Belvedere, New York
Translator - Bo Hi Pak
In our world there are many countries and many people living under all different kinds of circumstances. In America alone there are many peoples, races and cultures and consequently there are many barriers even within this one country. Beyond the level of the nation, there are countless barriers and compartments within each individual. From the individual to the nation, world and beyond to the spirit world, there are all kinds of circumstances and barriers which cannot be solved by their own power. There are tens of thousands of barriers.
Let us concentrate for a moment on ourselves as individuals. Suppose we brought our minds to the top of this water glass so that we could observe their condition. There are many ups and downs, peaks and valleys in your mind. Do you think there is more flat ground or more hilly ground in your mind? There are mostly hills. Where is the peaceful fiat ground then? There are all kinds of upheavals in each person's mind, like volcanic explosions. When a person kills someone or commits a crime it is because an evil explosion occurred in his mind first.
If Almighty God truly exists and did create man, I don't think He would have planned for man to have a mind of upheaval like this. When you imagine the ocean, the first thing that may come to your mind is the peaceful flatness of the sea, or you may first think of the crashing waves. Which do you think is the most normal state of the sea? Tranquility is the basic characteristic of water, isn't it? Because the wind comes against the will of the water, however, upheaval in the form of waves results. Trying to sail through a typhoon is a very serious situation because waves like mountains and valleys batter your boat. One minute you find yourself on top of a huge wave and the next minute diving down into the valley.
The sea resembles the state of a person's mind; the sea is a symbol of tranquility and calm, but when a wind comes there is upheaval. God created the human mind to be peaceful and tranquil, but different kinds of winds cause disturbances there. Imagine that your mind is an ocean and imagine a loved one walking on the surface of the water. If the surface is rough with all kinds of upheavals then he cannot walk in a normal straight way. If a husband is walking on the surface of his wife's mind but the terrain is irregular and full of ups and downs, how is he going to make much progress? The minds of American women are always rugged, with typhoons blowing every day. Would you like to walk through such a mind? If even you women wouldn't like that, how you hope that a man would like that? All kinds of phenomena occur as a result of such turbulence.
God is truly the most super-idealistic being. Would He prefer to walk on a mind with a rugged surface, or on a smooth, well-organized, peaceful mind'? How do you feel riding on a well laid-out highway where the automobile can go smoothly and quickly? When a car is on a smooth surface, it is always eager to go faster. The appropriate car to drive on a superhighway is one which is streamlined and very fast. A buggy and a big highway don't match. lf there is a God, what kind of highway is He looking for? Where would He like to dwell? God would like to dwell in the mind of His loved ones, and so their minds should be calm and peaceful and full of tranquility. That is the mind God can trust. He wants to dwell in a mind that is peaceful like calm waters.
God is a peaceful person, so if there are many barriers in ourselves and our world where did they come from? The fall of man is the origin of the disturbing turbulence. If there is a rugged surface in your mind, would you want to keep it that way or to smooth it out? Everyone, even little children, wants to have a peaceful mind. But if everyone wants it, why can't they do it? There is one giant obstacle to calming the mind: oneself. Everyone reasons after centering on himself first. When you see, hear, think and act, either consciously or unconsciously you do these things with yourself at the center. That's what creates the overwhelming obstacle and until that is changed there is no way you can break down the barriers. The moment you reduce yourself to nothing and move yourself out of the picture, the job will become infinitely easier. When you center upon yourself you are building more and more hills and rugged mountains within your mind. Therefore, the ultimate problem lies within oneself, not somewhere outside. When Jesus was asked where the Kingdom of Heaven can be found, he replied, "It is in the midst of you." Unless you create the Kingdom of Heaven within your mind, you can't even think about having it anywhere else.
Our Unification Church members are a different breed of people compared to the everyday world, but still you know you have many barriers to overcome. Even in the Church you all have bags of problems, although of different sizes. Some have small bags and others have incredibly big bags which they cart around every day. You might think, "Yes, everyone has a little bag but mine is the smallest one." I'm sure everyone is optimistic and feels he has a small bag that can be easily disposed of, but actually the person who thinks like that has the biggest bag of all. This is not just a symbolic analogy. I am describing reality.
There must be some champion who can liquidate the problem. Don't you want to open your bag and clean everything up, making your mind flat and tranquil? Is this an urgent task to be tackled, or can it wait until you have some extra time after eating and sleeping? This is an emergency task. Before you can talk about world peace and solving the problems of society, you must first worry about peace within yourself and between yourself and God. God is the troubleshooter who raises up champions; God is planning to take care of the problems of mankind. What should He do in order to accomplish that? What kind of strategy must He employ'? God must establish a formula that will work for everyone, a strategy through which each person can change himself into an unselfish person. The revolution of selfishness to unselfishness will be God's universal formula. Because the self is creating all the upheavals and barriers, when you remove yourself the surface of your mind will become smoother.
If there are five members in your family, who will become the most exemplary? It will be the person who lives for the benefit of everyone else first, for the public purpose. That person will become the central person who sets the standard of the family. By having that standard you can evaluate everyone else. The one who can move himself out of the picture for the public purpose sets the standard of comparison.
The characteristic of water is that of wanting to settle down. When water is put in a container, it quickly makes a flat surface, wanting to settle and harmonize instantly. If there is a little crack in a rock, water wants to sneak in there and entirely fill the gap. Your body is two-thirds water, which travels everywhere within your body, into every cell. If water had a selfish and arrogant attitude, do you think it could flow into any space at any time? Water makes an invaluable contribution to all life and is totally flexible because it doesn't have one rigid form. Air is another totally unselfish component of the universe. Water and air characteristically adapt for the benefit of all things, and that is the very characteristic we need as people.
In Belvedere there are many beautiful trees. Trees have a certain form and shape, but water doesn't. Would you prefer to be like a tree which has only one state, or like water which is so flexible that it can go anywhere'? Water can travel anywhere in its different forms, flowing underground or through the air. It fulfills a tremendous function in keeping this universe together. Do you realize this fact? Because water has no inherent form it is ready to adapt to any circumstance and any occasion for the benefit of everything else. Which man is more flexible, the man who is like a diamond or the one who is like water?
Both water and oil are liquids and are frequently colorless. They almost look the same, but oil is confined to a certain form and doesn't freely mingle with other substances. Water brings life everywhere; it doesn't conform to itself but to others, always helping others to survive. Oil always sticks to itself and does not offer a lifeline to others. It exists for itself. Oil is also very arrogant, floating on top and not wanting to go down to the bottom.
Each person has the job of breaking down the barriers in his mind; the most basic problem is how to overcome oneself. Some people have built up a gigantic castle in their minds and they don't want to break down that tremendous ornament. Those who claim that, raise your hands please. No matter how great you think the things are which you have built, you realize now that those things are useless. However, do you often have the longing not to lose something which you have built for so long? Would you like to have some supernatural power come and wipe everything out and cleanse the mind at one time? In a moment a typhoon can blow everything away from the surface of the mind. Would you accept having that happen to you? So far you have been living for some selfish purpose, but when you fully change your concept of life and start trying to live for others then a typhoon has really blown through your mind.
God is a scientific God and He knew that nothing short of a miracle or superpower would break up the rugged surface of the mind. Without any hesitation God proclaimed that each person must deny himself, become a sacrificial person and surrender to His will. You must destroy your own will and live for the sake of the public.
God needs certain elements which can accomplish this will; they are taught by the great historical religions which have been emphasizing the spirit of sacrifice. The true religion emphasizes self-denial and the sacrificial way of life. In order to live that life you must willingly face many tribulations and sufferings. The religious people who lived in the ancient convents and monasteries subjected themselves to lives of extreme hardship. They didn't know why their suffering had meaning, but now we know all of the truth. They didn't know that they had to conquer their egos and selfishness by torturing their bodies.
I'm sure you have heard of Buddhist monks who sit and meditate for years and years, trying to move out of themselves and go to the point of nothingness; by doing so they want to find the standard of basic human character. Their entire effort can be characterized in one sentence: they deny the smaller, selfish self to find the greater self. That is their purpose.
A selfish person becomes just one element in the universe, but the person who lives for others cannot be confined within the universe. He will embrace the universe, almost covering it. If a self-centered person wants to enlarge his own territory, he must first move out into the larger territory which will bury his selfishness.
No matter how much learning he may acquire, the self-centered person cannot be a central figure in our society. Only the person who really wants to serve others and live for their sake will harmonize with others and be elevated to the central position. Whenever leaders are elected, people always want to raise up an unselfish person to be their leader. That is the formula through which justice is carried out in society. The person of greatest unselfish devotion will swallow the smaller-minded person because he has a greater capacity and can embrace more. The unselfish person will become bigger and bigger until he is even bigger than the universe and then many people will dwell within that person. This kind of human being is like water; he can fit everywhere.
Would you like to become one small piece of dust in the universe or a person who embraces the universe'? How can that be? There are billions of people of all kinds of races. If everyone becomes a person to embrace the universe, how could the universe accommodate everyone? There aren't that many positions in the universe. Even though many people may want to embrace the universe, there are different categories among them. Some will say, "I will live one year for the universe." Others will declare, "I will live my entire life for the universe," and finally some will proclaim, "I will live my eternal life for the universe."
Out of all these people who will become number one? No one can be bigger than the person who has lived unselfishly for the public purpose from the beginning until the very end of history. If that kind of person is available in our universe, who would that be? God is the one who has lived in that mind from the beginning of history. When we judge according to this formula, God has to be the central person. He really deserves our vote, doesn't He? Is there anyone who will insist that he deserves to be elected instead? In front of this God, we can only bow down and submit ourselves to His mercy.
The greatest puzzle in history is how the name of Jesus, that unknown, uneducated son of a carpenter, became known in every household in the last 2,000 years. Jesus was not well-accepted during his lifetime. He didn't have any formal education and he looked very humble and shabby. He collected friends like fishermen from around the sea of Gallilee and tax collectors and harlots. When Jesus went from village to village with such people, saying shocking and unheard of things, the people thought he was crazy and dangerous. He was finally crucified on the cross.
How could the name of such a man become universally known in 2,000 years? Jesus lived according to God's formula. He is a universal man in this respect and this is what sets him apart. He was totally and absolutely a public person who embraced the universe. As he was dying on the cross, he even prayed for the Roman soldiers who pierced his side, asking God to forgive them because they didn't know what they had done. His compassionate mind could embrace not only his own people but also his people's own enemies.
That is precisely how God has been living through all of history. The philosophies of God and Jesus were absolutely parallel, and after Jesus' death God raised his name up universally.
We Moonies in the twentieth century actually have a better situation than at the time of Jesus. Did anyone in the Bible charge Jesus with brainwashing'? Furthermore, we are an infinitely better group than the disciples of Jesus. There are no harlots or tax collectors here, though perhaps there is an IRS agent somewhere. Educated, good-looking men and women are following me today. We are not just trotting from one village to another around the desolate sea of Gallilee; we are striding all over the world, from one continent to another. Yes, our situation is infinitely better, but the most fundamental concern is this: whether we are living the public way of life. Do we have that way of life?
Jesus came to liberate the world of its sin, but today our goal is even bigger. We will not only liberate this earth, but we will liberate the spirit world and God. We must liberate hell first, then the spirit world and God. Is it an easy task or a difficult one ? How difficult'? Do you have the appetite to do it? Ambition can be used for good or evil. Do you have greediness to live the unselfish way of life'? Ambition for advancement of the public purpose is noble, while selfish ambition is evil. If you have ambitions for your own sake then you are digging your hell wider and deeper, but if your ambition is for the sake of the world, you are stacking up treasures in heaven. How many years would you like to live for the sake of others? lf you are asking yourself this question, you have reached down to the core truth.
Often people say, "What kind of church is that where they drive you out to fund raise day and night'? You go out for witnessing and on top of that you are asked to sell newspapers. You aren't even paid but have to earn your own living also'? What kind of church is that'?" Some people will criticize and say that even the worst dictators like Hitler and Stalin had to feed and pay their people; what kind of man is Reverend Moon to ask his members to work and also support the Church? "It looks like the worst kind of dictatorship," people say.
On the surface our life may look awful, but when it is seen according to our philosophy of sacrifice, it is clear that everyone will gain an infinite amount. According to this formula our way of life is the best. The members of the Unification Church are actually embracing the universe, not just existing like small peanuts. We are embracing the universe within our philosophy and we look at all of suffering mankind as our responsibility. The true Unification Church member feels, "This is my church and my world. Unless I do the job, who will do it?" If I pay you then you are actually employed by me and this universe cannot become yours. If you think in terms of "my world and my responsibility," who should pay you? With your sweat and blood you are going to bring the world into God's way of life.
If somewhere some spy is listening, he will say, "Aha, this is Reverend Moon's brainwashing technique." Suppose you were brainwashed--did you lose or gain by it? You have become much greater men and women now compared to your previous way of life when you did not know God and Divine Principle. Your world was small before, and now you are embracing the universe. Your value as men and women has become infinitely greater.
We know the goal and we are not in darkness, but even though we are running toward the goal we feel we have not done enough yet. Would you want to sneak out and let everyone else do the job, or do you want to be in the forefront of everything? My position here is just the same as yours. I could easily engage in a very peaceful and noncontroversial life. It is very simple to praise America and no one would bother me for that. Why do I bring white, yellow and black people together to organize this gigantic movement? Why do I push on under such persecution? It is because I look at the world as entirely my responsibility, and I have to do this because God is relying on me. I have the confidence and power that I can raise a typhoon to blow all the rough surfaces away so that we can make the world smooth.
I knew this philosophy would be the ultimate winner even though America might come against me and cause incredible difficulties. I don't pay attention but just keep moving forward. Why do you applaud me? I am not a white man but an Oriental man who came here trying to change America. Why does it make you feel good? Because you know that is the ultimate way, the real way to love and save America. You know that this philosophy alone will bring hope to this nation and this world.
American people have been the victims of two great ideologies: pragmatism and individualism. You are molded by these two ideologies, but from the viewpoint of God's ideology these philosophies are great barriers. Even if the government would spend billions of dollars upon one man, that man's concepts would not change; nevertheless, I have come to change your concept. What I am doing is what many governments put together could not do in a millennium. They should come and thank me but instead they are trying to bring all kinds of charges against me, and trying to discredit me somehow. I don't have to fight against the government and established society; I could relax. I have the ability to do anything and could do so very comfortably if I chose to go another route. If I chose that route then I certainly wouldn't become controversial. I might live 100 years on earth in that case, but what would it all mean? Nothing. I would not choose that route because it would not leave any contribution for mankind.
I have already ignited a revolution in our world. Many people opposed that revolution but history will witness the repentance of every individual, society and nation which comes against me. They will bow down and say, "I'm sorry. I misunderstood." I am not just expecting and believing that will happen; I know that will happen. Whether I am here on earth or in the spirit world won't make any difference. It will happen.
I have no mercy on our MFT members. Four o'clock get up and four-thirty take off; don't come back before midnight. Is it evil or good'? What is so good about it? Your body gets tired and your nerves get edgy and you are almost on the verge of collapse. Would you chastise your body and push it on, or would you say, "Reverend Moon, what kind of teaching is this?"
Is there any room for complaint? If you complain then all the foundation you have built up will be shattered and blown away. You cannot say, "Heavenly Father, what kind of God are you ? Your child is suffering. Why can't You come down and obliterate my opponent?" If you start to complain, asking God questions about this and that, you will lose everything. lf you are full of grace, you can say, "God, I want to pray for those enemies who would try to destroy us. Please forgive them. Let us have the wisdom and the power to reach them and really bring warmth to their hearts." That's the way in which you must trust.
Do you think God will come down at night to the enemies of the Unification Church and say, "You opposed the Unification Church. Now I'll chop your head off." If He did that then eventually no one would be left. No neck on earth would remain, including yours, because historically the worst opposition has come from within the Unification Church. Also sometimes you complain and commit sin in your heart. Those who are perfected and not in that category, raise your hands. In the sight of God everyone is a sinner. No one is perfect yet. The difference between those in the Church and those outside is paper thin.
Our Unification society is not perfect yet. There are fights going on ,and members feel resentment and complain. In order to forgive you, God has to let our enemies survive and give them a chance to be saved. Never pray for God to come down and crush your enemy. If God hears that prayer three times from you He will say, "What kind of Unification Church member are you'? Maybe I'll think about your neck! "
For decades there have been many enemies who were determined to kill me or defame me in all kinds of vicious ways, but I never remembered them in my heart. God has a great sense of humor. Sometimes He tells me, "You know, my son, the pastors in this church prayed last night telling me that you should be killed." God has a sense of humor in telling me about such a prayer. I never pay attention to such enemies or think about revenge, but they eventually destroy themselves by their own action. This is the rule of the universe.
Congressman Fraser is a good example. He was determined to destroy the Unification Church and me; I told Mr. Pak to have mercy upon him and forgive him, but then what happened? He lost his position and power. There is a congressman here in Tarrytown who has been very vicious, but he is no longer in office. Congressman Ryan, who was killed in Guyana, had written the Justice Department asking it to investigate Reverend Moon and the Unification Church, saying we practice brainwashing and mind control. That's why the Justice Department initiated an FBI investigation of the Unification Church in 1977. Last week they cleared us because they discovered nothing, but Congressman Ryan is gone. Have you ever heard me instruct any person to go kill someone? Do you have instructions to resort to terrorism to get rid of someone? No, I never say that, even though many people are plotting to kill me and harm you.
It's a fearful, violent world, with people killing each other every day. In more than a hundred cases a year American students gang up against their teachers and stab or beat them. In this country some parents beat their own children, even disabling them. Sometimes they literally murder their own children. There are 300,000 known cases of this but probably the correct number is 700,000 altogether. A total of 1.5 million parents has been investigated by the police for their brutality to their own children, yet no newspaper bothers to mention these things. This kind of brutality exists in all walks of life, on all levels of society.
In Oriental society this phenomenon is unthinkable, but this is the reality of America today. It's a sick society. Nevertheless, these are the people who accuse me of being an evil brainwasher who abuses young people and teaches them to kill. It is incredible nonsense. I worry about America, not myself. Drug abuse is a terrible problem in America, and now it is even found on the elementary school level. I instructed News World editors to make known the evil that exists in our world today. They must do research for a special series to expose these things. You do not know all of this because you are living an entirely different way of life, but behind you all kinds of unthinkable things are happening.
The policy in our Church is to go out to meet tribulation and suffering. I teach you to confront all these hardships willingly. Is that a good or an evil policy? Why is it good? How would you be benefited by it? You will very definitely be benefited by it because you will restore your tranquility and peace of mind. lf you have that then God will walk there, and if you live that way of life for ten or twenty years then you will go down in history. You will leave a footprint here on earth and will continue a glorious life for eternity. This kind of movement is an absolute necessity in our world. We must not limit this movement to one locality but must take it all over the world because everyone needs it.
People of many nations come to America trying to live a good life and take advantage of this nation. This one Korean, however, doesn't agree with them. 1 came to this country, not to be benefited by America, but to give it something absolutely essential for its survival. The purpose of my coming is to bring salvation to the nation. Do you think 1 am indebted to America or is America indebted to me?
I go to Europe for the sake of Europe. When I go to South America it is because South America truly needs me. As I go around the world I will leave footprints of hope and salvation behind me. You think America is a free society but in reality it is a regimented society with barriers and entrenched ways that no one can change. Now the Unification Church movement is plunging in to shake this country. Everything is shaking now, and that's why everyone is shouting about us, but this is the kind of typhoon this country needs. We are not destroying anything; we are breaking the old barriers down and laying a new highway. We call it the Moon highway. The things we change and the things we build cannot be duplicated by any other power. The power that America mobilized to send a man to the surface of the moon could never even touch this task. We are summoned to the greatest of all tasks and to fulfill we will go to all fifty states in America. We will stamp on every piece of ground in America and spread the message.
There is no place in America where you do not meet our MFT. They cover the country already. To the person who donates, his dollar or five dollars may seem very insignificant, but that money is spent for the sake of national salvation. Because of that purpose you have brought blessing to that giver. You think you are raising a great contribution in America, but compared to what I am raising and spending for the sake of the world, America's contribution is a peanut. The American movement has always been supported out of my own resources; without it, this movement would have been choked. If I used all the money I have invested in America all these years in South America, I probably could have bought one whole nation. The prime minister would have said, "Reverend Moon, please come and stay in our country."
When outside people see our fund raising they think I am exploiting young people. That is absolute nonsense. We have chosen a sacrificial way of life When you are united with me, there are no barriers between us. lf high level people of influence could also meet me in that way then many barriers would be broken down. In dealing with intellectuals in society, I would instantly make national salvation move faster. For example, eminent scholars from six continents of the world attend the Science Conference. When we first started the Science Conference they were intellectually arrogant people, but now after seven conferences they know they need me. I am unselfishly using money to advance their work. That money would last a long time if I used it for my personal use, but I am giving it for the sake of the world.
Naturally God in heaven needs me and the Unification Church, because God needs representatives to deal with the real world. We shall become the hands of God. We are dealing with the reality of the world, and without us God cannot fulfill His ideal. You must have confidence that we are the barrier breakers. We will create a great big highway from the physical world to the spirit world on which all mankind can smoothly travel to reach the goal.
What country are you citizens of'? You're white Americans, aren't you? Think of your situation: what kind of barriers do you have to break-racial'? National? Intellectual'? Economic? Barriers of arrogance and laziness'? Everyone has some secret. Why does spirit world always tell you to bring your secrets to me? It is because once you get them out you are liberated. When you open them to me you are freed and are no longer carrying that burden.
God dwells in the mind. In what state of mind would you want to dwell: a mind with many thorns, or a peaceful, fragrant mind'? You have to break down the barriers in your mind and have no hard feelings. Then everything you do shall be smooth. If you liquidate all the barriers in your mind then when you go to spirit world there will be no barriers. As soon as the fall of Adam and Eve took place, barriers began to emerge, and they have increased throughout history to this day. We are liquidating the barriers for the first time in history, reversing the trends of the past That is our job.
In our world things are judged to be good or bad. You can easily want to serve good people, but that is not God's philosophy. You are nothing special if you serve only good people; everyone can do that. God's way is to serve bad people as well as good people. God always pays more attention to the lost sheep, even if there is only one. In the Unification Church, therefore, we must not live for ourselves, but we must go out looking for that one lost sheep.
Have you really gone out with a compassionate heart? Can you say that you have truly served someone and unselfishly given yourself to some family, some country, or the world? The world is only an expanded version of your family and your country. Your nation is a microcosm of the entire universe. Therefore, when you serve your family you are actually serving the world. When you serve your nation, you are serving the universe. If this concept is always in your mind then you can set the condition while you are here on earth that you really lived and served someone. For that purpose God gave you a husband or wife, and He gave you children. By serving them you have served the universe and mankind. The purpose of having a home is to set this kind of condition.
You can divide mankind into four different categories: parents, children, husband and wife. That's all. Even that can be reduced into two halves: man and woman. That's why everyone needs marriage. Everyone needs to have some object whom he can truly love and serve 100 percent. By setting that condition you can come before God and say you have loved mankind and the universe. In that case can you marry, live together and then get divorced? Can you separate yourself from your own parents? Is there any word for separation between parents and children? Actually there is so much rejection between parents and children today that we need a word for it. What about the Unification Church? Do we have that separation or generation gap?
Which one is more difficult-for a woman to serve a man 100 percent, or for a man to serve a woman 100 percent? What about a woman serving another woman 100 percent? Would you like that? How about men for men? When men serve women and women serve men, there is lots of joy and great excitement and no boredom. God made it thus and it's supposed to be that way.
In the American way of life there are legal barriers that even a husband or wife cannot cross. Wives sometimes even have their own separate savings accounts. Their feeling is, '`Even though you are my husband, you cannot cross this limit. This is mine." Is that right? What if one day the husband is so desperate for money that he takes cash from his wife's savings account; what would she do'? The next day a bombshell would explode in that home and she would divorce him. Would our American women do that?
You've got to carry your credentials to spirit world. In marriage you can set the condition so that you can say, "Heavenly Father, I served this man unselfishly and purely. I loved this person as a representative of the universe and by doing this I broke down all the barriers. There is no racial, cultural or national barrier in my love for this person." When that couple goes anywhere hand in hand together, there is nothing that can block them. They can go straight into the Kingdom of God in heaven with no obstacles. Wonderful!
Everything you do is dress rehearsal until you meet someone you can serve absolutely. Elementary school children serve their teachers, college students make friends with and serve their professors, all of them respect their parents, and so forth. All of this is preparation for them to give their ultimate service to their fellow man. Everything culminates in service between men and women. Keep in mind that you must serve and give to the people. If you do that then you will become popular. Your teachers and friends will all love you. They will say, "Come to my room. Without you I am very lonely. You are my best friend." Your professors will say, "Without you my class is a very lonely place. Please don't be absent." That's the practice of serving.
Your home is the stage where you diligently practice for your ultimate service. Society is the stage where we can practice our way of life. It is a most precious time you have here on earth. If you practice that love here on earth then when you are elevated into the spirit world you will find a beautiful spiritual heaven waiting for you. You will also find that there are no barriers to stumble over in spirit world.
When you look at your parents, ask, "For whom do my eyes exist? My eyes exist to appreciate my parents. My eyes have beautiful lines so I can please my parents. My mouth exists to praise my parents. My heart and mind can give them joy. I have ears to receive the good words of my parents. I have arms and legs to serve them." Have you lived like that?
Today the American home is really no anchor for the children. That's why there is a generation gap and a great deal of alienation in American homes. American children want to leave home as soon as possible. That fault doesn't originate with the sons and daughters; the seed of difficulty or evil was there already in the selfishness of the parents. The children see very clearly that something is wrong, that the parents have some secrets from each other, and this eventually alienates the children from them. We have to mend and change this situation in American homes today.
In the true home the family members are 100 percent unselfishly united. God has a personality and sense of emotion, so when He looks down at the homes in the world, which would He like to visit? Wherever you live, in whatever society, live the unselfish way of life without barriers.
The Unification Church is the training center where all members can train to rebuild society. The words "True Parents" are the central point of that workshop. When the True Parents are here, what is your position'? True children. You practice the true way of life as true children and then you can become true parents yourselves and have true children.
Right now you are in training so you just fulfill the schedule without complaint, don't you? When the Sunday schedule says 3 a.m. departure for Belvedere, do you say, "Why 3 a.m.? Why not 8 a.m?" We meet at 5 a.m. to have pledge service on Sunday morning and then have worship here right afterward. Do you gripe, "What kind of church is this? Why can't we meet at 11 o'clock so that we can get a good night's sleep?" Would you like to sleep all morning and get up for 11 o'clock service?
Also, you come here and sit on the hard concrete floor. In many empty churches there are plush carpeting and soft cushions. If you go there to worship then I don't have to work either. It would make life easier for me so why don't you worship there instead? Isn't this a bad church actually? Why do you say no? We sit on the hard floor and worship God. We eat very simple meals and work like beavers. Do you like that'? I really like it. I have lived my entire life like this. The longest I've slept at one time is four hours. The rest of the day I work. Ask Mother if I am telling the truth. Mother says yes.
Why did I start such an unusual life? Human life is short and in order to be different from ordinary people and have some tremendous impact on the world I cut down my sleeping time to have extra working time. That is the only place to save up. Sleeping hours are dead hours and I don't want to have many dead hours while I am on earth. I want to be active and alive most of the time. Doctors usually say a person needs eight hours of sleep in order to keep healthy, but somehow that doesn't apply to me. I have a special exercise for keeping my good health, and I am healthier than ever. If I tell you the secret you can open up a studio and make a lot of money.
The title of my talk is "Breaking the Barrier." In order to break the barriers in our lives we have to live the totally unselfish way of life. We must demonstrate our life of service, looking at our own home or church as a microcosm of the universe. Our ultimate goal is service to mankind, the universe and God, but we demonstrate it with our neighborhood and with our families.
Do you women put on makeup every day? When you have your own homes I would like to see you put makeup on your husband's face rather than your own; that would be much more beautiful. How about the husband making up his wife's face. You are laughing, but in reality there is nothing funny about it.
If your husband says, "Darling, I want to ride on your back. Can you carry me," what would you say? American women would say, "No, I should be on your back. "But if you say yes and do your absolute best to try to lift him, how beautiful it will be. Then your husband will say, "You did your best. I thank you for it. Now come on my back." He knows his wife is willing to carry him but she is not that strong, so he will carry her. Thereafter, carrying her becomes very natural and beautiful.
What I am trying to describe is just how to serve unselfishly and willingly. From now on, after you get blessed and to the end of your life, will you be a person of service? Thank you. Let us pray.
