Belvedere, New York
Translator - Bo Hi Pak
What are you thinking, sitting here early in the morning on a hard concrete floor? Are you happy to see me? How can you be happy to see such a dark face with slanted eyes? Walking by a grove of trees have you ever thought that they may have stood there for hundreds of years and wondered what they have been thinking? Do they think that their branches will cover the earth and their crowns touch the sky? Perhaps they are proud of being the tallest and oldest trees. If a tree's goal is so big that it wants to cover the earth and reach the sky then it must be thinking about how tall it is now, even if it is already a thousand years old. With such a great goal yet to be fulfilled, can it boast of being the greatest? If a tree has the power to reason and think then we can say it is truly the greatest tree.
Have you ever thought about which bird flies highest in the sky? The crane flies highest. A crane is always looking up, never bowing down; our image of a crane never includes one whose neck is drooping down as it flies, but only looking up and ahead. A big bird like a crane never just leaps into the air and starts flying. A jumbo jet must rev its engines and gather speed down the runway and then take off, and a crane also starts slowly, aims high and gradually flies higher and farther.
You have seen sparrows hopping about, but cranes walk entirely differently, with long, stately strides. Can you imagine how ungainly a crane would look if it hopped like a sparrow? A crane thinks ahead about slowly but surely crossing long distances over the continents and ocean. With that kind of vision and goal, its whole body is necessarily geared to that kind of task.
A crane always wears a red hat and has a black tail. We usually say that red represents communism and black represents Satan, so what is good about this crane? The bird itself is white and leaps out to cross and conquer the ocean, and because the red and black harmonize in this purpose they are like restored red and black.
Are you thinkers? Do you think about how to dig into the ground, or about how to leap into the sky? The best way to reach the sky is to sit down and doze, right? I'm sure you have to get up very early to get here on time, so it must feel like a long time before you can go back to sleep. Does the bird think the night is long or short? Is he eager to see the dawn come or not? You hear birds singing in the early morning and the cock crowing at sunrise; do you think they wish the morning wouldn't come so early?
For the birds the night is unbearably long so they rejoice over the dawn in their morning singing. Are you like the birds? Do you wait impatiently all week for Sunday so you can come to Belvedere and then jump up with happiness when that morning comes?
When you say "let us think" does that mean that you are already thinking or getting ready to think? Which of the creations is a thinking animal besides man? Different animals think in different degrees, but in my opinion the most thinking one of all is the ox. During the day it sits in the meadow chewing and thinking.
What kind of thinking do you: suppose the ox is doing? Is its goal higher and nobler than man's? If so then there would be many oxen saints. Perhaps the oxen think about the suits they should wear, and if so then they would have more colorful clothes because they have four legs instead of two If they actually were thinking, they would create an oxen cultural sphere because thinking always precedes culture. What kind of toilet would they have, and what kind of bathtub? Thinking makes things happen.
If oxen think about God more than man does, what would happen? God would be confused, because men and women were to' be His sons and daughters, but the oxen are thinking more about Him. God notices which of His creations is thinking more of Him and which is most proud of Him. Would oxen be number one, or something else? There are two kinds of men, one thinking of divine and spiritual things, and another preoccupied with cheap, everyday earthly things. What kind of man would you become? It is the quality of a person's thinking that describes his nobility or lack of nobility.
If a person is thinking nobly, his thoughts must inevitably lead him into a noble life. What is the content of noble thinking? Is it on the side of goodness or evil? One aspect of goodness is that everyone likes it, both God and man, old and young, even the most devilish grandmother. Even the most wicked, purposeless young people like goodness. Nobility has universality.
Where do we belong in all this; are we thinking people? When you work hard don't you think about where you can get some food and take a nap? You may be fed up with sitting on the hard concrete floor here at Belvedere, without even chairs to sit on. In the American way of life you sit on chairs and cross your legs comfortably, and now you are far from that way of life. You've been thinking how painful that is, right? At one time you have probably wondered why, if my name is Sun, we don't have worship when the sun is up and you can get up later! I really like it this way, but do you like it or hate it? If you hate it and it makes you upset enough to work hard, you will go to heaven and I will go to hell, right? Your logic is correct in that case if you really are working harder than me and you want to be here at six instead of ten in the morning. I takes will power and desire to get up in the morning, and come here.
Why should you do it? You've been thinking about how to deserve sonship and daughtership of God more than others, how to be something that others cannot be. If the Jews gather at 3 a.m. to worship in their synagogue then when shall we gather? If Jews see a competition between Moonies and themselves and decide to get up even earlier, what would you do? We would have to have a morning service at 8 p.m. Then others might hear about it and gather at 2 in the afternoon, but we would have to declare that we would work 24 hours a day. Average will power would not be adequate in such hardheaded competition.
If you make up your mind that you will win then you have to plan your tactics and think how to go about it. What would be gained by beating the Jews and other religious people? God raised up all these religions to have them compete among themselves to see which one really loved Him the most. If you think more about how you can be number one and you turn out to love Him the most, you can claim God. You can tell God that you might not be handsome or pretty but that He belongs to you anyway. How can He answer? If He refused, what would you do? Then you can look Him squarely in the eye and say, "You are I Satan, God!" Then He has to reply, "My son, indeed I have to listen to you. I belong to you."
What I am saying is that God can be made a prisoner by the people who love Him the most. You can bind God but you don't need rope to make God helpless. If you have made God your prisoner and then ask Him whether He can stand it if you love Him more, He will think about it and say that you are already doing enough. Once God tells you are already doing enough for Him, you can take a nap or go disco dancing for 24 hours a day. Then you can think like an ox or a pig and it will be all right because you will have that freedom..
God gave us the ability to think and each person has a thought bag which goes everywhere with him. If you think a great deal then your thought bag will get bigger; a balloon pops after a certain point, but your thought bag will constantly get bigger, even after it covers the entire earth. It will become so big and light that it will even lift you up in the air and carry you around. If you looked in your thought bag right now would you find a ragged mixture of different items, or genuine gold and beautiful crystal? Which kind do you have?
In New York you commonly encounter garbage trucks; how does your thought bag compare with the contents of those trucks? Is there some resemblance, or none at all? Is your bag full of fragrance and color? If you sprinkle garbage on the streets the entire city is made unhealthy, but if your thought bag is healthy and fragrant then if you sprinkle its contents around the world the entire globe will be perfumed. What kind of thought bag do you have? This is a morning to think about it. If God wanted to inspect the bags of everyone here, would anyone clamor to have God look at his or hers first? Would you be at the beginning or the end of the line?
I had many sisters in my family and as they entered their late teens and started thinking about getting married they made or bought special things to save for their wedding and new home. They would always hide them away in a safe place and I had a great interest to investigate what they had hidden. You women like to hide special things in a safe place, don't you? Where does this trait come from? You can say that God resembles you in this. If God comes to look and see what the women have hidden in their bags, what kind of bag would He be interested in finding? Would He be interested in finding money, or knowing what kind of books you read or what medals of honor and decorations you received?
God is interested in your thought bag. When you open up your thought bag you are really confessing what you are thinking, and God will remark either at how noble you are or how filthy and smelly you are. Would you rather have God embrace you with happiness or push you away in disgust? Are you free of shame, with nothing to hide, or can't you be absolutely open? Are you ready for God's inspection? Could God pass you in all areas?
You know whether God will be happy or unhappy with your thoughts. You are Iying if you say you are not sure whether you would pass God's inspection. You can't claim that you aren't clever enough to know God's criteria. You don't even belong to the human race if you really don't know! Even in the Unification Church your mind wanders, wondering whether you are in the right place or not, and in the meantime one year passes, two years, then three years. Look into your thoughts right now. Could you rate yourself at 100%, or 50% or 0 capability before God? How many of you have confidence God would give you 100 points? If you raised your hand, you have something wrong with your head!
Any student who thinks he knows all there is to know and can pass every test with A plus has something wrong somewhere. You know you are not perfect and that you have frailties; therefore, it takes effort to elevate yourself. Can you say that after three years in the Unification Church you rate 50 points and you have earned enough credits to be ready for blessing? Can you ask the principal for a citation with that kind of average? Or are you thinking that you are not even worthy of the blessing? Externally your physical body may be ready for marriage, but when you look into your conscience and thoughts, maybe you aren't really ready.
If you sincerely feel you aren't ready and you just obey when God pushes in one direction or another, then you have done what was required of you and you can get blessed. Which one would you like? If you have a 50 point average and think you are deserving then God will be reluctant to bless you but if you are humble and really think you are not worthy then God will feel better about giving it to you. If a person with a lower average is always trying to be considerate and meek, even brothers and sisters with more points cannot say that person doesn't deserve the blessing. It is not your will but God's will that pulls you up to receive the blessing. Are you living with that attitude?
There is one thing I want to teach you-to be meek and humble. Would God prefer the teaching which encourages boastfulness or humility? Although you have not earned full marks, when you are humble from the bottom of your heart there is a chance for you to participate in grace.
Who is the general of the Unification Church? You Moonies say you think I am a good father, but what about people in general? Looking down, what would God say? Would He say I am the most handsome man under the sun and that's why I am a good father? Or that I am qualified because I speak well? Do I have some special power to attract people?
God will tell me to show Him my thought bag and there's the real showdown. The public may think it is an incredibly awful, smelly bag, but God may think it is the most fragrant, delightful bag He has ever seen. God would be intoxicated and unable to put it down. He will think I am truly a wonderful person. Have you seen my thoughts? Maybe I am only thinking about how to exploit you. No? Who said so? The important thing is what is inside your thought bag.
I look over at the VIP section here and see Dr. Pyun, but even for this dignified Ph.D. the most important thing is the content of his thoughts. Your evaluation by the everyday world is as important as what is truly inside you. If you have a right thought bag then you are seeking right things, and if you are thinking right things, you are acting on right things. Right thinking must be expressed in words and actions.
In the beginning God had thought, or the Word, and God created by the Word. When supported by logic your thought becomes philosophy. If your thought is totally concerned with God and you express that thought, you will become a great minister. Before there was ever a Reverend Moon in the world, there was an ideal, invisible Reverend Moon. When thoughts were translated into words and they were acted upon, the invisible Reverend Moon became the reality the world sees today.
Were you empty of thought when you came here this morning? Perhaps you were anticipating hearing some good message this morning, so did you come for the purpose of bringing a clean, bright thought bag to receive some new thought today? When some people come they are wondering why they have to go through this again for another Sunday and they watch the clock to see whether I will speak more than two hours. What kind of thoughts do you have at this moment? Are they bright as gold and hard as diamonds? Are you numb of sensation? I see all types here.
You might be thinking you will meet God here this morning and in that case you can tell the trees you are straighter than they are this morning. Are you? I hear a confident yes and a doubtful yes; which one are you? Some of you don't want to say yes, but you just close your eyes and plunge ahead. Is that a false yes or a genuine one?
If you women have eyeglasses with heavy frames, you have a convenient disguise; then if you get sleepy you just move them down your nose a little and no one will ever see that your eyes are closed. You might think you are successful, but can you deceive God, or the walls or the air? Can you lie to yourself? Instead of trying to hide it from God, who knows anyway, it's much better to say to God, "I am so sleepy. Please forgive me," and just lie down and sleep. God has to smile on such a person for having such guts.
If one Sunday everyone at Belvedere does that, then when I come there will be no one awake to speak to. Then I will tell God, "Since everyone else is sleeping, let me sleep too." It's much better than trying to be sneaky. Anyone who is trying to hide behind something, like glasses, is not forthright and open, is not a true Moonie.
Deep down inside do you like to be called a Moonie? When I ask, you say yes, but how about when people outside our Church ask you? If you try to live a sneaky life as a Moonie, you will end up in hell. It's much better to be open about your frailties and be yourself. Such a person can go to heaven. I have no shame and nothing to hide, no matter where I am. I am the super-general of the Unification Church army, but in this country everything is called super, so that is too cheap a name.
There are two kinds of thinking-the kind that has to do with the family. nation and God, or nothing to do with the family, nation and God. There are the thoughts God likes and the thoughts Satan likes, the thoughts of a good man or an evil man, and you must make a choice between them.
Have you black members carried some kind of hidden grudge against white people? Black people can have two thoughts-one, that some day they will get revenge for injustice done them, or two, that they want to win the respect of white people by serving them and becoming one with them in love. For hundreds of years black people have been oppressed and enslaved, but can you forgive and forget that, and tell God you want to serve others regardless? Do you think you are superior or inferior to whites? You are not different; you have two eyes and a nose and two ears, and so do white people. The two races are just a different shade of color, one happening to be darker than the other.
A high mountaintop is always white and covered with snow, but in the valley the soil is always dark and fertile. Do animals always live on the top of the snow-capped mountain, or do they live in the fertile valleys instead? Is there more food to be found on the peak or in the valley? Black is a very rich color which has depth and absorbs all light. It is a very attractive and charming color. On the other hand, white is always easily stained and hard to keep clean. It would be simple to cover the world with black, but much more difficult to make everything white.
Are there any schoolrooms where the teacher writes in black chalk on a white board? It would be crazy to use a white board. It would be impossible if you blacks were trying to be white, even after a millennium, no matter who you prayed to. So instead of trying to be something else, take what you have and be proud of it. Whites, be proud. Blacks, be proud. Orientals, be proud. The precious metals of the earth don't lie on the surface of the mountain, but deep within the dark earth, and you also have your dignity as black men and women. It is far better to see a healthy, vigorous black horse than a run-down, sickly white horse. If both of them are in poor shape, which one still looks better? The black color helps cover up shortcomings, while the white color clearly reveals all deficiencies.
Polar bears are white to give better camouflage in white snow and ice. White people belong to the North Pole because they can hide better there. The culture of white people emerged from hunting societies which killed animals for food, but black people have always lived in the warmer areas of the earth where there was always much food around. Be proud of what you are. If your hope is that the entire world can be embraced in your arms then you have the right idea.
Why did God give blue eyes to white people? Because He knew that a plain white face would soon be tiresome to look at, He added the variety of blue dots to give contrast Blue is a very comforting color, like the blue of the sky and ocean. God is comforted when he looks at blue eyes. It sounds logical when I explain it, doesn't it? The faces of black people have a dramatic kind of beauty because when they smile their white teeth are a vivid and surprising contrast to their black skin. When black people are standing in broad sunlight, their skin is a beautiful color to behold, much more than white skin.
Would you white people like to wear only white shoes, not black or brown? If you only like white people then you must always wear white and no colors on your clothes, right? If a food is pure white, it is not tasty; dark sugar has much more flavor than white sugar. Which is real coffee, black or white? A white person riding on a white horse doesn't look intriguing, but a white rider on a black horse is absolutely dazzling. We also see that the earth is dark and the heavens are bright.
Do the great masterpieces of art have light or dark backgrounds? They frequently have dark backgrounds because a dark background provides more contrast and produces a more vivid effect of depth.
Without black, there can be no depth of feeling Your eye is recessed a little in your face, creating shadows, and then you have a black dot in the center which is surrounded by the white eyeball. Imagine an eyeball that had no white but was only blue or black or brown. How devilish that would look! Westerners have deep-set eyes compared to Orientals, so Westerners would look especially devilish if they had solid blue eyes.
The most dramatic combination I can imagine in a Western world would be white skin, black hair and eyebrows, blue eyes and white eyeballs. White people alone can never produce that combination; to get it you would have to mix the right combination of the white, black or yellow races. This understanding is why I am the world champion at creating international marriages.
I haven't even gotten to my main subject, but now it is almost time to close! Have you forgotten time or are you conscious of how much time has gone by this morning?
There are always two kinds of thinking and you said you want to be on the good side. What is the definition of good thoughts? Is it good to think every day about how you can become President of America? Good thoughts are universally liked by people of the present, past and future. Black, white and yellow people can all agree that they like it. Starving people and people who have food like good thoughts. Everyone can agree.
Would it be good for Americans to think they should love only America? Do you like America? The name sounds like "a merry car," which must mean that Americans are car-loving people. Do you only love America then? Would it be good for you to think of other nations, even a small country like Korea? How about forgetting the rest of the world and thinking only of one other small nation like Korea, would that be good? Would it be good to want to help that nation only to prepare some refuge for yourself if all of Asia becomes communist? President Carter recently announced he would visit Korea in June, but it would be far more valuable for Carter to be strong against communism than for him to make a visit. If he does his job well then even if he doesn't go to Korea that nation will be liberated.
Because I speak out whenever I see the free world doing wrong, some people think I am not only against communism but against America as well. But I have a clear evaluation of the difference between the two. In the communist world there is no individual way of life available; people are told at gunpoint what they have to do. The communist state dictates the individual's life, but that doesn't happen in the democratic countries. If Russia were in America's position of power but still followed the same totalitarian system, would it forcibly communize the entire world or not? When communists take over, the people are made into robots, but when America liberates a country it does not force a new way of life on the people.
Who has the power to decide whether a government is good or bad? It is not the United Nations or governmental law which decides, but the one who exists from alpha to omega throughout history, and we call him God. God is the ultimate judge of good and evil. What is the ultimate criterion of good and evil? Those who think as God thinks are good, and those who oppose what God thinks are evil. It is logical that in a school those who obey school policy and the principal are considered good students, but those who violate the law are called troublemakers.
In a home the children who try to follow the parents' way of life are good and those who are rebellious and disobedient are bad from the point of view of the family. Company workers who follow company policy are considered good employees, while those who violate it are thought of as undesirable employees. In the Unification Church those who think and try to live in the way I am trying to teach are considered good Moonies while those who disregard that teaching are not felt to be real Moonies.
According to this logic in the ultimate sense, the person who thinks as God thinks and tries to live up to what God wants is a good man, while those who go against it are evil. How old is God? He is so old that you cannot count His age, so the only way to express God's age is to say that He is the alpha and omega. God has more knowledge than anyone else simply because He has been around longer than anyone else.
Wouldn't you want to have the freedom to have your eyes anywhere you want them ? There is a certain law and rule involved here, however. God gave much thought to how He should best formulate man's body. The mouth should be where it is in the face so it can be watched over by the two eyes, for instance, and the two hands are conveniently placed to put food in your mouth. There is a reason why things are placed as they are.
If your mouth bites your finger your eyes will see it, but if your eyes were on the bottom of your foot they wouldn't see this happen and you would lose one finger! It has to be admitted that God is the master scientist, and can be understood in seeing the many details of our lives. Everyone has little valleys on either side of their mouths so that when they perspire the sweat won't run into their mouths. If the mouth were set deeper into the face instead then when you sweat you would constantly have to blow it away, but you don't have to do that because God already prepared better contours for your face.
How inconvenient it would be if your nose were upside down and what a mess it would be on a rainy day! The contours of your face and the fact that there is hair inside your nose all make sense; everything has a certain role to fill. The universe exists through order, and law exists in order to maintain order. Is God's thinking all mixed up and random? No, God follows a standard and has order and logic.
Does God look at all people the same way, or does He see them in different categories and levels? Equality in the true sense does not mean that everyone is the same. Does God think everyone is on the same level? A poor-thinking man can be nourished with noble thoughts and this is why we need schools and universities. No matter how much you study here on earth, however, can you follow the level of God's thinking? We are pursuing the highest education in the way that God thinks. God's thinking is exactly the opposite of Satan's thinking.
Then what is Satan and what is evil? They are fake; they can shine like a spark of light but they have no foundation, no root, and so they are basically untrue. True and good things exist forever, but the others pass away. True value is unchangeable- people love diamonds because their quality remains for many years; gold possesses a harmonized color that never tarnishes, and the lustre of a pearl is truly harmonized.
If something glitters or looks important for a moment but then vanishes, it is evil or fake. Are you fake or genuine? When you put gold in a blazing furnace will it change? If you have the qualities of genuine gold then if you are put in the furnace you will not change. Gold melts at high temperatures, but when it cools down it remains the same. Good and evil can be classified in this fashion. Did God think one way in ancient times, but now in a different way? It He did then He is not the true God. Is 24 carat gold from America different from 24 carat gold from Korea? Are they interchangeable or can't one be taken to other countries? Your location will never change the qualities of genuine gold.
After a big meal would God declare that He is the king of the universe and all mankind are His slaves? No, God will tell all the creation that it is an integral part of Him and without it He could not exist. all the creation be joyful to hear it is needed by God? I When you are ecstatic with that joy of being needed. shouting and laughing, will God tell you to be quiet? No, He will come to embrace you. If you can't contain your joy and you laugh with a piercing laugh, will God tell you are a disgrace, or will He join with you? God knows how to harmonize, every time, everywhere.
God does not declare that you must exist for Him; He will say that He exists for His creation. If you were evaluating God, would you give Him the highest mark if He lived for the creation, or if He wanted the creation to live for Him? Will real parents want their children to live for them, or want to live for their children? Would teachers tell their students they come to class only to earn their salaries? When a teacher looks at his pupil there is no concept of money. Instead, a true teacher would love his pupils, and even sell his own suit jacket to get money for a student's tuition if necessary. Would people then criticize him for not wearing a proper jacket?
God's qualification to be God is not only to have created everything; it is having the heart to exist solely for what He created. When you belong to a certain home, you live for the sake of the home. When you belong to a certain nation, you live for the sake of the nation; when you belong to the world, you live for the sake of the world and for the sake of God. This is the only philosophy God accepts. There are two ways of fighting-one is for your own selfish benefit, and the other is to fight for the sake of God's way of life and truth. I have declared that good war already.
The communist ideology should be eliminated and the people enslaved by it should be liberated as well. I have declared that war already, and naturally the communists don't like me at all. We are teaching the Victory Over Communism ideology all over Korea and Japan and I am advancing the global showdown between communism and democracy because God is behind it. The communists work clandestinely, having all their important meetings late at night and working through front groups. They are always hidden like bats in caves. ln America politicians are expected to convince people to vote for them and reveal all their finances and activities, and justice in the courts must also be handed down in broad daylight. But evil always hides under the cover of darkness. Do crooks and gangsters advertise what they will do for everyone to see?
It is God's way to act in broad daylight and so all our activities are in the open. I created the Unification Seminary and hired professors of all faiths. We hold conferences there for all kinds of religious people. If they won't come, we go after them through home church. We don't do this for our benefit but for their benefit. Are the Moonies bad or good? I push you and push you to serve other people and even sometimes rap you on the head at Sunday service.
Am I a strange minister because I don't wear a special robe and give a short sermon behind a pulpit? If people want to criticize me, they can find a thousand reasons just this morning. Other services are so dull compared to this one! A reporter could write how I hit people on the head and pushed my translator around, and the whole thing could sound very strange, but do you enjoy it? That is why people say you are crazy.
We know God is an absolute necessity for us, and that we are an absolute necessity for God. God is working for the liberation of hell and of the past and present, so that is my concern and that is your concern. We must be totally immunized to evil so that no matter how much people ridicule us and tempt us we won't be affected. Is God so strong in you that nothing can affect you? Then you can say A-man. If you really understand God that well then you can say that you are God's representative on earth and God will not be ashamed to follow you.
I know God and I am living that philosophy, and as a result there are people of five colors of skin here joined in one family. Wherever I walk, day or night, God follows. You feel something different here, even though you may not have a clear understanding of it. When I am not here at Belvedere, it feels empty when you come. When 1 go to Korea your spiritual radio is always tuned to Korea and when I go to England your antenna is aimed at England.
You have learned a Korean word this morning; we call Jesus "Ye su" in Korean, and when you say yes it sounds like "Ye su." Actually Jesus is a yesman in front of God, so Jesus is my competitor and I want to shout out a louder yes. But don't be defeated by me; you can go ahead of me to God.
Who can pledge, "Yes, the world shall be liberated by me with God"? Let us move into action then. A-man! God bless you. Let us pray.
