishnah, Avot 2.5 (Judaism)
A man holding a basket of eggs does not dance on stones. Buji Proverb (African Traditional Religions)
Confucius said, “The gentleman calls attention to the good points in others; he does not call attention to their defects. The small man does just the reverse of this.” Analects 12.16 (Confucianism)
Why do you pass judgment on your brother? Or you, why do you despise your brother? For we
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shall all stand before the judgment seat of God; as it is written, As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me and every tongue shall confess to God. o each of us shall give account of himself to S God. Romans 14.10-12
The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery, and placing her in the midst they said to him, “Teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of adultery. Now in the Law Moses commanded us to stone such. What do you say about her?” This they said to test him, that they might have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. And as they continued to ask him, he stood up and said to them, “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.” And once more he bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. But when they heard it, they went away, one by one, beginning with the eldest, and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him. Jesus looked up and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you; go, and do not sin again.”13 John 8.3-11
He who treads the Path in earnest Sees not the mistakes of the world; If we find fault with others We ourselves are also in the wrong. When other people are in the wrong, we should ignore it, For it is wrong for us to find fault. By getting rid of this habit of fault-finding We cut off a source of defilement. When neither hatred nor love disturb our mind Serenely we sleep. Sutra of Hui Neng 2 (Buddhism)
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Censuring others and praising himself, concealing good qualities present in others and proclaiming noble qualities absent in himself, he causes them to have low status. Disparaging himself and praising others, proclaiming qualities which are present in others and not
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proclaiming those that are absent in himself, with humility and modesty he lifts them to high status. No obstacle should be created in the [spiritual] development of others. Tattvarthasutra 6.25-27 (Jainism)
Teachings of Sun Myung Moon Before judging someone, study him for at least three years. (Way of God’s Will 2.2) Do not criticize others; the problem is within you. A weak point of young people is that their minds are stretched out in all directions, like tree branches. Do you know what I mean? They are perceptive and quick; after one glance they are quick to make comments. However, they tend to overlook themselves. Therefore, before you criticize someone, you should first find three points to criticize in yourself. Be only one-third as critical of that person as you are of yourself. (25:93-94, September 30, 1969) Do not judge anyone in your heart. You yourself are a sinner, a priest who failed to complete your responsibility; so how can you judge others? (89:268, December 4, 1976) When you receive God’s grace, you should use it to fight Satan on behalf of God, with the heart of Heaven’s indignation. You should not judge other people based on your opinions. To enjoy the grace you received [while passing judgment on others who received less] is not the right attitude of faith. If you do so, you will not be able to walk the path acceptable to God. (2:200-01, May 19, 1957) If you are deficient in your character, listen to other people’s testimonies to make up for it. Listen to them, absorb their experiences as your own, and strengthen your character thereby. You should learn from many people’s experiences. Do not criticize their testimonies after hearing them. To criticize means to set yourself up as determining whether it is on the side of Satan or God. But in so doing, it is you who are split to be either on Satan’s side or God’s side. Therefore, criticism is like cancer to your growth. (76:141, February 2, 1975) Examine yourself. Before you speak ill of another, you should look at whether you have that problem. Before you point the finger at another, you should first point it at yourself. Only when you can give yourself a perfect score on every point are you in a position to judge others as you wish. Jesus taught this when he encountered the men who were about to stone to death a woman who had committed adultery. He said to them, “Let he who is without sin cast the first stone,” and they all ran away. Doesn’t this also apply to you? You women should not praise your own offspring while criticizing other people’s children. Rather, you should regard yourself as representing all womankind, and love every mother’s child as your own. It is the same with you men. (118:245, June 6, 1982)
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Self-Denial PEOPLE ARE BLIND TO THEIR OWN SELF-CENTEREDNESS. We know that selfish and greedy people are far from goodness; yet, everyone is tainted by selfishness to some extent. This self-centeredness needs to be exposed and beaten mercilessly; otherwise our goodness is superficial and ephemeral. Therefore, we should deny ourselves. A life of self-affirmation and pleasure seeking leads, in the end, to emptiness and loss. Self-denial seems to lead to death and loss, but in fact it leads to abundant life with God. Thus we encounter the paradoxical truth, in the words of Jesus, “whoever would save his life would lose it; and whoever loses his life will save it.” These teachings are common to all the world-level religions. Father Moon affirms the value of self-denial. He explains why human beings should have to travel such a paradoxical and unnatural course to reach the goal of life based upon his insights on the Human Fall. Although God created humans to manifest the character of love and altruism, because of the Fall we are infected by Satan, whose nature is pure self-centeredness. Hence, we face the predicament that in order to restore our original selves we must first deny our existing selves that are stained by satanic elements.
If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it; and whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s will save it. Mark 8.34-36
You learned ones: expound in your mind this inexpressible proposition. Adi Granth, Maru-ki-Var, M.1, p. 1092 (Sikhism)
Torah abides only with him who regards himself as nothing. Talmud, Sota 21b (Judaism)
He who has no thought of “I” and “mine” whatever towards his mind and body, he who grieves not for that which he has not, he is, indeed, called a bhikkhu. Dhammapada 367 (Buddhism)
They are forever free who renounce all selfish desires and break away from the ego-cage of “I,” “me,” and “mine” to be united with the Lord. Attain to this, and pass from death to immortality. Bhagavad-Gita 2.71 (Hinduism)
The Man of the Way wins no fame, The highest virtue wins no gain, The Great Man has no self. Chuang Tzu 17 (Taoism)
Where egoism exists, You are not experienced, Where You are, is not egoism.
“Subhuti, what do you think? Does a holy one say within himself, ‘I have obtained Perfective Enlightenment’?” Subhuti replied, “No, World-honored One… If a holy one of Perfective Enlightenment said to himself, ‘Such am I,’ he would necessarily partake of the idea of an ego-identity, a personality, a being, a separated individuality.” Diamond Sutra 9 (Buddhism)
Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. He who loves his life loses it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. John 12.24-25
Remember, those who fear death shall not escape it, and those who aspire to immortality shall not achieve it. Nahjul Balagha, Khutba 43 (Shiite Islam)
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O Son of Man! If you love me, turn away from yourself; and if you seek my pleasure, regard not your own; that you may die in me and I may eternally live in you.
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If, like a cracked gong, you silence yourself, you have already attained Nibbana: no vindictiveness will be found in you. Dhammapada 134 (Buddhism)
Hidden Words of Bahá’u’lláh, Arabic 7 (Baha’i Faith)
You, who sit on the top of a hundred-foot pole, although you have entered the Way you are not yet genuine. Proceed on from the top of the pole, and you will show your whole body in the ten directions. Mumon’s Comment: If you go on further and turn your body about, no place is left where you are not the master. But even so, tell me, how will you go on further from the top of a hundred-foot pole? Eh?14 Mumonkan 46 (Buddhism)
Yen Yüan asked about perfect virtue. The Master said, “To subdue one’s self and return to propriety is perfect virtue. If a man can for one day subdue himself and return to propriety, all under heaven will ascribe perfect virtue to him.” Analects 12.1.1 (Confucianism)
Knowing that this body is like foam, and comprehending that it is as unsubstantial as a mirage, one should destroy the flower-tipped shafts of sensual passions [Mara], and pass beyond the sight of the King of death. Dhammapada 46 (Buddhism)
Teachings of Sun Myung Moon Absolute faith is not the place of self-affirmation, but of self-negation. (Way of God’s Will 3.2) What is the most serious obstacle to entering the Kingdom of Heaven? An enemy called “I” is lurking about. “I” am the enemy. The reason why we pray and put effort into our life of faith is ultimately to be victorious over “me.” Our goal is to achieve the victory whereby we no longer face Satan’s accusation, but as long as “I” exists, it is impossible to completely break away from that condition. We should be able to deny this “I” in the name of God. We must totally deny ourselves. Only by total self-denial can we cut all the strings by which Satan has been pulling us. We should understand that something like the silk threads of a spider web connect us to Satan, who uses them to pull us. We have to cut them all with a razor. (122:13, April 26, 1982) Jesus came to this earth to teach us that before we desire to live, to be a ruler of others, or to be happy, we should first be willing to die. Since human history was ruined due to selfishness and self-centered thinking, the only way to save it is to go in the opposite direction. That is what Jesus meant by the paradoxical words, “Those who desire to live shall die, and those who are willing to die shall live.” With those words he set up the teaching to abolish this world of self-seeking, in which everyone regards him or herself, not the whole, as most important. In the world where everyone thinks, “I am number one,” everyone is divided. No one likes arrogant people. Conversely, everyone likes individuals who willingly live for others and lift them up. (67:182, June 3, 1973) The Fall was the beginning of the consciousness of “myself.” Therefore, you should deny yourself, especially your body. Get rid of Satan, that narcissistic being, by denying yourself. Return to God by always living for the sake of others. Know clearly that this is the path laid out by
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religion to seek after enlightenment and the method to attain unity through the way of love. (214:65, February 1, 1991) Satan exists nowhere else than in “myself.” Since ego exists, suspicion, jealousy, excessive desire and anger come about. Therefore, kill your ego. Everything that has to do with “I” is Satan. Scoff at yourself and judge yourself. Satan always invades through someone close to you or the things you like most. (Way of God’s Will 3.4) Living for the self ends with the self, but living for others continues forever. Therefore, for goodness to continue, you should live for your counterpart—the greater whole. This is particularly the case when you are in a position of leadership… Therefore, the public road begins with denying the self. Denying the self does not mean the self disappears. Goodness begins when you try to find yourself in another and value that relationship. This is the principle law and way for goodness to develop. (57:63, May 28, 1972) The religions of Asia traditionally taught self-denial and rejection of material possessions. Conversely, Western people seek to raise themselves up and gain material prosperity. The end result of such a self-centered life is material wealth but emptiness of spirit. (97:67, February 26, 1978) As long as you insist on keeping to the ways you grew up with, you can never unite with people of other societies and nations and who have different ways of thinking. The simple way to unite with them is to forget totally about yourself. By completely denying yourself you can make relationships everywhere. (360:192, November 16, 2001)
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Subduing the Desires of the Flesh ALL RELIGIONS AGREE THAT THE SEEKER of Ultimate Reality must restrain his or her desires and subdue the passions of the flesh. Striking and weakening the body through rigorous self-control, fasting, sitting hours at meditation, etc. are all commendable ways to struggle against the flesh’s desires and ultimately to dominate them. For most people, the most challenging of them all is sexual desire. Jesus taught that we should be ruthless, “If your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out…” to which we add a Buddhist story of a nun who did just that—to quench her counterpart’s sin, not her own. Buddhism promotes the technique of meditating on “the loathsomeness of the body” as a bag of fluids, lymph, bile and feces to help men curb their desire for the opposite sex. Father Moon also recommends summoning up an attitude of disgust for the body, calling it “Satan’s dance-hall.” Related passages on self-conquest are found in Chapter 12: Self-Control; yet perfect self-control is nearly impossible to attain. Father Moon explains this predicament as a consequence of humanity’s impaired condition after the Fall. Extreme and forceful practice is required to do what does not come naturally. Therefore, religions developed to teach the path of intense and unrelenting efforts at striking at the body and subduing its desires. In some religions these practices became organized into monasticism; nevertheless people in every walk of life should be making efforts in this direction.
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1. Extinguishing the Desires of the Body Beloved, I beseech you…to abstain from the passions of the flesh that wage war against your soul. 1 Peter 2.11
When all the desires that surge in the heart Are renounced, the mortal becomes immortal. When all the knots that strangle the heart Are loosened, the mortal becomes immortal, Here in this very life.
Through the abandonment of desire the Deathless is realized.
Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 4.4.7 (Hinduism)
Samyutta Nikaya 47.37 (Buddhism)
Realizing that pleasure and pain are personal affairs, one should subjugate his mind and senses.
Put to death what is earthly in you: fornication, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. On account of these the wrath of God is coming. In these you once walked, when you lived in them. But now put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and foul talk from your mouth.
Acarangasutra 2.78 (Jainism)
Colossians 3.5-8
Is he who relies on a clear proof from his Lord like those for whom the evil that they do seems pleasing while they follow their own lusts?
Confucius said, “There are three things against which a gentleman is on his guard. In his youth, before his blood and vital humors have settled down, he is on his guard against lust. Having reached his prime, when the blood and vital humors have finally hardened, he is on his guard against strife. Having reached old age, when the blood and vital humors are already decaying, he is on his guard against avarice.” Analects 16.7 (Confucianism)
Qur’an 47.14
Only on complete obliteration of sensuality can one forsake violence. Acarangasutra 4.45 (Jainism)
Manifest plainness, Embrace simplicity, Reduce selfishness, Have few desires. Tao Te Ching 19 (Taoism)
Monks, there are these three feelings. What three? Pleasant feeling, painful feeling, and feeling that is neither painful nor pleasant. Pleasant feeling, monks, should be looked upon as pain, painful feeling should be looked upon as a barb, feeling that is neither painful nor pleasant should be looked upon as impermanent. When these three feelings are looked upon in these ways by a monk, that monk is called “rightly seeing.” Itivuttaka 47 (Buddhism)
Teachings of Sun Myung Moon The true religious life starts from denying all relationships with the body. If you read the scriptures, can you find any guidance about eating good food and leading an easy life? It is impossible to find such guidance. Religion teaches you to serve, sacrifice, be gentle and humble. Therefore religious people pray for the sake of others even at the risk of their lives. The body by itself cannot do this. In this way you can knock down your body. The mind and body fight when they have the same amount of strength. So you should make effort to weaken your body. When your mind can subdue your weakened body for several months, then even after the body regains its strength it will follow the mind out of habit. When you reach such a level, you will find that your plans turn out well, having support from Heaven. Then it will be
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difficult to lead the life you led in the past. You will gravitate towards living an upright life according to your conscience. This is the purpose of the religious life. (38:272, January 8, 1971) Religions present teachings on how to conquer the body. They instruct us: Be forceful in restricting your body. Do not give in to what the body wants to do. For this reason, religions direct us not to go to theatres or walk through red-light districts. They command men not to chase after women, and advise women to consider men as thieves and to avoid paying attention to them. Can you ladies in the Unification Church date? No, you cannot. Can you men date? No, you cannot. Do I use force to keep you from dating? No. Go ahead, try dating if you want to, but you will find you cannot do it. If someone was stopping you by force, you would do it all the more. Go ahead and try it, and fall on your own back. What should you do with your body? You should subdue it. Seeking for goodness requires you to subjugate your body. That is why I am asking you to twist the neck of your bodily desires. The body likes to be arrogant. It demands that others serve it. Its philosophy is: “Mine is mine, and yours is mine.” (39:193, January 10, 1971) You young men should cut off your desire to have every attractive woman you see. You should cut off the music you enjoy listening to—everything the world delights in. Religions direct you to strike the body. The highest religions advocate denying the flesh completely. Throughout history, religions have taught asceticism and sacrificial service. Why? There is a reason for it. To enter the Kingdom of Heaven, we have to realize heaven in this hellish human world. Is this world a place of misery or of happiness? It is a world of misery. Can this world of misery and turmoil ever become a world of happiness if everyone keeps on eating, playing, drinking and dancing? No, the world will only become more miserable. Therefore, anyone seeking the world of happiness should go to a place of misery and there make a break-through. The way forward can only be found in a place of misery. If it is not there, then God does not exist. (91:286-87, January 30, 1977) We strike the body to eliminate Satan’s influence. We strike the body to allow the Holy Spirit to take control. To strike our body is to strike Satan. When we strike Satan, the Holy Spirit can occupy what Satan had previously ruled. (1:126, June 27, 1956)
❖ 2. Feeling Revulsion for the Body and the Corrupt Senses If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life maimed than with two hands to go to hell, to the unquenchable fire. And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life lame than with two feet to be thrown into hell. And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out; it is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into hell. Mark 9.43-47
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In Jivaka’s pleasant wood walked the nun Subha. A gallant met her there and barred the way. Subha said to him, “What have I done to offend you, that you stand obstructing me? For it is not fitting, sir, that a man should touch a sister in orders…” “You are young, a maiden, and faultless— what do you seek in the holy life? Cast off that yellow robe and come! In the blossoming woodland let us seek our pleasure… If you
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will do my bidding, come where the joys of the sheltered life await you; dwell in a house of verandas and terraces…” “What so infatuates you about this carcass, filled with carrion, to fill a grave, so fragile, that it seems to warrant such words?” “Eyes you have like a gazelle’s, like an elf’s in the heart of the mountains—‘tis those eyes of yours, sight of which feeds the depth of my passion. Shrined in your dazzling, immaculate face as in the calyx of a lotus, ‘tis those eye of yours, sight of which feeds the strength of my passion…” “O you are blind! You chase a sham… What is this eye but a little ball lodged in the fork of a hollow tree, bubble of film, anointed with tearbrine, exuding slime-drops, compost wrought in the shape of an eye of manifold aspects?” Forthwith the maiden so lovely tore out her eye and gave it to him. “Here, then! Take your eye!” Her heart unattached, she sinned not. Straightaway the lust in him ceased and he begged her pardon. “O pure and holy maid, would that you might recover your sight! Never again will I do such a thing. You have sore smitten my sin; blazing flames have I clasped to my bosom; a poisonous snake I have handled— but O, be healed and forgive me!” Freed from molesting, the nun went on her way to the Buddha, chief of the Awakened. There in his presence, seeing those features born of utmost merit, her eye was restored. Therigatha 366-99 (Buddhism)
The body, brethren, is not the self. If body were the self, this body would not be subject to sickness, and one could say of body, “Let my body be thus; let my body not be thus.” But inasmuch as body is not the self, that is why body is subject to sickness, and one cannot say of body, “Let my body be thus; let my body not be thus.”… Now what do you think, brethren, is body permanent or impermanent? [Impermanent, Lord.] And is the impermanent painful or pleasant? [Painful, Lord.] Then what is
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impermanent, painful, and unstable by nature, is it fitting to consider as, “this is mine, this am I, this is my self”? [Surely not, Lord.]… Therefore, brethren, every body whatever, be it past, future, or present, be it inward or outward, gross or subtle, lowly or eminent, far or near—every body should be thus regarded, as it really is, by right insight—”this is not mine; this am not I; this is not my self.” Samyutta Nikaya 3.68 (Buddhism)
He who delights in subduing evil thoughts, who meditates on the loathsomeness of the body, who is ever mindful—it is he who will make an end of craving. He will sever Mara’s bond. Dhammapada 350 (Buddhism)
The mouth is a vessel filled with foul Saliva and filth between the teeth, The nose with fluids, snot, and mucus, The eyes with their own filth and tears. The body is a vessel filled With excrement, urine, lungs, and liver; He whose vision is obscured and does not see A woman thus, lusts for her body. This filthy city of a body, With protruding holes for the elements Is called by stupid beings An object of pleasure. Why should you lust desirously for this While recognizing it as a filthy form Produced by a seed whose essence is filth, A mixture of blood and semen? He who lies on the filthy mass Covered by skin moistened with Those fluids, merely lies On top of a woman’s bladder.15 Nagarjuna, Precious Garland 149-57 (Buddhism)
Get back, I hate you! Don’t hold my sari, you fool! A she-buffalo is worried of its life, And the butcher, of its killing! The pious think of virtues,
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And the wicked, of vices; I am worried of my soul, And you, of lust… Fie on this body! Why do you damn yourself In love of it—this pot of excrement,
The vessel of urine, the frame of bones, This stench of purulence! Think of Lord Shiva, You fool!16 Akkamahadevi, Vacana 15 and 33 (Hinduism)
Teachings of Sun Myung Moon Your eyes, nose, ears, mouth, and hands are in contact with two roads. When your eyes see for “me” they become the Devil’s eyes; when your nose smells for “me” it becomes the Devil’s nose, and when your ears hear for “me” they become Devil’s ears. You should rather see with eyes that care for others, care for the nation, the world, and heaven and earth—in other words, you should see with God’s eyes. Those eyes of yours do not exist for your successful career… they exist for the sake of others—to save the nation and liberate humankind. (214:65, February 1, 1991) When you come home at night and wash your face, look at the mirror and say, “Eyes, nose, ears, hands and feet; you are always a problem.” Ask them, “Did you do anything sinful today?” You should reflect upon what you have seen with your eyes, what you have said with your mouth, how you have acted, and everything you have done by your own power. Then you should go the opposite way. (122:264, November 21, 1982) Who is your enemy? Your own eyes and ears, your nose, mouth, your thoughts—those are your enemies. You must make your eyes God’s eyes, your ears God’s ears, your nose God’s nose, your mouth God’s mouth, and your hands and feet God’s hands and feet. By doing so, you should find the “I” that can live entirely for the world. That is your revolution. The borderline between heaven and hell is within your own self. If you move to the right you end up in the Kingdom of God; if you move to the left you end up in hell. Some people stay on the borderline, shifting sometimes to the right, sometimes to the left, back and forth. Others go to the left; they are headed for hell… Still others keep pushing themselves to live for God and His Will their whole life long… Among those three types of people, which are you? Even Unification Church members are divided among these three types. Some are A, some are B and some are C. Which type do you want to be? “A!” Oh, you people are ambitious! But you will face many difficulties… You young men, when you see an attractive young woman, do you want to flirt with her? You must cut off that thought. You must cut off all the messages [about love] that you hear every day. You must cut off all the things the world says are good. You must cut off all of them. That is why religion commands us to strike our own body. The higher the religion, the more sacrifice it demands. Is that the correct thing to do, or not? It is correct. All the religions throughout history have taught people to live an ascetic life, to sacrifice and serve. There is a purpose for it. (91:285, February 27, 1977) Do you women realize how much you are tempting men? If you are attractive, you should think, “I don’t want to have a pretty face.” (116:18, December 1, 1981) You must deplore the reality that your body is the Devil’s dance hall. Your body is the Devil’s love nest. Having been defiled by the Devil’s love, your body inherited the Devil’s blood lineage.
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You should recognize that based on this blood relationship, Satan’s realm of power is controlling you in order to trample upon your original character. Furthermore, Satan desires through this lineage to dominate you for millions of years to come. What can you do about this alarming fact? Your country cannot remove Satan for you. You have to do it yourself. (214:285, February 3, 1991) Satan’s blood flows in my veins. Satan’s greed and Satan’s selfishness are in me. Recognize this fact, and always consider that Satan’s love, Satan’s greed, and Satan himself occupy your very self. Pull out this Satan! Pull out Satan’s blood lineage, Satan’s desires, and all self-centered satanic elements. With what can you pull them out? For this purpose God set up religions and has been leading the providence of restoration and salvation. (115:42, October 28, 1982) There are two types of love: love that is pleasing to Satan and love that is pleasing to God… But if you are going about seeking temporary love, you will arrive at death. Whenever you feel an urge for temporary love, you should whip yourself and pray single-mindedly to strive only for eternal life, while thinking of the darkness of death that awaits you if you gratify that urge. (Blessing and Ideal Family 1.4.3) Many times Eve was left alone. When she made a fuss, crying out loud under the shade of a tree, the archangel was there to comfort her. Sometimes he carried her on his back. Sometimes he sat her on his lap. When she was sitting on his lap face-to-face, his sexual organ would almost be touching hers. They had often seen animals mating and knew it was how they came to have their young. Under those circumstances, all the archangel had to do was push his organ into hers, and she would feel, “I like it!” Man and woman feel pleasure when their sexual organs touch. The thing was bound to happen sooner or later, and that is exactly how the Fall took place. You men, if a woman comes to you, sits naked on your lap, and touches your sexual organ, would you accept it? Suppose she were very attractive; when she touches your organ, would it be erect, or not? Your love organ should not be hard and erect. No, it should remain limp. If you ever face such a temptation, know that it is an opportunity to restore through indemnity the action of the Fall. Therefore, even if a very attractive woman tries to force your organ into hers, you should push her away with such force that she tumbles to the ground, and chase her away to a far off place where you will never see her again. (285:201, May 4, 1997)
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Non-Attachment to Wealth and Possessions WEALTH AND POSSESSIONS ARE SHACKLES that chain us to the fallen world. They promote greed and avarice, increasing self-centered desire. The love of money has been called “the root of all evil,” and materialism has become a great obstacle to humanity’s spiritual progress. Traditionally, the path to God has required renunciation of wealth and attachment to material goods. Monks and nuns typically take formal vows of poverty. Yet ordinary people may live free from possessiveness, sacrificing wealth for the sake of a greater good. Some contribute generously to charities; others forgo lucrative careers to care for a sick family member or to go on a mission to help people in need. They find peace of mind and great satisfaction having given up the anxiety of keeping and amassing material things for a life of giving and service.
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Father Moon links the religious teaching of non-attachment with his philosophy of true love. He explains that God’s love begins from the foundation of non-possessiveness, while people who are attached to possessions find that their possessions get in the way of expressing love. This principle applies not only to our relationship with God and in daily life with our loved ones, but also to the well-being of nations and this planet Earth.
1. Money as a Cause of Downfall The love of money is the root of all evils. 1 Timothy 6.10
Woe is he… who has gathered riches and counted them over, thinking his riches have made him immortal! Qur’an 104.1-3
Do not race after riches, do not risk your life for success, or you will let slip the Heaven within you. Chuang Tzu 29 (Taoism)
Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. Deuteronomy 8.3, Matthew 4.4
No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon. Matthew 6.24
Riches ruin the foolish, but not those in quest of the Beyond. Through craving for riches the ignorant man ruins himself as he does others. Dhammapada 355 (Buddhism)
“I got this today,” they say; “tomorrow I shall get that. This wealth is mine, and that will be mine too. I have destroyed my enemies. I shall destroy others too! Am I not like God? I enjoy what I want. I am successful. I am powerful. I am happy. I am rich and well-born. Who is equal to me? I will perform sacrifices and give gifts, and rejoice in my own generosity.” This is how they go on, deluded by ignorance.
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Bound by their greed and entangled in a web of delusion, whirled about by a fragmented mind, they fall into a dark hell. Bhagavad-Gita 16.13-16 (Hinduism)
When they see merchandise or diversion they scatter off to it, and they leave you standing. Say, “What is with God is better than diversion and merchandise. God is the best of providers.” Qur’an 62.11
He who loves money will not be satisfied with money; nor he who loves wealth, with gain: this also is vanity. When goods increase, they increase who eat them; and what gain has their owner but to see them with his eyes? Sweet is the sleep of a laborer, whether he eats little or much; but the surfeit of the rich will not let him sleep. There is a grievous evil which I have seen under the sun: riches were kept by their owner to his hurt, and those riches were lost in a bad venture; and he is father of a son, but he has nothing in his hand. As he came from his mother’s womb he shall go again, naked as he came, and shall take nothing for his toil, which he may carry away in his hand. Ecclesiastes 5.10-15
The life of moneymaking is one undertaken under compulsion, and wealth is evidently not the good we are seeking; for it is merely useful for the sake of something else. Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics I.5 (Hellenism)
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You have the right to work, but never to the fruit of work. You should never engage in action for the sake of reward, nor should you long for inaction. Perform work in this world, Arjuna, as a man established within himself— without selfish attachments, and alike in success and defeat. For discipline is perfect evenness of mind. Seek refuge in the attitude of detachment and you will amass the wealth of spiritual awareness. Those who are motivated only by desire for the fruits of action are miserable, for they are constantly anxious about the results of what they do. When consciousness is unified, however, all
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vain anxiety is left behind. There is no cause for worry, whether things go well or ill. Bhagavad-Gita 2.47-50 (Hinduism)
The impulse “I want” and the impulse “I’ll have”—lose them! That is where most people get stuck; without those, you can use your eyes to guide you through this suffering state. Sutta Nipata 706 (Buddhism)
Busy not yourself with this world, for with fire we test gold, and with gold we test our servants. Hidden Words of Bahá’u’lláh, Arabic 54 (Bahá’i Faith)
Teachings of Sun Myung Moon Money can be ugly. It can be filthier than dung. People do not become evil because they are soiled with dung, but people who misuse money become wicked—filthier than dung. So I try not to use money for myself. I try to give all of it to others. (381:304, June 17, 2002) Money can provide you with the things you desire: women, food, good clothes, and a fine house. Certainly we need money, yet money also can be a problem. When you have money, do you want to employ it to love others, or employ it to amass power? We need money, but it should be used to benefit the whole and to realize love. (116:18, December 1, 1981) Power, wealth and knowledge, which worldly people ordinarily desire, are not the necessary and sufficient conditions for peace and happiness. True happiness is not proportional to how much property you own, nor is it obtained by multiplying external comforts. The only sure way to obtain genuine peace and limitless happiness is to live for others and give to others with true love; when those deeds go around they will return to you. (294:68, June 11, 1998) In creating the world as His object partner, God had no concept of possession. If a person has the concept that he owns things, then he cannot give more than he has. If he owns things worth one hundred dollars, he cannot give more than one hundred dollars’ worth of things. On the contrary, God creates by investing and forgetting, investing and forgetting. God can invest infinitely because he has no concept of self. Do you understand this principle? A person cannot be conscious of self when investing for his or her counterpart. To think, “This money is for me to use. This is my portion,” is Satan’s way of thinking. (287:265, 971005) Humankind longs for a world of peace, free from war and suffering. Yet it is difficult to be hopeful when the traditional authority of national leaders and religions are supplanted by a “money solves all” mentality, which is utterly insufficient in the face of youth decline, family breakdown, drugs and AIDS. 294:61, June 11, 1998)
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The world’s developed nations, while seeking for the ultimate material civilization, have fallen into its trap. Obsession for material wealth dominates the mind and spirit; the human soul has become the slave of matter. The result is a collapse of true love. Although cities are lined with skyscrapers and the people enjoy material abundance, the lives of city-dwellers have become like a barren desert. In such desolation, an oasis of true love is nowhere to be found. Without true love, our society is a breeding-ground for selfishness. The most grievous victim of this selfishness is nature. The natural environment is devastated, the water and air are polluted, and even the ozone layer, which has been protecting humanity, is damaged. If this situation continues unchecked, humanity will reach the point where it cannot escape self-destruction, all due to the material civilization it has erected for itself. The twenty-first century is the time to return to the original world that God desires. The age of material civilization will give way to an era of spiritual civilization, where spirit and mind are ascendant. The twenty-first century will arrive in just five years. At this juncture it is my earnest desire that developing countries do not repeat the same mistake of developed nations and fall into the trap of material civilization, but take a lesson from them and dash into a world where the mind and spirit rule. (271:95-96, August 23, 1995)
❖ 2. Giving Away One’s Wealth and Finding Contentment with Little Jesus said to [the rich young man], “If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” When the young man heard this he went away sorrowful; for he had great possessions. And Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly, I say to you, it will by hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of Heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”
Other people live to eat, but I eat to live. Socrates18 (Hellenism)
The Great Man—his face and form blend with the Great Unity, the Great Unity which is selfless. Being selfless, how can he look upon possession as possession? Chuang Tzu 11 (Taoism)
Having the fewest wants, I am nearest to the gods. Socrates (Hellenism)
Matthew 19.21-24
If beings knew, as I know, the fruit of sharing gifts, they would not enjoy their use without sharing them, nor would the taint of stinginess obsess the heart and stay there. Even if it were their last bit, their last morsel of food, they would not enjoy its use without sharing it, if there were anyone to receive it.
Not that I complain of want; for I have learned, in whatever state I am, to be content. I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound; in any and all circumstances I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and want. I can do all things in him who strengthens me. Philippians 4.11-13
Itivuttaka 18 (Buddhism)
Who is rich? He that rejoices in his portion.17 Mishnah, Avot 4.1 (Judaism)
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And he [Jesus] called to him the twelve, and began to send them out two by two… He charged them to take nothing for their
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journey except a staff; no bread, no bag, no money in their belts. Mark 6.7-9
This is the way of Torah: A morsel with salt shall you eat and water by measure shall you drink; and you shall lie upon the earth, and you shall live a life of hardship, and labor in the Torah. If you do thus, happy shall you be and it shall be well with you. Mishnah, Avot 6.4 (Judaism)
The Master said, “Incomparable was Hui! A handful of rice to eat, a gourdful of water to drink, living on a mean street—others would have found it unendurably depressing, but to Hui’s cheerfulness it made no difference at all. Incomparable indeed was Hui!” Analects 6.9 (Confucianism)
Brothers should appropriate neither house, nor place, nor anything for themselves; and they should go confidently after alms, serving God in poverty and humility, as pilgrims and strangers in this world. Nor should they feel ashamed, for God made Himself poor in this world for us.
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This is that peak of the highest poverty which has made you, my dearest brothers, heirs and kings of the kingdom of heaven, poor in things but rich in virtues. Let this be your portion. It leads into the land of the living and, adhering totally to it, for the sake of our Lord Jesus Christ wish never to have anything else in this world, beloved brothers. Rule of Saint Francis (Christianity)
When we were sitting with God’s Messenger in the mosque, Musab ibn Umair came to us wearing only a cloak of his patched with fur. When God’s Messenger saw him he wept to think of his former affluence. He then said, “How will it be with you when one of you goes out in the morning wearing a mantle and goes out in the evening wearing another, when one dish is placed before him and another removed, and you cover your houses as the Kaaba is covered?” On receiving the reply, “Messenger of God, we shall then be better than we are today, having leisure for worship and possessing all we require,” he said, “No, you are better today than you will be at that time.” Hadith of Tirmidhi (Islam)
Teachings of Sun Myung Moon The wealth we have belongs to Heaven. It belongs to God. It belongs to those who are living for the sake of others. Therefore, let us not use our wealth for personal benefit. Otherwise, we shall perish. (399:18, December 18, 2002) Is that handkerchief in your pocket yours? No, it does not belong to you. You think it belongs to you, but you are mistaken. You are mistaken if you think that your house belongs to you, and the land under your name. You are mistaken if you think that husband, wife, sons and daughters are your husband, your wife, and your children, and therefore you may treat them as you please. That concept of ownership is an evil way of thinking, which arose after the Human Fall. We did not know it, but behind the scenes, God has been working for thousands of years to straighten it out. Therefore, for our part, we have to deny ownership. We should give up the idea that we own anything of God’s creation. (293:172, May 26, 1998) You should be willing to offer [to God] all your possessions without any reservation. You should be willing to burn them all, and then burn even the altar as a burnt offering. You should not feel that you are qualified to own even your personal belongings. Then, after you finish fulfilling the role of a high priest, you will reap the fruits of all your offerings. Heaven will prepare them for you.19 (342:227, January 12, 2001)
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God will remember and love the person who would gather up all of America’s wealth and give it to Africa. (91:24, January 16, 1977) When you amass wealth, do not think about using it to benefit your children. Before bequeathing it to your children, you should devote it for the sake of the world. After all, your children should live for the sake of the world. Therefore, your first priority should be to offer your wealth to the world; then you can provide for your children. God will bless you and your family if you have a heart to provide for your family members only after offering your wealth to your people and nation. Do not worry that your children will go without; God will feed them and care for them. (26:52-53, October 18, 1969) Money is the result. Yet everyone is concerned about money without looking behind it at its cause. Why do we need money? We do not need it just to eat and live; we need it to connect with the purpose of the cause, and to connect with the world. Nevertheless, people do not have such a concept. Although they are resultant beings, people do not recognize that their purpose, and the purpose of their money, is to make the Causal Being happy. If they did, they would understand that they should use their money to serve their parents, to share with their siblings and relatives, and to benefit their nation and the world. This is a universal law. If your nation is pleased that you are wealthy, and if your parents and siblings are pleased as well, then you can freely enjoy your wealth. Wherever you go, everyone will be pleased. But if others are resentful of your money while you alone are pleased with it, then you are bound to decline. From this perspective, business conglomerates that operate based on pragmatism, amassing great profits on the backs of their workers, will surely decline. They will be punished by Heaven. (117:101-02, February 14, 1982) Moses lived in the opulent palace of the Pharaoh, but he belittled it, saying, “So what?” and thought more of his people. Therefore, he could become the leader of his people. (Way of God’s Will 1.3) People in the everyday world can purchase a home, appliances, furniture, and live a comfortable life just by working eight hours a day. We Unificationists work 24 hours a day, yet we do not own our own homes and barely have enough money to live on. My goodness! We are like beggars. Do you realize that we are different from the world? We are 180 degrees different. Yet under these circumstances, are we in despair? No, we live in hope. That is our pride. (107:83, April 6, 1980)
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Separation from Family ALTHOUGH GOD’S PURPOSE FOR HUMAN LIFE IS FULFILLED in loving families, people on the spiritual quest often leave home and family behind. Sometimes it comes at the command of God, as when Abraham was called to leave his home and journey to an unknown land. Initiation into the ranks of monastic life likewise requires a painful separation from loved ones. In other cases, aspirants may encounter opposition from possessive family members, who would drag them away from the path. Thus Jesus warned his disciples to expect opposition from their loving parents and spouses, and warned them of the cost of discipleship: “He who loves father or mother more than me is not
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worthy of me.” Father Moon explains that separating from family and friends is necessary in the course of restoration, which requires a fundamental reorientation of the self from the customary fallen love of the world to the higher love of God.
Do not think that I have come to bring peace on earth; I have come not to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; and a man’s foes will be those of his own household. He who loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and he who loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Matthew 10.34-37
O believers, take not your fathers and brothers to be your friends, if they prefer unbelief to belief; whosoever of you takes them for friends, those—they are the evildoers. Say, “If your fathers, your sons, your brothers, your wives, your clan, your possessions that you have gained, commerce you fear may slacken, dwellings you love—if these are dearer to you than God and His Messenger, and to struggle in His way, then wait till God brings His command: God guides not the people of the ungodly.” Qur’an 9.23-24
God has made up a parable about those who disbelieve: Noah’s wife and Lot’s wife were both married to two of our honest servants; and they betrayed them both. Neither had any help at all from them as far as God was concerned. It was said, “Enter the Fire along with others who are entering it.” God has made up a parable about those who believe: the wife of Pharaoh20 when she said, “My Lord, build a house for me in Paradise with you, and save me from Pharaoh and his doings. Save me from such wrongdoing folk!” Qur’an 66.10-11
Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you.” Genesis 12.1
Every one who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for my name’s sake, will receive a hundredfold, and inherit eternal life. Matthew 19.29
Consort not with those that are dear, neither with those that are not dear; for not seeing those that are dear and seeing those that are not dear are both painful. Dhammapada 210 (Buddhism)
Put no trust in a neighbor, have no confidence in a friend; guard the doors of your mouth from her who lies in your bosom; for the son treats the father with contempt, the daughter rises up against her mother, the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; a man’s enemies are the men of his own house. But as for me, I will look to the Lord, I will wait for the God of my salvation; my God will hear me. Micah 7.5-7
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He who forsakes his home in the cause of God, finds in the earth many a refuge, wide and spacious; should he die as a refugee from home for God and His Apostle, his reward becomes due and sure with God: and God is Oft-forgiving, Most Merciful. Qur’an 4.100
If any one comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. Luke 14.26
Even your brothers and the house of your father, even they have dealt treacherously with you;
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they are in full cry after you; believe them not, though they speak fair words to you. Jeremiah 12.6
One day she who was formerly the mate of the venerable Sangamaji came towards him, drew near and said, “Recluse, support me with our little child.” At these words the venerable Sangamaji was silent. So a second time and yet a third time his former wife repeated her words, and still the venerable Sangamaji was silent. Thereupon she set down the child in front of him and went away, saying, “Here is your child, recluse! Support him!” But the venerable Sangamaji neither looked at the child nor spoke to him. When from a distance she saw this, she thought to herself, “This recluse needs not even his own child.” So she turned back, took up the child and went away. Udana 5-6 (Buddhism)
Give up your wealth and your wife; you have entered the state of the houseless; do not, as it were, return to your vomit. Gautama, be careful all the while! Leave your friends and relations, the large fortune you have amassed; do not desire them a second time; Gautama, be careful all the while… Now you have entered on the path from which the thorns have been cleared, the great path; walk in the right path, Gautama, be careful all the while! Uttaradhyayana Sutra 10.29-32 (Jainism)
How could I be diligent, good Shariputta, when there are my parents to support, my wife and children to support, my slaves, servants and work-people to support, when there are services to perform for friends and acquaintances, services to perform for kith and kin, services to perform for guests, rites to perform for the ancestors, rites to perform for the gods, duties
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to perform for the king—and this body too must be satisfied and looked after! What do you think, Dhananjani? Suppose someone failed to live the holy life because of his parents, his wife, and so on; because of this failure…the guardians of Niraya hell might drag him off to their hell. Would he gain anything by saying, “I failed to live the holy life because of my parents?” Majjhima Nikaya 2.186-87 (Buddhism)
He who is kind toward much-beloved friends loses his own good from his mind, becoming partial; observing such danger in friendship, let one walk alone like a rhinoceros. As a spreading bush of bamboo is entangled in various ways, so is the longing for children and wives: not clinging to these, even like a bamboo just sprouting forth, let one walk alone like a rhinoceros… If one lives in the midst of company, love of amusement and desire arises; strong attachment for children arises; let therefore one who dislikes separation, which must happen sooner or later from these beloved, walk alone like a rhinoceros… Having abandoned the different kinds of desire, founded on child, wife, father, mother, wealth, corn, relations, let one walk alone like a rhinoceros. Let a wise man, having discovered that such is attachment, that there is in it but little happiness, that it is but insipid, that there is more affliction in it than comfort, that it is a fishhook, walk alone like a rhinoceros. Having cast off the bonds, like a fish which breaks the net in the water, like a fire that returns not to the spot already burned up, let one walk alone like a rhinoceros. Sutta Nipata 37-62: Rhinoceros Discourse (Buddhism)
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Teachings of Sun Myung Moon Jesus said, “He who loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and he who loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.” This is a formula on the path to God. The deeper the loving attachments you had in the satanic world, the more intensely will those very people try to dissuade you from going on the heavenly way. Know, therefore, that it is a universal truth that you will have enemies among the members of your own family. (92:207, April 10, 1977) Jesus said, “Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.” (Matt. 10:37) That is one of the reasons why he was severely opposed. Why did he speak like that? It was to sever the original sin. Satan’s blood is mixed in fallen humans and must be extracted. He continued: “Your own family members are your enemies.” How can such a saying make sense? Because the original sin remains in fallen human beings. He was right. As long as people continue to love one another while carrying the original sin, the original sin cannot be removed. This is undeniable. While we continue to love our family members, we cannot overcome this pivotal barrier. That is why Jesus called them enemies. Blood lineage is transferred through love; therefore love—parental love, conjugal love and children’s love—should be reversed 180 degrees. We should think: “I do not need anything but God. God is above all.” There is no other way to remove the original sin. (79:160, July 20, 1975) “I think my husband is the best, my wife is the best, and my sons and daughters are the best.” But what good is being the best of a lineage inherited from Satan? This is what you should deny. To possess God’s love you must deny your husband’s love, your wife’s love and your children’s love. God originally intended human beings to relate with Him alone. If there are any traces of Satan’s play on your bodies, the original ideal of love cannot take root. (140:24, February 1, 1986) On the path to God, you cannot make progress without experiencing the state of heavenly love that is higher than the first love you knew in worldly life… A couple may have married after falling madly in love and felt that only death could part them, but once the two of them come to know God’s will they should find that higher realm of love [to which their marriage seems pale in comparison]; then they will abandon their marriage within a week. (102:20, November 19, 1978) How do we restore this world? We plant ourselves as individuals by going in the opposite direction, and then we can pull others to go forward. This is why in high-level religions such as Buddhism those on the path must leave their homes. They are not permitted to love their father and mother, older sister or brother. The words in the Bible, “Anyone who does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters… cannot be my disciple,” seem paradoxical, but they must be accepted as a rational theory to guide us to the path of Heaven. (181:212-13, October 3, 1988) If I know that I am self-centered and full of evil thoughts, should I continue to enjoy my habitual way of relating to people close to me? No, I should feel revulsion at the way I treat them. Feeling that way, I would want to be alone.
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Thus, a person of conscience may isolate himself and tell others not to come near him. Eventually, others will recognize that person; even the universe will protect him as he strives for oneness. On the contrary, the universe will attempt to expel the person who constantly creates problems and who pollutes his surroundings by his evil actions. He will quickly travel down the road to destruction. Nature knows that human beings are evil. Therefore, do you think it will be sympathetic to the person who lives as he pleases, not caring about how he affects others? Or to the person who lives a solitary life over concern that he might be polluted by human relationships? Have you ever had a friend whom you disliked and wished would never come around, but who visited you constantly? Maybe the first few times you would talk to him, but if he came repeatedly you would slam the door in his face… It is out of these considerations that asceticism emerged in the religious life. People seeking solitude would go deep in the mountains and live as hermits, desiring to sever any relationships with other human beings. We can view the emergence of such asceticism as a natural thing… Nature finds something hopeful in such people. (November 4, 1990) It is extremely difficult to leave your beloved children behind to follow the lonely path of Heaven, where no one welcomes you, but that is my life story. When I went to North Korea, I abandoned my wife and infant child. I did not go because I wanted to. I went at Heaven’s command, because God required it. I resisted and agonized for about a day or two, but because I knew God’s situation was worse than my troubles, I went. (64:148, October 29, 1972) You have struggled over your attachment to your family. Everyone loves his or her own sons and daughters. So do dogs and pigs, and people as dull as trees and stones. Reverend Moon is no different. It is not that I lack the heart to love my children; my love for them is as strong and sensitive as any parent. Towards my mother I am very sentimental. I loved her dearly. However, when my mother visited me in prison, I glared at her fiercely and shouted, “I am not your son.” My mother is no longer alive. When I learned that she had passed away, I felt I had been an undutiful son. However, that son worked for God’s Will and to uphold the heavenly law. He worked for the sake of the nation and the world instead of working for himself and the happiness of his clan. (168:148, September 13, 1987)
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Separation from the World A WORLDLY LIFE IS INCOMPATIBLE with the path to God. To seek after pleasure, wealth, fame and material comforts inevitably distracts from pursuing a spiritual purpose. More than harmless distractions, such worldly passions and attachments drag the soul to hell. Hence, scriptures contain numerous admonitions to avoid conforming to the world and its values. Wise men and women regard worldly achievement as an illusion. They do not delight in worldly pleasures, but devote themselves to God’s will. At all times they seek to remain detached from worldly thoughts and sense impressions. They measure achievement by spiritual progress, rather than by the standards of worldly success. In some religions, separation from the world is achieved by physical isolation in a monastic community. More often the boundaries are invisible, enforced by moral suasion and church discipline. For people who are “in the world but not of the world,” their lives may appear outwardly ordinary, yet the inner content of their lives is quite different, without attachment to the world’s prevailing values.
1. Not Conforming to the Ways of the World Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may prove what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
Do not serve mean ends. Do not live in heedlessness. Do not embrace false views. Do not be one who upholds the world. Dhammapada 167 (Buddhism)
Romans 12.2
As a sweet-smelling, lovely lotus may grow upon a heap of rubbish thrown by the highway, even so a disciple of the Fully Enlightened One outshines the ignorant worldly people in wisdom. Dhammapada 58-59 (Buddhism)
For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?
I have given them thy word; and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. I do not pray that thou shouldst take them out of the world, but that thou shouldst keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. Sanctify them in truth; thy word is truth. As thou didst send me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. John 17.14-18
Matthew 16.26
A man came to the Prophet and said, “O Messenger of Allah, direct me to an act which, if I do it, will cause Allah to love me and people to love me.” He said, “Renounce the world and Allah will love you; renounce what people possess and people will love you.” Forty Hadith of an-Nawawi 31 (Islam)
A complete disregard for all worldly things, perfect contentment, abandonment of hope of every kind, and patience—these constitute the highest good of one who has subjugated his senses and acquired knowledge of Self. No need of attaching yourself to things of this world. Attachment to worldly objects is productive of evil. Mahabharata, Santi Parva 329 (Hinduism)
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Stagnation: To conserve his stock of virtue, the superior man withdraws into himself and thus escapes from the evil influences around him. He declines all temptations of honor and riches.
Open the mouth, Meddle with affairs, And to the end of life there will be no salvation.21 Tao Te Ching 52 (Taoism)
I Ching 12 (Confucianism)
The sage patterns himself on Heaven, prizes the Truth, and does not allow himself to be cramped by the vulgar. The stupid man does the opposite of this. He is unable to pattern himself on Heaven and instead frets over human concerns. He does not know enough to prize the Truth but instead, plodding along with the crowd, he allows himself to be changed by vulgar ways, and so is never content. Chuang Tzu 31 (Taoism)
He who has found the Mother [Tao] And thereby understands her sons [things of the world], And having understood the sons, Still keeps to its Mother, Will be free from danger throughout his lifetime. Close the mouth, Shut the doors [of cunning and desire], And to the end of life there will be peace without toil.
Vimalakirti wore the white clothes of a layman, yet lived impeccably like a religious devotee. He lived at home, but remained aloof from the realm of desire, the realm of pure matter, and the immaterial realm. He had a son, a wife, and female attendants, yet always maintained continence. He appeared to be surrounded by servants, yet lived in solitude. He appeared to be adorned with ornaments, yet always was endowed with the auspicious signs and marks. He seemed to eat and drink, yet always took nourishment from the taste of meditation. He made his appearance at the fields of sports and in the casinos, but his aim was always to mature those people who were attached to games and gambling… He engaged in all sorts of businesses, yet had no interest in profit or possessions. To train living beings, he would appear at crossroads and on street corners, and to protect them he participated in government. Holy Teaching of Vimalakirti 2 (Buddhism)
Teachings of Sun Myung Moon If you still carry relationships with the self-centered, fallen world, you cannot walk the way of God’s purpose and Will. (21:102, November 17, 1968) The secular world covets wealth, knowledge and power as the most important things. However, these three things cannot connect you to God. What connects you to God? True love. (270:308, July 23, 1995) In this world, what people most admire are fakes. Therefore, the genuine article does not come before you straightforwardly. It may appear to you as upside-down… Would you welcome a person who walked on his hands with his feet in the air? Maybe so, but at least he is whole. Would you still welcome him if he were really malformed? Therefore, the Bible teaches that those who seek to die will live and those who seek to live will die. It means that those who seek to perish will succeed and those who seek to succeed will perish; those who think they are foolish are eminent and those who think they are eminent are foolish; those who seek to live a difficult life will be wealthy and those who seek to live a wealthy life will be beset by difficulties. (102:251, January 14, 1979)
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You should possess an earnest heart, rooted in the eternal world beyond time and space. With such a heart, you should be able to endure, overcoming worldly labors, hardships, and even the fear of death. To gain victory on your individual path, you should be able to deny all attachments, despise all pain, and walk forward with dignity. (7:97, July 19, 1959) We will not trade our commitment to God for any amount of gold or all the power in the world. We will not sell ourselves for money, power or women. We are not so cheap. Rather than lead a treacherous life on a worldly throne, I prefer to be unchanging and live as a beggar. (124:253, February 20, 1983) Give up your desire for material possessions, your hopes for your children, your love for your spouse, and even your self-love. Do not hold on to these attachments; then you can go beyond the world. Only when you cut off every element within yourself that is conducive to ambition and to human attachments can you become an offering for the sake of the world. (2:118, March 10, 1957) Those who cherish their worldly situation and relationships cannot avoid the judgment of the Last Days. To avoid the judgment, you must turn away from the world and escape its ways. You should not follow worldly trends. For this reason, religions teach: “Abandon the world!” “Cut off all relationships with the world!” “Do not associate with the world!” “Don’t compromise with the world!” “Cut yourself off from the world!” “Deny the world and seek higher awareness!” Only people who follow this path will see the dawning of a new ideal. By not compromising with the world, religion cultivates the determination to go beyond the mistakes of the past, press forward in the present, and break through to a new future. (21:136-37, November 17, 1968) People who have inherited the satanic lineage characteristically put themselves first. America these days, despite its Christian cultural roots, has become a nation of individualism. With so-called secular humanism, people are confused about their direction in life and seek happiness by external stimulation. What are the consequences? They fall off the cliff as lepers. Men and women love and cuddle with each other day and night, but they are bound to acquire AIDS, wither, and fall. (187:241, February 11, 1989)
❖ 2. Denial of Worldly Comforts and Pleasures Come behold this world, which is like unto an ornamented royal chariot, wherein fools flounder, but for the wise there is no attachment. Dhammapada 171 (Buddhism)
Pleasure lies in gold, silver, women, and delectable objects; Pleasure lies in mounts, soft beds, mansions, and attractions of the palate. With all such pleasures, how may the Name find place in the mind? Adi Granth, Sri Raga, M.1, p. 25 (Sikhism)
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Hillel used to say, “More flesh, more worms; more wealth more care; more women more witchcraft; more maidservants more lewdness; more menservants more thieving; more Torah more life; more assiduity more wisdom; more counsel more understanding; more charity more peace.” Mishnah, Avot 2.8 (Judaism)
The streams of this world are dirty and its springs are turbid. Its window dressing and its show is beautiful but destructive. It is a
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quickly ending deception, a speedily fading light, a hurrying shade, and a weak and unreliable protection. It is so deceptive that it waits till those who abhor it start taking interest in it, and those who do not know its deception are attracted by it, and are satisfied with it, then it shows scanty regard for them, it snares and captivates them, and tying the rope of death round their necks drags them to their graves. Nahjul Balagha, Khutba 86 (Shiite Islam)
From endearment springs grief, from endearment springs fear; for him who is wholly free from endearment there is no grief, much less fear. From affection springs grief, from affection springs fear; for him who is wholly free from affection there is no grief, much less fear. From attachment springs grief, from attachment springs fear; for him who is wholly free from attachment there is no grief, much less fear. From lust springs grief, from lust springs fear; for him who is wholly free from lust there is no grief, much less fear. From craving springs grief, from craving springs fear; for him who is wholly free from craving there is no grief, much less fear. Dhammapada 212-16 (Buddhism)
But fornication and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is fitting among saints. Let there be no filthiness, nor silly talk, nor levity, which are not fitting; but instead let there be thanksgiving. Be sure of this, that no fornicator or impure man, or one who is covetous (that is, an idolater), has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for it is because of these things that the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore do not associate with them. Ephesians 5.3-7
“And ye shall be holy unto me, for I, the Lord, am holy” [Leviticus 20.26]. Even as I am holy, so be you holy. As I am separate, so you be separate. And “I have severed you from the other peoples that you should be mine” [idem.]. If you sever yourselves from the other peoples, then you belong to me; but if not, then you belong to Nebuchadnezzar and his fellows.” Rabbi Eliezer said, “How can we know that a man must not say, ‘I have no desire to eat pig, I have no desire to have intercourse with a woman whom I may not marry’; but he must say, ‘Yes, I would like to do these acts, but what can I do? My Father who is in heaven has forbidden them.’ Because it says, ‘I have severed you from among the nations to be mine.’ He who is separated from iniquity receives to himself the Kingdom of Heaven.” Sifra 93d (Judaism)
Teachings of Sun Myung Moon The things of this evil world do not lead us to the gate of happiness; rather they drive us into the snares of death. (47:49, August 19, 1971) Heaven’s emotions are in contradiction with humanistic emotions. God does not dwell where people are comfortable, and people must negate themselves to be in accord with Heaven. This is a fact. Therefore, a religion that accommodates itself to the world does not last long. (51:187, November 21, 1971) In this world where good and evil are ever in opposition, your body pulls you to become evil while your mind pulls you to be good. Hence your mind cannot completely control the body, and you are caught in the middle, constantly going back and forth. You are better off following a religion that
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places God’s will as absolute; then you can go to a place that is separated from the satanic world. Leave this world beset by the opposition of good and evil, and live a life of putting goodness first in a separated realm. If you practice such a life, then you will live eternally in the good sovereignty in the spirit world. (36:82, November 15, 1970) In order to accomplish your responsibility, you should stand firm, denying everything that has an emotional connection with Satan—Satan’s love, Satan’s recognition, and Satan’s lineage. Why? When Adam was walking the course to fulfill his portion of responsibility, he carried with him all of Satan’s emotions. That is why he failed. What about you? In seeking to accomplish your portion of responsibility, have you cut off all your emotional attachments to Satan’s world? No, you have not been able to cut them off. Can you accomplish your responsibility without cutting them off? No, you cannot. That is why you must deny yourself. (139:250, January 31, 1986) Pioneers and people who move history do not seek worldly pleasures. They have the spirit of an explorer who strives to overcome every obstacle on the way to his goal, the promised destination. (7:87, July 19, 1959) We should be eternally different from the satanic world. We should be 180 degrees opposite. We should have nothing to do with alcohol, drugs, free sex, and homosexuality. Instead, we should be indignant that Satan has destroyed countless good people through these evils, utilizing false love to leave a trail of sorrow through history. We should be indignant that Satan has compelled Heaven to make countless sacrifices. (244:148-49, February 1, 1993) Many American parents encourage their children to date and worry about them if they do not. On the other hand, I teach, “Do not date! Do not touch women!” Whose teaching is more in line with Heaven? (122:263, November 21, 1982)
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Asceticism, Monasticism and Celibacy ASPIRANTS WHO WISH TO COMPLETELY SEVER themselves from worldly life may adopt the secluded and sometimes solitary life of a monk or nun. In Buddhism and Jainism, and in Roman Catholic and Orthodox Christianity, the highest religious vocations require celibacy—monks, nuns and priests. Asceticism also abounds in Hinduism, where in addition to life-long ascetics, there is the tradition that brahmins would spend the last years of their lives as solitary ascetics devoting themselves to the goal of liberation. Christian monasticism took institutional form in order to provide a supportive setting for those who wished to take vows of poverty and chastity, who valued the love of Christ which surpasses the love of women. There is no monasticism in Islam. Nevertheless, Muslims practice asceticism on a wide scale with the month-long fast of Ramadan. Fasting and all-night prayer vigils attack the body’s desire for food and sleep. They are examples of ascetic practices within everyone’s reach, unlike traditional monasticism which is practiced only by a spiritual elite. In Thailand and Sri Lanka, Buddhist young men usually devote six months to monastic training before embarking on family life. In line with his teaching on subduing the desires of the body, Father Moon praises monasticism for its devotion to attaining mind-body unity. Nevertheless, a tension exists between the path of the celibate priest
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and the family ideal that God purposed at the creation. Hence, at the end of this section are passages critical of the monastic life; such are found in nearly every tradition where it is practiced: asceticism can lead to an overly severe personality devoid of compassion; monasticism is incompatible with the generative and productive life of the world which is ordained by God. Father Moon’s teaching points to the deeper problem that led God to institute the path of celibacy and asceticism in the first place: the corruption of marriage at the Human Fall. In the final passages, he describes the dawning of a new age in which marriage is restored to its original estate and there is no more need for the discipline of celibacy. While celibacy was a true and noble path in past ages, the time has come for religion to exalt marriage above the celibate life. Indicative of this sea-change is the decline of monasticism and celibacy that is being felt all over the religious world.
1. The Ascetic Life of a Monk or Nun The blue-necked peacock which flies through the air never approaches the speed of the swan. Similarly, the householder can never resemble the monk who is endowed with the qualities of the sage, who meditates, aloof, in the jungle. Sutta Nipata 221 (Buddhism)
Go on the begging tour, stay in a forest, eat but a little, speak only measured words, put up with misery, conquer sleep, practice friendship with all and non-attachment in an excellent manner. Vattakera, Mulacara 981 (Jainism)
“Revile not, harm not, live by rule restrained; Of food take little; sleep and sit alone; Keep thy mind bent upon the higher thought.” Such is the message of awakened ones.
provoking laughter, we condemn everywhere to eternal exclusion; and for such speech we do not permit the disciple to open his lips… The vice of personal ownership must by all means be cut out in the monastery by the very root, so that no one may presume to give or receive anything without the command of the Abbot; nor to have anything whatever as his own, neither a book, nor a writing tablet, nor a pen, nor anything else whatsoever, since monks are allowed to have neither their bodies nor their wills in their own power. Everything that is necessary, however, they must look for from the Father of the monastery; and let it not be allowed for anyone to have anything which the Abbot did not give or permit him to have. Let all things be common to all. Rule of Saint Benedict (Christianity)
Udana 43 (Buddhism)
The first degree of humility is obedience without delay. This becomes those who, on account of the holy subjection which they have promised, or of the fear of hell, or the glory of life everlasting, hold nothing dearer than Christ. As soon as anything has been commanded by the Superior they permit no delay in the execution, as if the matter had been commanded by God Himself… Let permission to speak be seldom given… If anything must be asked of the Superior, let it be asked with all humility and respectful submission. But coarse jests, and idle words or speech
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Let him always wander alone, without any companion, in order to attain [final liberation], fully understanding that the solitary man, who neither forsakes nor is forsaken, gains his end. He shall neither possess a fire, nor a dwelling; he may go to a village for his food, indifferent to everything, firm in purpose, meditating and concentrating his mind on God. A potsherd [for an alms-bowl], the roots of trees [for a dwelling], coarse worn-out garments, life in solitude, and indifference towards everything are the marks of one who has attained liberation.
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Let him not desire to die, let him not desire to live; let him wait for [his appointed] time, as a servant for the payment of his wages. Let him put down his foot purified by his sight [i.e., watching not to step on any creature], let him drink water purified by straining with a cloth [so as not to swallow any creature], let him utter speech purified by truth, let him keep his heart pure.
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Delighted in what refers to the Soul, sitting [in yoga postures], independent, entirely abstaining from sensual enjoyments, with himself for his only companion, he shall live in this world, desiring the bliss [of liberation]… Let him go to beg once a day, let him not be eager to obtain a large quantity of alms; for an ascetic who eagerly seeks alms attaches himself also to sensual enjoyments…
Let him patiently bear hard words, let him not insult anybody, and let him not become anybody’s enemy for the sake of his body.
By eating little, and by standing and sitting in solitude, let him restrain his sense, if they are attracted to sensual objects.
Against an angry man let him not in return show anger, let him bless when he is cursed, and let him not other speech, devoid of truth, scattered at the seven gates.
By the restraint of his senses, by the destruction of love and hatred, and by the abstention from injuring the creatures, he becomes fit for immortality. Laws of Manu 6.37-60 (Hinduism)
Teachings of Sun Myung Moon What are we trying to restrain? We are trying to deaden the body. That is why religions teach us to fast, do prayer vigils all night without sleep, be celibate and live as a hermit. In the Catholic Church the highest vocation is to be a priest or a nun; they do not marry for their entire life. In Buddhism also, most monks are celibate. Compare these disciplines with the lifestyle of American youth. It is quite the opposite of that of religious people who make it their chief aim to conquer the body. As a result, they are living a hellish existence, constantly besieged by the temptations of the satanic world. The youth of America should realize this; they should understand that the way they are living is contrary to God’s Will. Instead of pursuing the body’s pleasure, we should torment our body. Why? Because [due to the Fall] our body has become Satan’s dance floor. (215:236, February 20, 1991) Christians in the Middle Ages practiced asceticism and placed great hardship on their bodies. However, in modern times many churches became disparaging of the ascetic life; they have lost sight of the fact that the body dominates the conscience unless one takes active measures to stop it. Not knowing this principle, they turned away from a central aspect of the Christian tradition. Now that you know clearly that the enemy lives in your physical body, you must treat it as an enemy. You must continue on the ascetic path until the body is suppressed. (254:222, February 13, 1994) Two pluses repel each other. God is in the position of a plus, but Satan also tries to stand in this plus position, although [as a servant of God] he should be in the minus position—such is Satan. Why does the path of self-cultivation call us to asceticism? Its purpose is to strike Satan’s realm within each of us, that plus side that belongs to evil, in order to switch it over to the minus position. (4:23, February 16, 1958)
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The path of religion is one of denial. On that path we should deny the desire for food, sleep, sex, and all the things that we like. Give up your sexual desire! Go without food and sleep! Originally, a human being should eat, sleep, and enjoy things. However, as these desires of the body lead us to death, we must reject them. Burst a nuclear bomb in your body! Break and completely subjugate your body! The body wants to be respected and live in comfort. It dislikes harsh conditions and likes what is easy, soft and plump. But we should despise all that the body likes. We should love what is difficult, hard and rough. The body likes a high position. It is happy to eat well, even by taking someone else’s money. It does not care about anyone but itself. We have to destroy such a nature. We have to bring the body down to be humble, to serve and to sacrifice. (18:66, May 21, 1967)
❖ 2. Fasting On the tenth day of this seventh month is the Day of Atonement; it shall be for you a time of holy convocation, and you shall afflict yourselves [by fasting]. Leviticus 23.27
O believers, prescribed for you is the Fast, even as it was prescribed for those that were before you—haply you will be god-fearing— for days numbered… the month of Ramadan, wherein the Qur’an was sent down to be a guidance to the people, and as clear signs of the Guidance and the Salvation. So let those of you, who are present at the month, fast it; and if any of you be sick, or if he be on a journey, then a number of other days; God desires ease for you, and desires not hardship for you; and that you fulfill the number, and magnify God that He has guided you, and haply you will be thankful.
no obstacles. Without any trouble you will then be able to seek the prize you desire. Then the honor will be yours to glory in, for without any exertion have you obtained it. All the war power that exists has been donated to our grandfathers who are in control of warfare, and, if, reverently, you thirst yourself to death, then they will bestow blessings upon you. Now if you do not wear out your feet, if you do not blacken your face with charcoal, it will be for naught that you inflict suffering upon yourself. These blessings are not obtainable without effort. Try to have one of all the spirits created by Earthmaker take pity upon you. Whatever he says will come about. If you do not possess a spirit to strengthen you, you will be of no consequence and the people will show you little respect. A Winnebago Father’s Precepts (Native American Religions)
Qur’an 2.183-85
My son, you ought to be of some help to your fellow men, and for that reason I counsel you to fast. Our grandfather who stands in our midst sends forth all kinds of blessings. Try then and obtain one of these. Try to have one of our grandfathers, one of the War Chiefs, pity you. Then some day as you travel along the road [of life], you will know what to do and encounter
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And when you fast, do not look dismal, like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by men. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, that your fasting may not be seen by men but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you. Matthew 6.16-18
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Teachings of Sun Myung Moon What does the body desire? It likes to be comfortable; that is why we are told to walk the path of suffering. Next, the body likes to eat good food; that is why religion tells us to fast. You must do the opposite of what the body desires. (40:24, February 1, 1986) Going hungry for many days is among the most miserable and painful experiences. Yet we should transcend our hunger and yearn for God more than food. Unification Church members are obliged to fast for seven days. Who among you has done a seven-day fast? There are many of you! Think back on your own experience: when the seventh day arrived were you watching the clock for the moment you could eat again? Were you counting down the minutes and the seconds? When the clock struck midnight, did you think, “Hooray! At last it is time to eat!”? Or at that moment did you lift your heart to God, longing for Him? Which did you crave more, God or food? Most of you probably craved for food. But actually, when you fast you should long for God more than for food. During my thirties, I was hungry every single day. Do you know how much I longed to eat some food? If I even overheard someone talking about food, my mouth would involuntarily drop open and I would start to drool. Whenever that happened, I would say out loud, “G-o-d” rather than “F-o-o-d.” You should all have such experiences. Unless you fast and conquer hunger, its power will block God’s love from coming to you. (94:293, October 9, 1977) What is required to engraft the love of God into our lives? What I fear most is the physical body. The body is the enemy. It has three supreme truths: The first is to eat. Eating when you are hungry is a truth. The problem arises when eating takes control of your life. Therefore, you should overcome the desire for food. You should establish that you love God more than eating, more than your body craves food when it is hungry. By doing so, you tap into a higher love and gain power to control your body. This is why people fast. Even Jesus fasted for forty days. All the prophets and founders of religion fasted… The second truth is sleep. You should win over sleep. How can you find God’s love by overcoming sleep? The test comes when you are getting sleepy; then you can show that you love God more than you like to sleep. Many prophets and saints exerted themselves to the utmost fighting against sleep. They would do all kinds of things to stay awake, even stab their legs with a knife, because they regarded sleep as the enemy. You, too, should adore God in a place where you overcome sleep. I slept less than two hours a day every day for more than seven years. God’s love can approach you when you go over the boundary line of hunger and desire to sleep… The third truth is sex… (94:275, October 9, 1977)
❖ 3. Celibacy [Jesus] said to them, “Not all men can receive this saying, but only those to whom it is given. For there are eunuchs who have been so from birth, and there are eunuchs who have been made eunuchs by men, and there are eunuchs
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who have made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of Heaven. He who is able to receive this, let him receive it.” Matthew 19.12
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For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. Matthew 22.30
Both learning and the practice of the Teaching are lost to him who is given to sexual intercourse. He employs himself wrongly. That is what is ignoble in him. Sutta Nipata 815 (Buddhism)
The unmarried man is anxious about the Lord, how to please the Lord; but the married man is anxious about worldly affairs, how to please his wife, and his interests are divided. And the unmarried woman or virgin is anxious about the affairs of the Lord, how to be holy in body and spirit; but the married woman is anxious about worldly affairs, how to please her husband. I say this for your own benefit, not to lay any restraint upon you, but to promote good order and to secure your undivided devotion to the Lord.
Free from selfish attachment, they do not get compulsively entangled even in home and family… Enjoying solitude and not following the crowd, they seek only me. Bhagavad-Gita 13.9-10 (Hinduism)
I renounce all sexual pleasures, either with gods or men or animals. I shall not give way to sensuality, nor cause others to give way to it, nor consent to their giving way to it, as long as I live. Acarangasutra 24 (Jainism)
Having abandoned the different kinds of desire, founded on child, wife, father, mother, wealth, corn, relations, let one walk alone like a rhinoceros. Sutta Nipata 60 (Buddhism)
1 Corinthians 7.32-35
Teachings of Sun Myung Moon [Due to the Fall,] the human ancestors were caught in the enemy’s trap. Can God publicly recognize families formed in this realm? This is why religions have emphasized celibacy. Some of you gathered here have many sons and daughters, but you also should have led celibate lives. This is not just my word; is it not taught in Buddhism and Catholicism? Do you know why? It brings people closer to God. The first ancestors of humankind were unable to have their proper wedding ceremony before God. In that sense, none of us human beings have truly been born; how then can we have weddings? As descendants of the Fall, we must first go the path of restoration and receive the grace of salvation. (21:45-46, September 1, 1968) In order to uphold the heavenly ideal of love, God had no choice but to form religions that exalted the celibate life. Men and women are meant to follow true love and become husbands and wives who meet the heavenly standard, but because of our ancestors’ mistake that betrayed Heaven’s love, they cannot. Therefore, God set up the way of celibacy, so that at least single persons could receive the love of God by following the celibate way of life. (Blessing and Ideal Family 2.2.4) From the perspective of the Divine Principle, all men and women in this world are offspring of the archangel.22 Therefore, they are not qualified to marry. For this reason, God encouraged people to live a life of celibacy. God could not marry the first parents. How then can He approve of marriages between impure, slovenly people who have fallen into a puddle of sewage? Such love is unprincipled. This is why the higher religions emphasize celibacy. (25:203, October 4, 1969)
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Do angels have spouses? No. That is why religions so far have encouraged the celibate life. The Buddha’s original standard that monks and nuns should not marry is in accord with the Principle. These days some Buddhist monks and nuns marry, but by doing so they fall short of the standard. In fact, married Protestant clergy also fall short. (Blessing and Ideal Family 2.2.4) Archangels are not yet qualified to marry. In the Bible, the Sadducees asked Jesus, “There were seven brothers; the first married, and died, and having no children left his wife to his brother. So too the second and the third, down to the seventh. After them all, the woman died. In the resurrection to which of the seven will she be wife? For they all had her.” Jesus answered, “In the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven.” (Matt. 22:25-30) Jesus answered that way because it was still the age of restoring the archangelic realm, a realm where people cannot yet have a marriage partner. Because religion has been in the archangelic realm, it could not exalt marriage.23 This is the reason higher religions have emphasized the celibate life. (50:193, November 7, 1971)
❖ 4. The Problem with Asceticism—Lack of Love If I give away all I have, and if I deliver my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.
by their strength and passion, they act and think like demons.24 Bhagavad-Gita 17.5-6
1 Corinthians 13.2-3
If a man should go naked…feed on potherbs, wild rice, or Nivara seeds…wear coarse hempen cloth, or carry out any other [ascetic] practices…yet the state of blissful attainment in conduct, in heart, in intellect, have not been practiced by him, realized by him, then he is far from shramanaship, far from brahminship. But from the time, O Kassapa, when a monk has cultivated the heart of love that knows no anger, that knows no ill will—from the time when, by the destruction of the deadly intoxications, he dwells in that emancipation of heart, that emancipation of mind, that is free from those intoxications, and that he, while yet in this visible world, has come to realize and know—from that time, O Kassapa, is it that the monk is called a shramana, is called a brahmin! Digha Nikaya 1.167 (Buddhism)
Some invent harsh penances. Motivated by hypocrisy and egoism, they torture their innocent bodies and Me who dwells within. Blinded
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O brother, wither away your sensuality, passions, and egotism. There is no benefit in emaciating this gross body [through penances]. We will never praise you merely because of your withered body. Nisitha-bhasya 3758 (Jainism)
Should one perform a million ritual acts and of these be proud, they leave him only fatigued, and are of little avail. One who performs innumerable austerities and for these bears pride, shall remain caught in transmigration, moving between heaven and hell. With all a man’s effort, should his self not turn compassionate, How may he have access to the Divine Portal? Adi Granth, Gauri Sukhmani 12, M.5, p. 278 (Sikhism)
There was a great seer of strict vows, foremost of those wise in the law, the learned ascetic
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Mandapala. He followed the path of the seers who held up their seed [in chastity], austere and master of his senses. After he had abandoned his body, he attained to the world of the ancestors. Yet he failed to find the fruit of his acts there. Finding his worlds without reward, although he had won them with his asceticism, he questioned the celestials: “Why are these worlds that I won with my austerities closed to me? Where did I fail that this should be the results of my acts?” They said, “Men are born indebted to rites, to the study of the Veda, and to offspring, doubt it not. You are an ascetic and a sacrificer, but you have no offspring; these worlds are closed to you because of this matter of offspring. A son saves his father from the hell called Put, Hermit. Therefore, O brahmin, strive for the continuity of children!”25 Mahabharata 1.220 (Hinduism)
We sent Jesus son of Mary, and gave him the Gospel, and placed compassion and mercy in the hearts of those who followed him. But
monasticism they invented—We ordained it not for them—only seeking God’s pleasure, and they observed it not with right observance. We give those who believe their reward, but many of them are evil-livers.26 Qur’an 57.27
Then the disciples of John came to him, saying, “Why do we and the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?” And Jesus said to them, “Can the wedding guests mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them?” Matthew 9.14-15
Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his Bride has made herself ready; it was granted her to be clothed with fine linen, bright and pure— for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints. Revelation 19.7-8
Teachings of Sun Myung Moon Can celibacy as taught by Catholicism and Buddhism be the basis of human happiness? No. Yet no religion on earth has demonstrated what the basis of happiness is. Religions did not uphold the family as the basis because no family had appeared that was worthy of that position. However, sensing that one day such a family would appear, they emphasized celibacy. It was the foundation for people to form a pure and correct family. (Blessing and Ideal Family 2.2.4) God intended man and woman to live in perfect love and perfect eternity, without the slightest separation. God is perfect and eternal; the position of children is perfect and eternal, and therefore God wanted the positions of husband and wife to be perfect and eternal. Is passionate lovemaking divine or sinful? After the Fall, human love became dirty and stained. Has humankind ever seen perfect love under God, manifesting the purpose of God? Who has really known the purpose of religion and salvation? Many religious people feel that the world is filled with filthiness; therefore they separate themselves from it and live a solitary life. It is often thought that a religious, divine life is a solitary life, but we must realize that the Kingdom of God in heaven and on earth has been ready for a long, long time, from the very beginning of creation, and it is just waiting to be occupied. The problem has been to find occupants fit for that kingdom. (99:225, April 17, 1977) We enter the Kingdom of Heaven as married couples, as families, as clans extending out to third cousins, and as whole nations. Ultimately the entire world will be Heaven. This is the way of the
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Unification Church. Its goal is not individual salvation. Consistent with this principle, the church holds mass weddings. Today these mass weddings are objects of mockery and curiosity, but to anyone who knows their content, they are amazing phenomena. Marriage was not recognized during the religious age of the archangel. But we are now entering the age of marriage, and marriage in the Kingdom of Heaven as well. The time has come when the married Buddhist priest will win over the Buddhist monk. In the Roman Catholic Church the priests and nuns are fast disappearing; if Catholic priests and nuns remain single, they will end up in hell. Now, when universal fortune seeks the bond of bride and bridegroom, Catholic priests and nuns must get married; otherwise, they will perish. (50:31, October 3, 1971) If I, Reverend Moon, do not encourage celibate Buddhist monks and Catholic priests and nuns to marry now, monasteries will very soon become arenas of free sex. Flirtations and illicit affairs will cause many to fall away. When the Buddhist and Catholic religions bring millions of monks and nuns to receive the Marriage Blessing, then they will come alive. Otherwise, they will die out. Some priests are having illicit affairs. Others are getting married despite their vows. Why is that? Since the time has come, their minds are pulled in that direction. When the high tide comes in, you have to move with the tide and walk back to the shore; otherwise you will drown. Now the tide is coming in, and those priests who were used to standing up at low tide are being forced to turn around and marry in order to keep from swallowing water. (246:24, March 23, 1993) The internal reason why the higher religions have advocated celibacy is because the True Parents of humankind had not yet come and instituted marriage before God. But now the Unification Church has appeared as the first religion in history to promote marriages approved by God, and it began to hold mass weddings. Hence, from now on Buddhism will have more married monks. The same is happening in the Catholic Church. The reason why the Catholic Church faces problems today is because it still does not permit its priests to marry. If it continues this way, they will all leave the church. These problems arose particularly after 1960, the year the True Parents were married. From that year, everything began to change. This change permeated the non-religious world as well, and it entered the era of free sex. In the non-religious world the family is being destroyed through free sex, while the sphere of religion is entering the age of marriage. (244:148, February 1, 1993)
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