Belvedere
Translator - Bo Hi Pak
(Dr. Pak: The title this morning is like a poem. The problem is, I cannot translate poetry!) When we speak of "we" it means men and women, but more importantly "we" includes all the things of creation, including the trees, animals and everything God created. What is the stimulus or the power which can move all those elements? How are we moved? Generally, it is oneself, "me," who is most important in moving or motivating "we."
Which is more significant - the individual or men and women together? Or we might ask, which is more important - "I" or "we"? This is a basic, fundamental question. The most important thing we must establish is that each person, each "I," dwells within the group, within "we." It is not the other way around - "we" within "I." When one says "I" it signifies an individual who is surrounded by a multitude, called "we." Thus each "I" is a representative of the group. Whenever you speak of "I," you already denote "we." In that respect, it is acceptable to speak of yourself, in reference to the whole - everybody else. The emphasis upon yourself, "I," is acceptable in that case.
But in this present American society, individualism has become the pervading spirit. The concept we have been discussing is alien to this society. When individualism is taken to its farthest extreme, a person begins to repel everything else. He thinks, "Why do I need this society? Why do I need this nation? Why do I have to care about the world? I don't need my family, either, including my children. Why should I love my wife?" All of these attitudes are the extreme manifestations of individualism.
Thus there are two different ways of viewing oneself. As an American, you can be proud, thinking, "I am second to none in the world because I am a citizen of the number - one country." This is all right as long as your attitude also includes, "I am a representative of the United States, so I want to be a good one. I want to represent my country well." In that case, thinking of yourself is acceptable. But on the other hand, if you don't care about anything other than yourself, then your "I" becomes very wrong, very selfish.
Which perspective is truly valuable? That is another key question. When the individual represents all, when he speaks for the entire entity, then the individual has value virtually equal to that whole group. Many people around the world want to come to live in the United States. This country is a goal for many people simply because it has one special characteristic - it represents all the rest of the world. It is a microcosm of the world and all of humanity.
Let us consider the eyes. Imagine if one eye proclaimed, "T am number one and I don't care about the nose or the mouth or those guys called ears. I'm most important." That just doesn't make any sense. When the eye recognizes the whole entity and strives to serve the overall well - being of the face and body, then the eye indeed is important and plays a most significant role. But if it disregards the larger entity, trying to focus on itself alone, it cannot succeed.
How does your mind work? Are you always comparing your situation to others? Suppose someone has 10 good things, and someone else has 11. Which would you prefer - 10 or 11? What about a choice between 11 and 12? Suppose you are holding on to 12 good things, thinking, "This is the best." But then you say, "Uh oh, that guy has 13! I'd better get more!" Then someone else comes along with 14.
When you speak of "we," it includes your parents, spouse, brothers, sisters, sons and daughters. What is your position? You are in the center, so above you are the parents, below you are the children, on the left and right are the brothers and sisters. If the husband is at the center, is the wife in front of him or behind him? She can be in either place. Would you like to place yourself in the middle, surrounded by all these loved ones? Or would you prefer to just go off to the side somewhere, isolating yourself and dwelling all alone? Certainly you want to be at the center. Everyone wants to be there and stay there.
When you are at the center, it means you are a representative. A representative includes everything - what is above, below, to the right and left, to the front and rear. All elements can be found in that representative.
How many people, then, are needed to become the representative for human beings? Actually, two people - one man and one woman - represent all men and all women. Who is most central for men and women? It is each other. For men, the central representative is a woman. You women feel good to be able to say, "Yeah, we represent those guys." Then women cannot be the women's representatives. Someone else can represent you better. If there is a man among your representatives, you feel excited about that and you like it.
We have spoken so far about the definition of "we." Next we need to talk about how we live. Where do you want to live? One type of woman might say, "I want to enjoy my life and just live for myself. I don't care about anything else." Another woman will say, "I want to live for a man and the excitement of having an important object. I want to live for the sake of my object." What do you think - which kind of life is more exciting? Don't you American women like the first kind? You know that the second one is more valuable, although you probably didn't have that opinion before. This is a manifestation of the value of education - you have learned the right way!
The prevailing attitude of American society today is individualistic selfishness - "I am everything. I don't care about anything else." That is actually ruining society. American people always enjoy being number one. Among the nations of the world, you want to be second to none. That attitude is not necessarily bad in itself, as long as you want to excel within the framework of the world, as a nation among the rest of the nations. It is natural and an original concept to want to be proud of your country. If you want to be a representative of your people, a champion of your nation, that is good and right.
America can have additional pride for being the microcosm of the world. Every race lives here - black, white, yellow, brown, red. You name it, you've got everything. Therefore, you can say, "America represents all of humanity and I am a representative of America." Then you have a legitimate reason to be proud. But if you think, "America is great because of us, the white people," that is not valid.
When you think about the numbers of white people in the world, they are actually a small minority. Probably there are only 800 million in the entire world. But the total population of the world is 5 billion! Thus white people are only one out of six. Can you say, "I don't care about the other five-sixths of the world"? If you take that attitude, you are just being self-destructive. Don't you think that such a concept, which pervades in some quarters of this nation, should be eliminated?
I am saying that you should be proud of America being number one and proclaim it to the world day and night. As long as you are proud from the perspective of a representative of America, then I approve. God also approves of it. When you think, "I am representing all of humanity," then God will welcome it. Do you want to think like that?
The satanic concept is, "I am number one all by myself." If you are trying to push everybody else down to make yourself the only important person, that is satanic. Look at your hand. Ask it, "Would you like to exist just for your own sake? Or would you like to be doing something worthy and good for the rest of mankind?" What would the hand answer? It would certainly want the second option.
The self-centered attitude which is so common in America today will perish, without a doubt. It can never be prosperous. Do you like the idea of perishing? Maybe American people like to perish! When I give you such a clear definition, you can realize which direction America is going. Is it descending or ascending? Descending means going down, and that means going to hell. Maybe American people like to go to hell? No one likes to go to hell.
What we need, then, is some sort of "shock treatment." We've got to turn the heads of Americans - both men and women - around 180 degrees. Those who deny this, and do not want to be turned around, actually deserve to decline. If they continue to follow the road of decline, they will find themselves truly in hell. If somebody's head is so unyielding and refuses to move, then you have to add extra force and yank it around. Don't you think America needs that kind of treatment? You good Americans may not like to hear this, but you've got to answer yes. You recognize it is the truth, no matter how much you dislike hearing it.
When you women not only represent yourselves but also men, then you will be welcomed. You will not be rejected by any component of humanity. Women should say, "I am a representative of men," then men will say, "Good for you. Come on in. We welcome you." But how have you American women been living? What has been your attitude? You say independent. Do you like independence? There is no true independence when you don't represent anybody or anything else. The woman must represent man and the man represents woman. They live for each other, have give and take, and there they find value.
Now you know who has the greatest value among men and women. Compare one person who represents the United States and another person who represents the entire world. Which has the greater value? Certainly, it is the one who represents the world. When you hear the things I have been teaching, do you want to become an American who not only lives for this country but also for the sake of the world? Or would you prefer just to think about America? Why do you prefer to live for the sake of the world? Everything in the world welcomes the person who lives for the largest purpose. The desire of all existence is to be welcomed, valued and respected.
Which has the greater value - to live for the sake of the five billion people on the earth today, or to live for the sake of all humanity throughout history? Certainly historical humanity is the largest purpose. It includes all those who lived before and are now in spiritual world, as well as those on earth now. Going a step further, we know there is a Creator of the universe. Isn't it an even greater purpose to live for His sake? Amen! That means number one man! I like the word "amen."
Whom does God like to represent? I know - God wants to represent money, right? Or maybe God says, "No, I want to represent knowledge. I'm going to be the King of knowledge and then I will be happy." Or perhaps God says, "Power is all that matters. I want to take revenge on all the bad guys."
Perhaps God wants to represent human beings, but would He prefer men or women? Human beings live about 100 years, at the most. If God had to sign certificates
of representation for each person, then He would be doing nothing else. He would be so busy! God is certainly clever. Something represents the past, present and future, as well as all of humanity - including all men and women. If such a thing exists, then God would say, "Yes, I will represent that." It would be much simpler. Does such a thing exist?
It is something which everybody likes - children, old people, parents, grandparents, people from the East and the West, rich and poor, educated and unlearned. Is there such a thing? That is what we call true love. Do you know true love? Historically, then, who likes true love the most? Is it God or Reverend Moon? Reverend Moon has had only a limited existence here on the earth for 67 years. I am limited by the physical laws of nature. But there is an unlimited entity with an eternal, unchanging, unique quality - God.
Therefore, who will appreciate true love the most? Who will truly love true love the most? True love is eternal and it is also unchangeable. If God represents that eternal true love, do you think He can be changing from morning to evening, going in one direction and then another? God doesn't do that. But what about you? Are you an unchangeable being, or a too changeable being? You don't like these words very much. Even if I take away those words, still you are too changeable.
If I were to tap you on the head in a way that is unusual or different, immediately you would react and be upset, saying, "Why did you do that to me? What for?" If you say, "You shouldn't hit me because I am a representative of the whole world and humanity," then that is a correct attitude. But if you are just thinking of defending yourself in isolation, then it is inappropriate. You must consider yourself as a representative of the whole, not just a selfish individual being.
Moonies are a different breed, in a way, like different kinds of creatures. Do you think you are an unchangeable person, clinging to eternal truth and value and true love? You answer yes, but you don't look so confident about it. Your eyes are rather evasive. That is because you don't have true confidence.
All creation throughout history has been yearning to find their true representative. They want to find someone about whom they can say, "I belong to that person." Do you think history has found that representative? Has such a person ever appeared, someone about whom the whole of creation could say, "Yes, I am well represented by that individual"? So far, no. You have listened to me this morning and you have come to the poignant realization that this is true. What about you? Are you in the position to become such a representative? Do you want to place yourself in that position to represent all creatures? You say yes. What a revolutionary difference that is from the conventional selfish outlook of people!
By coming to the level of seeing oneself as a representative of all the creatures of the universe, have you moved a short distance, or have you gone a revolutionary distance? When you listen to me at this hour, in this place, are you completely committed to these teachings? This means that here at Belvedere, on the morning of July 1, 1 am speaking to historical men and women. When historical men and women gather together. what are we going to do?
You have come to the realization: "I am the representative of the nation, world, universe and all creation." But do you want to represent then all by yourself, or together with your loved ones? You want to be together. Why is that? What is the meaning of togetherness? It requires a circuit of love. Only through a circuit can love be enacted.
Let's say you were an Olympic champion, just about to receive the award. But you wouldn't want that medal just for yourself. You won it for your nation, so you would want to see your nation's flag being raised, hear your national anthem being played. You would want your parents and children and your whole family to be there with you. You would want to represent them well. Isn't that true?
Other people salute the person who represents them well. They are not saluting some idol; they are paying homage and respect to their representative. The United States is a basically Christian nation, yet there are thousands of statues of heroes all around the country. This doesn't mean that Americans are idol-worshipers. When a country pays homage to its champions, do you think the country will tend to prosper or decline? Naturally, that is a good tradition. Honoring the nation's champions and erecting commemorative statues to them will inspire more champions to arise.
Look at the large tree out on the lawn here at Belvedere. What does it represent? That tree is declaring to the world, "I represent God's ideal creation. What a wonderful thing I am!" The statue of George Washington in Washington, D.C., represents this country. Which is actually a higher form of representation - that statue or this big tree? It is the tree. Therefore, you should salute that tree every morning, saying, "You are a greater champion than anything else because you represent God's ideal."
When you really mean such a thing and it's not just lip service, it becomes a reality. Even a tiny blade of grass can say, "Don't look down on me. I grew because of God's love, so you must show respect to me." Then you've got to salute the grass. It is telling the truth. Even Almighty God has to listen to the grass and agree, "You are absolutely correct. Amen to you!" Isn't that wonderful?
Everything is connected to the love of God. In love there is no east or west, north or south. If some entity is not limited to any particular direction, all the creation will say, "Please come and dwell with us. You can stay everywhere, anywhere you want!" They want to be with it. What is it occupies the central position without any concept of north, south, east and west? It is true love. True love doesn't have any particular dwelling place, not even a little home anywhere, but Everything has to go through that center. So where do you find true love? It is in the very center. You must not forget this point.
Do you think Reverend Moon is a fearsome person? I have an iron will, and uphold a most incredible teaching with utter firmness. But then, at night, what am I thinking? "Where is true love, where is true love?" My whole body and self are going in the direction of true love - my eyes, nose, legs, every single cell in my body heads toward true love. This is the case every day.
True love can come to us from the top, bottom, side, any angle - it doesn't make any difference. It can come from anywhere and you will welcome it. What about you women? You know this is true. When your loving husband's hand comes to you from the back, do you say, "No, that's not the loving direction. Don't do that!" It doesn't matter what direction the loving hands of your husband touch you. He can approach you from the top of the head or the bottom of the foot. The loving hand is always a welcomed hand.
Think about it: imagine that your husband's love penetrates you from the very bottom all the way to the top, and you have an axis. Then he can turn you around on that love axis. What do you think about that? We might call it the true love turn. Would you like to turn like that? Would you say, "Turn me more, more!" or, "Stop it, forget it, I don't want it"? Which would you say? Would you protest to your husband, saying, "What a savage man you are!" Or would you say, "More, more, turn faster!"
God said, "I represent true love," but how much more important and grateful you can be to say, "I not only represent true love, but I represent God as well." So your position would be far more dramatic, even greater in a way. Love plus God - that's what God's object is all about. Would God be higher than His object or lower? What do you think? Think about God. Would He be jealous if someone went higher than he does? The more someone practices the give and take of true love, the greater the joy God can derive. There is no limit.
Let's say there are 360 doors around a circle and they are all closed. Can something open all those 360 doors at once? What a great power that would be! Even God has to go around opening them one by one. Something other than God would have to have such power to open all 360 at once. What is that? Only love can do that. From the center, all you would have to do is push one button and all the 360 doors would be opened up at once. Every door would be opened to true love.
When everything within you is open to true love, do you think your mouth would be opened up, too? Even your tongue would be hanging out, ready to receive love Imagine if every cell in your body had a mouth. Do you think every one of those tiny mouths would be open? Every door opens to love - all at once. Whether there are a million doors or a billion, it doesn't matter. It's the power of love that does it. God Himself doesn't do that.
When the husband comes home, he can enter through any door. The wife won't say, "You can't come in the back door, just use the front door." When the beloved approaches, every door is open to him.
Therefore, true love is everything to us; it is truly good. Even some big man who looks rough and dirty like a beast will blossom like a flower when he is touched by true love. He will smile and shine with the beauty of true love. Anyone can become intoxicated by love so that he can do anything for love - sit down, lie on his belly. There is nothing love cannot inspire.
In true love, the lower one's position, the better. Thus when you are in the servant's position, you are in the better position because the lowest position can correspond with the highest. The truly virtuous king is the one who loves not only his cabinet members and ministers but also the lowest, poorest peasants. The king must be able to relate with the old lady in the countryside.
What about God? God is the greatest in history - truly He is the supreme King of all. Has that supreme King been concerned about only those who have been well-off, who have had comfortable lives, with no experience of suffering? Or has that King been dwelling with the miserable people on the bottom, those who have clung to righteousness and been persecuted for it? Which level do you think the King would dwell with more and correspond with - the higher level or the lowest?
There is no one whom God, with His true love, cannot love. He tries to embrace even the ugliest, most evil and vengeful people with His true love. Therefore, He is able to love even His own enemy. Wherever true love goes, there is the Kingdom of Heaven. If you go down to hell with true love, you can change it into heaven. Where do you think true love shines most brightly - in broad daylight or in the pitch darkness of night? The darkest night is the enemy of light, in a way, but then that enemy is the one who can most fully recognize the brilliance of true love's light.
The greatest of all statements made by Jesus Christ was: "Love your enemy." The power of that statement can conquer the world. Although Jesus made that great declaration, he couldn't fully explain it. Today, however, Reverend Moon has not only affirmed that statement but has fully explained its meaning. God wants to occupy or conquer, in a way, but how? By power, brute force, or through his vast knowledge? None of these is God's way. It is only by true love that God conquers.
When the enemy force has been invaded, totally surrounded, and is about to fall to the siege of true love, do you think they will cry out in agony, "Oh, no! We are dying!" Or would they say, "Hooray"? Even the enemy would be jubilant to be invaded and occupied by true love.
You have come to resemble me. What does that mean? Reverend Moon resembles God so God also resembles Reverend Moon. That means you also resemble God. Do you love your enemy? True love penetrates everything, including the enemy's head, back, and belly. Does the United States have a lot of enemies? You white people have a lot of enemies, don't you? The American white people might feel that Reverend Moon is their arch-enemy. But I have the power to penetrate those white people; with God's love, I can penetrate them from the back and front, through the belly, from head to toe.
Actually, I am sewing through the middle of all the white people with an invisible needle and thread. You white people here in this congregation are already penetrated. You cannot see the thread, but you are already sewn up, in one line. If you try to run away, you feel yourself drawn back by that invisible thread. You feel you have to come around and be near Reverend Moon, isn't that true?
Would you like to invite me into the center of your home, or would you only allow me to visit you on your porch, or outside your gate? Why do you want me to come inside? I am an Oriental man, not white; everything about me is different - even my way of breathing. You white people breathe through your long noses, while my nose is flatter. You eat soup one way and I eat it another. You gesture for someone to come to you by crooking your finger upward, while I gesture with my fingers downward.
It doesn't matter, as I have already explained, if the tail becomes the head or if right becomes left, because no special, given position exists in true love. If my handkerchief is hung up on the wall as a symbol or manifestation of love, it becomes beautiful. People passing by would want to touch it. no matter from which direction they came.
Let's draw the conclusion. What are we seeking in our daily life? You said it - true love. In order to attract true love, you need a powerful enough vacuum to pull the entire universe. The bigger the vacuum, the greater pulling power it has. Have you done that?
Why do we happen to be the way we are? Did you choose your life, or were you destined for this? You were destined to be this way because the cause is beyond you. That cause is God. God is the Creator, but have you seen Him? Nobody has really seen God or love. You don't know the shape of love, but men and women are constantly chasing after it. That is amazing!
If love had a certain shape, like a square, then it could only accommodate a square-shaped person. But love is like the air-it has no shape, no form. Love can be sometimes round, sometimes thin, and it can be stretched longer and longer, like an elastic thread. But the love thread will never break. It will stretch endlessly and will never say, "Don't pull me any more. I'm already stretched too much!"
Love always has the attitude, "Pull me more. Stretch me further." That is opposite from, "Too much! Stop it!" Love wants to bind God together with all creation. That love string will pull God and make Him stretch out vertically - He will become very tall and thin. Even if God felt pain at being so stretched out, it would be a joyful pain. His "Ouch!" would be a joyful one and He would say, "Stretch me more!" Only the power of true love can do such a thing.
We come to the same question I asked before: which is higher, God or true love? Are true love and God separate entities? Do they dwell in different places? What is the homeland of true love?
What is your name here in front? ("My name is Greg.") Where does the true Greg exist? You can say that every part of Greg is Greg - his hair, his hands, everything. Wherever Greg's love dwells is the place where Greg dwells. Vertically speaking, Greg dwells within the heart of the parents. Greg is a big guy, a big physical entity. He couldn't dwell physically in the heart of the parents, so something that represents Greg - his true love - dwells there.
Are you married yet, Greg? He has been given the Blessing. So the true Greg dwells in the heart of his wife, his beloved. When he has children, then true Greg will also dwell in their hearts. When you are asked, "Where are you?" you can answer, "I am dwelling amidst my beloved United States." Furthermore, you can say, "I am dwelling amidst my beloved universe." This is most incredibly convenient - your love has no particular location, no particular form, so it can go anywhere and stay anywhere.
Imagine some woman who is beautiful to look at but whose personality is extremely sharp and hateful - always expressing anger and resentment toward others. What can melt such a woman? True love can melt her. When you stick the love needle into such a woman, she will change and become like a spring day. All the icy coldness of winter will depart. She will say to true love, "I open every door to you. You can control every part of me!"
Dr. Kim is here today - a great and powerful speaker who uses a lot of humor. He is virtually a Korean Bob Hope, yet his humor cannot melt anybody. But when true love comes, it can melt Dr. Kim, and then Dr. Kim can melt others. The power of love is such that it can make a person happy any time he thinks about it. At night all alone, the person who is loved will break out laughing, dancing, singing, just to think, "I am loved!"
Think about it. You are fallen men and women, yet you still harbor the desire to dwell in the place of true love. How much more does the pure and absolute God want to dwell there? Can you imagine? You can compare fallen human beings to pieces of rusty metal and God is the clean, pure being of absolute nature. How much more does He desire true love?
God just cannot stand still. He has to see who really wants true love, who is most joyful with true love. God is like a spectator, looking for true love in action. Suppose God spotted a woman giving birth to her baby, breastteeding him, patting and kissing that baby - such a beautiful sight to behold. In another place, God sees some woman embracing a dying elderly man, trying to feed him and comfort him with true love. Picture those two scenes. Which would hold more interest for God's eyes and which would He like the best?
Look at Reverend Moon, who has been accused, persecuted and rejected by the American public, media and government. Great suffering has been given to me, yet I have forgotten all that and have instead tried to embrace this country, to nourish and revive it. Therefore, which of the two parties is God most interested in - the United States, or Reverend Moon? No such attitude and actions exist in the satanic world. There, if someone hits you, you just hit him back; if somebody curses you, you curse him back. Only in the heavenly world of God can such a thing happen.
When students take an examination, if they all breeze through it, answering the questions easily and making high marks, can that be a good examination? It cannot be a good one. There has to be something pushing the students to study, some pressure exerted day and night so that they say, "Too much! I can't stand it." In a way, driving the students like that is driving them to a 100% mark.
Do you like to be challenged for a difficult examination, or do you want an easy way? This is a Moonie assembly. Among you, there are three categories: true Moonie, fake Moonie, and grey Moonie. Which category do you belong to? Among you Japanese Moonies, there are many who say, "We are the best. Those American Moonies are no good." Is that attitude going to get you a passing grade or a flunking grade? That is a flunking attitude. That is a fake Moonie's attitude.
Some American Moonies are saying, "Absolutely, we do not like those Japanese Moonies, period. I don't even want to look at any more of them." Korean Moonies are saying, "Come on, you Japanese and American Moonies, let's unite." But there is one thing the Japanese and American Moonies can agree on and that is, "We don't like those Korean Moonies! Except for Father." (Laughter)
One thing is true that, regardless of their nationality, I like all Moonies. So who is the true Moonie? Everyone thinks he or she is the true Moonie. The Americans wear their own particular eyeglasses and say, "From my point of view, we are correct." The Japanese wear their eyeglasses and say, "Our view is correct." The Korean Moonies say, "Our view is the correct, more important one." Therefore, we need to have a revolution - everybody must take off his eyeglasses and throw them away. Now take the eyeglasses I give you and wear them. Then everybody will have the same vision, right? Amen!
When an American person wants to find an object of true love, he should find someone he can love more than other Americans. This is true for Japanese and Korean people as well. Such a tradition cannot be found anywhere in history in the fallen, secular world. This is a totally new tradition brought by the True Parents.
God has very long range vision. Looking at today's American society, He feels the urge to wipe it out. He feels, "I cannot stand it any more. I want to bring judgment upon this land." Every day He has that urge. However, God knows that within this nation and among these people someday righteous ones will emerge who will embody His true love for the world and all humanity. Because of that hope, God has been patient and trying to nurture this society and work with it. Do you understand?
We must love our enemy. How can we do that? It seems virtually impossible but we know that in future generations, from the enemy's posterity, someone will be born who can reciprocate the love we are bestowing in the present.
Reverend Moon is a good example of this. I have been persecuted and rejected by America, even given incredibly harsh treatment. Rather than accusing these people and trying to take revenge upon them, I have loved them and given more and more to them. Because of this fact, the Americans of the future will realize, "Look at the terrible thing our forefathers did." They will want to recompense that mistake and exhibit a tearful, heartfelt desire to protect the posterity of Reverend Moon.
The Korean political situation has become heated in recent weeks and even very dangerous. When that began, which country was most activated and concerned? It was the U.S. government. American officials, including those in the White House, have paid much attention and gone to great lengths to bring reconciliation in Korea. Even without realizing it, they were already reciprocating Reverend Moon's efforts here in America to save this country from its crisis.
If I worked solely in Korea to save that nation, it would save just one country. But by pushing the United States to save Korea, my work here can save a multitude of nations. Reverend Moon is a historical man, living and breathing with history every day. Because of Reverend Moon, the time will definitely come that the American people will love the Korean people deeply. That is the destiny of America.
This country and others will not only come to love the Korean people, but they will also love and respect all those who followed Reverend Moon - the so-called Moonies. That time will come. Therefore, eventually in this country because of what Reverend Moon has done, the American people will want Moonies to be leaders. They will push more and more Moonies into positions of responsibility. Our goal is not to conquer anybody or to gain any sort of domination but to bring people to the point that they want to be guided voluntarily because of our love.
If it happened someday that the True Parents needed to use your own home, would you willingly welcome them in? Does that mean that anyone who really loves me is willing to evacuate his premises, even some small cubbyhole of an apartment, in order to give it to me? Nobody would force you to do that, but you feel you would be proud and happy to be of such service to the True Parents. By the same token, if you resemble me - even someday becoming greater than me - then eventually the whole country will want to do the same kind of things for you. That same feeling of loyalty will be felt for you. That is how our history will develop.
This is my firm conviction. Do you want to live the kind of life that becomes indebted to history, receiving loans from your environment? Or do you want history to feel indebted to you? What kind of person would you like to become? It is easy to say that you want history to become indebted to you, but achieving it is not so easy. There is only one borderline, not two, between those two different ways of living.
Where can you go to dwell? When you have planted the seed of true love everywhere, you can dwell everywhere. Your home can be anywhere because you will be welcomed anywhere. In that respect, am I a happy or an unhappy person? Up to this time, my life has been one of great suffering. But once the suffering passed, looking back and reflecting upon my entire life, it has clearly been the happiest, most worthy life.
One good example of the work I have accomplished is your Blessing. Each of you came from different places - different races, nationalities and cultures and each person was stubborn and adamantly self-righteous. But you came to the conviction that you could leave to Reverend Moon the most central decision of your life - the choice of your eternal spouse. That alone is the greatest, most eloquent testimony to how far you have come-you became truly selfless and God-centered. That is sufficient testimony.
The greatest revolution of history is in the making. Is that true or not? But you don't really know it and that is the problem. You don't know how much you have been transformed just during these past two hours that I have been speaking today. The status of your mind two hours ago and your thinking right now is a difference as big as night and day. Have you been transformed for the better?
Our title today is "We Shall Dwell in Our Original Homeland." We are talking about the ideal homeland. Where is that? It is the place where God dwells, but where is that? The focal point and essence of the homeland is true love. Why must God dwell in true love?
Every seed might be called a symbolic representation of the whole universe. If you examine any seed, you will see that it has two parts within which surround the embryo at the center. Within the "circle" of one seed there are two parts, like the positive and the negative, joined together. Each human being is composed of two parts - the physical and the spiritual-united together. At our center, like the embryo, is true love. Everyone is included - we all have these two parts of physical and spiritual.
God also created two parts of the human race - male and female - and designed that they should be joined into one, as a couple. At their center is their true love. Only true love can make those two parts into one, not any other power.
Men and women come together as a couple and create a family, which is another microcosm of the universe. Husband and wife are like east and west - the horizontal realm - coming together. But God wants to see a round, globe-shaped entity. Thus the family comes to exist. When children are born, a global existence exists, and you represent all four directions - east, west, north and south. Your harmony creates a vertical and a horizontal line of unity.
The top is the area of the parents, the bottom is that of the children. The right side, or east, is the husband and the left side, or the west, is the wife. So we see north, south, east and west. This sort of global entity must be anchored in a proper center so that it can turn. Then that turning can continue for eternity. But if you don't have an axis, a true center, then the global entity will just tumble around without any special principle. That center where the axis must be located is God and true love.
Has humanity ever experienced that true axis of God and true love in history? No, we have not. This is the reason mankind has known only a fallen, imperfect and evil history. Instead of having that wholesome axis, we have seen distortion. In some cases, one corner is missing; some places, there are even two or three parts missing. In fallen history, no one has experienced true love-centered or God-centered life.
Let's say Albertina here represents one line of the 360 degrees of the universe. If we pull that line out of that circle and throw it all around the universe, it will circle around and go everywhere, but it will eventually come right back and fill the position it left behind. So when Albertina goes someplace, she will proclaim to the world, "What 1 need absolutely is God and true love. I need parents, children, husband and wife - those components - connected to true love and God." God and true love are at that center which connects everything within the 360 degrees. Wherever you go it is the same, no matter which country you live in.
This formula is basic, like the atom. Atoms assemble into molecules and a multitude of them dwell together. That is what we call heaven - the Kingdom of Heaven on earth and the Kingdom of Heaven in heaven. Such a unit dwells in the bigger circle, so each small entity represents that model exactly, with no deviation. It is parallel with the giant model. Every little model is connected with the center, the giant model. That is the Kingdom of Heaven.
What actually is the Kingdom of Heaven in heaven? That is when the perfected family cells have been perfected on earth and can enter the spirit world to live forever. Again, everything is centered upon God and true love. Without that, we cannot even talk about the Kingdom of Heaven. Once you accomplish this formula on the earth, it will fit anywhere and everywhere.
The United States society is no exception. There is the central family - let's say the President and his wife, and their family. Then they are surrounded by a multitude of families, which makes up a society. Which is more important - one individual family, or one nation? Which is more important - the Kingdom of Heaven, or the United States? In that case, our concept is absolutely clear and without confusion.
What is the world community? It is nothing other than the expansion of the family, a small community. Expand it in all directions - your parents, brothers, uncles - and that becomes the community of the nation and the world. Everywhere in the world you can find parents, children, husband and wife. World society is organized like a family.
An Eastern man and a Western woman can only be united by love. Only true love binds parents, children, God and humanity. Nothing else can do that. Love is the center through which you can connect everything. Nobody can be connected except through that center.
Which family will become the recipient of the true blessing? It will be that family who truly becomes the center and plays the central role in practicing this particular principle. That family will remain throughout eternity.
Let's say there are five children in one family. Suppose they all try to unite everybody else, but each is centered upon himself, saying, "Love me and you can benefit." That is not heavenly love. Heavenly love is always giving, altruistic. The act of giving means you are participating in the act of creation. Just as God created first, you are creating a second time. You must understand that not only God creates - we, too, are co-creators. We are constantly creating every day.
What is God's creation? It is nothing more than the investment of Himself - manifesting Himself and giving Himself. Therefore, as we engage in our own second creation, we must invest and manifest ourselves. That is sacrificial giving, which is the only way we can truly manifest ourselves.
In a relationship between a white person and a black person, when they have give and take, they create a beautiful tango. Their turning action is beautiful. Who becomes the central figure in such a case? It is the one who gives the most. Why are parents always the central figures of the family? They are always giving unconditional love.
Who is the patriot? It is the person who is willing to give everything for the sake of the nation, even his own life. The whole country turns around, centering on the tradition of that patriot. America society has not understood this central point. People thought that by unselfishly giving they would diminish themselves, but on the contrary, it is by giving that one can gain. The more one gives, the more he can receive. That beautiful secret has been virtually unknown to this society, so we have to teach it to them.
God has been giving without any reservation, without withholding an ounce of energy and effort, investing His whole being for the sake of creation. That is God's tradition. We as co-creators can do no less: then we will prosper. That is the Principle
What is Satan? There is no axis in the satanic world. There are no absolutes. Everything is relative and this is what we see in today's society. A good family tradition is important because one can find the good axis there. That axis goes down through all the family members and always manifests in beauty and virtue.
The United States must have some unchanging axis which it can present to the world, something about which it can say, "Look at the tradition we have in our country. We are so proud and you should follow our example." What do you think can be that axis? It is only the tradition of true love. True beauty is always centered upon virtue. In the home, the highest virtue is that of filial piety. The nation is centered upon the beauty of patriotism. On the world level, the quality of saintliness is the highest virtue. Then there is the holy son of God who embraces and practices that principle for the sake of heaven and earth. Those entities on each level all have the same axis - true love and nothing else.
When you sacrificially love your parents, children, and spouse, you establish the axis of true love in your home. As a heavenly family, when you expand that tradition to the national level, you become patriots.
The Unification Church is the school of this true love axis. We are people of different races, cultural backgrounds and nationalities, yet we practice the same Principle. In fact, the Unification Church is practicing the tradition of holy men in more than 120 nations throughout the world. This is even greater than saintliness. I am trying to create the tradition of the holy son - "seung ja" in Korean. Every member of the Unification Church, regardless of what race or culture he comes from, can practice this same principle and become a holy child of God. That is our ultimate goal.
Do you think there are royal palaces in spirit world? Do you think the kings who reside in such palaces are elected by general ballot every four years? The order or hierarchy in spirit world is determined by the fulfillment of true love. How much true love "equity" you have will determine your position. The king of the spirit world is the one with the most true love. Once that is ordained, it is permanent.
We want to live in the original homeland. The place where true love dwells is our homeland. Do you think true love can exist in isolation, without any object? No, it can't. God is the center as the plus. Human beings, including men and women, are the minus. When men and women are totally united, they create one entity. That means God wants to come and dwell in their midst.
God wants to dwell within the hearts of men and women, parents and children. Those hearts can only be God's dwelling place if they are truly places of true love. In order to secure your permanent turning motion, you must be able to push out - that is, to give. Instead of trying to pull and take, you have to give out, to push. That is what makes the turning motion. What is the true wife and husband relationship? It is when each wants to serve the other. Instead of pulling on each other for love, they are pushing out their love and giving to the other.
What is the true child and true brotherhood? It is when brothers are trying to give to each other, pushing out with their love. What are bad children? They are those who only try to get, to take from the others for their own sake. When that happens, the family has a big hole or puncture, like a flat tire. That family has to move forward on a flat tire.
The parents who live their entire life for the sake of the family, serving and loving them purely, cannot go anywhere except to a high place in heaven. Those two places are directly connected. Also, all people in spirit world want to come and be around such parents because they also want to enjoy the benefit of their true love. Now do you know what the true couple are? What are the true children? They are those who try to give altruistically for the sake of their parents. True parents want to give their pure, unconditional love for the children's sake for their entire life.
When that kind of action is expanded from the center, it becomes bigger and bigger until it forms a globe. You cannot invite God to dwell within you as long as you remain flat. You've got to create room for God and thus you have to be spiritually round, like a ball. Then you can invite God and the whole universe to dwell with you. You should have that kind of purpose in your mind, "I want to be a higher, bigger, wider person. I want to be deeper and longer." You've got to create your family as a global dwelling place, not just a flat plane, to expand to the four directions.
I have written a famous Korean saying on the blackboard which means, "When the family is in peace, everything will succeed." The important word is "peace." Family peace must be centered upon true love; only then it is true peace. This particular truth can be applied everywhere - East and West, and universally.
Do you think elderly people are happy go to senior citizens' homes? Is that a happy situation? I certainly don't like such a system. Do you American people like it? If you don't do something to change it now, you too will end up in senior citizens' homes. The truth is that if the parents have to dwell in such homes, the rest of the family should go and live there with them. They should dwell together.
We shall live in our homeland. What is that homeland? It is the place where the object of God's true love dwells. The homeland, ultimately, is the true family. In the true family, you find every component of true love. There you will find the dwelling place of true parents, true children, true husband and true wife. That represents the nation, world, universe and cosmos, so the components of the entire world can be found within our family.
Just as there are all types of people in the world, there are all types of people within one's family. There are men and women, children and siblings in the world and all of these elements are in one family. By the same token, everything you find in the family, you can find in the society. They parallel and correspond. Therefore, when the family is expanded to the worldwide level, it becomes a world community. When the world is made smaller, it becomes a family.
The direction of the family is to move forward, not to stand still. They want to move up to the nation and dwell there. The nation wants to move toward the world and dwell there, becoming a world community. The world wants to move on to the cosmic community. If there had been no fall of man, this process would have occurred automatically. But now, we must struggle and fight to win and move up to each level.
Therefore, on each level we have to confront the opposition of our enemies and we have to love our enemies. We must melt them with love and then move up. I want you to understand that I have encountered enemies along every stage of the path of life - on the individual, family, tribal, national and worldwide stages. But I struggled and overcame and embraced the enemy with love. Then I could move on.
The satanic world has tried to put up barricades and obstacles to prevent my advancement. But I know the basic and fundamental truth of what the family should be like. Because I have only followed the Principle on every stage, overcoming with the power of true love, I have victoriously moved forward all the way up to the cosmic level. As long as I dwell in the original homeland, no satanic power can infiltrate. This is my protection.
We have to live for the sake of others. That means we must invest ourselves without any hesitation. That is the role of the co-creator. As much as God invested His entire being, you have to invest your whole being in re-creation. Only because I have followed this secret throughout my short human lifespan, I have been able to make the most extraordinary accomplishments that wilt remain for a million years to come.
When I came to this country, I declared that I came to save America. My concept is this: even if all 240 million American citizens abandon this country, I will remain to the very end. I will defend and protect America. The citizens of this country - ordinary people - want to be loved by someone who brings true love, someone who can care for them in an extraordinary way. Americans are waiting and longing to receive such love.
Most people would try to run away and avoid jail if they were facing such a prospect. But, on the contrary, I walked straight into that situation. There are criminals who do terrible things and then make every possible effort to avoid prison. However, I was totally innocent of wrongdoing, but I walked willingly into the prison. Even if all the people of this country deny it now, America will eventually follow my tradition. You know how much change took place during the year and a half after my incarceration in Danbury and how greatly America has been changed.
What about the satanic world? I have been struggling against communism, not to kill the communists but to liberate them and bring them salvation. This is why we have already sent underground missionaries to the Soviet Union and the communist satellite countries. It is not to destroy anyone, but to save them. Even if we must be sacrificed, we must bring liberation to the communists. Our missionaries do not go out and make demonstrations to destroy the Soviet Union. But the communists are doing that all over the world - to destroy the United States and the free world. Day and night, the communists work against our underground missionaries, but our strategy is opposite: our missionaries work day and night to save the communist people.
We are moving forward and developing; we are not going backward. Even though we encounter a lot of enemies and obstacles, we want to overcome them with the love of the original homeland. Nowadays in Washington, D.C., people in the upper echelons of government and society - the movers and shakers of this nation - are expressing a totally different concept about me. They are saying, "Reverend Moon may not have the piece of paper saying he is an American citizen, but we now see that he is a true American patriot." I never asked anybody to say such things, but automatically, people are coming forward.
Who is losing and who is winning? I am winning every day. Why is that? I have a very simple secret: I want to bring everybody to the original homeland, the original place of purity with no pollution or contamination. Therefore, I am bound to be successful, regardless of how many obstacles I encounter.
Consider the buildings and trees of the White House - wouldn't they like to see someone who is truly giving every ounce of energy for the sake of the United States? They would like to see such a person dwelling in the White House, just as would all the people of this country. If you asked the very soil of this country, "Do you want to be ruled by that kind of President?" the land would say yes.
Ask the entire world, "Do you want to be governed by a person who truly represents the love of God?" The world will say yes. This is our secret. The fallen world is trying to conquer and subjugate through force, through war, but we have a different strategy. By practicing true love as our way of life, we can win the world for God. How convenient and practical this is - God's idea is not just theoretical!
We want to live in the original homeland, the true home where true love dwells. The question is whether you are qualified. You have the aspiration to be a somebody, to climb to the top of the world, don't you? You want to have your own identity, don't you? That indicates you have a built - in qualification as part of your nature. You certainly know how to receive love. So far, people in the fallen world have just wanted to receive love, but now God is manifesting the new tradition: Let's give love, for a change.
On this hot summer day of July 1, why do you suppose I have spoken for three hours and worked up such a sweat? A thirty-minute sermon would have sufficed, after all. I have been sweating like this for every minute of these past three hours because I want to give to the absolute degree - to the perfection of giving, with nothing left over. This is my gift for you. This is Reverend Moon's way of doing business. I only know one way to prosper - that of giving totally, absolutely, to perfection. That is why my "business" has been booming all over the world, ever since I opened up shop.
I want you to live happily. I want you husbands and wives to be truly happy couples. But I also want you to live without any shame in the sight of God or the nation. You must be able to stand with your chin held high, with true pride. What is the secret of living like this? Can you say to the nation, "Give me more. Take care of me"? That brings shame. You must give to the nation. Ask, "What do you need? Let me provide whatever service you need." Even if the whole country came against you, you would have no shame and you could stand with dignity. I am simply saying that you must practice true love.
You must be willing and ready to dedicate your family for the well-being of the nation. Sacrifice the nation for the well-being of the world. That is the way it goes. Only because of the fall of man is this kind of sacrifice and struggle necessary. Moving up would have been an automatic process if the fall of man had not happened. When you struggle and win, you become a true representative of the nation, world and cosmos.
Don't ever think that the homeland is someplace far away. This is the homeland, right here. It is wherever you practice your true love. You Japanese people, your homeland is right here, not in Japan. You naturally want to live in dignity and walk down the street with your head held high. In order to do that, go ahead and sacrificially serve this nation. Then you can be truly proud. The men and women who live their lives in this manner will be protected by the universe; the universe will be your "security guard." I have been thrown into jail many times. But each time I came out of prison, I experienced leaps and bounds of prosperity. Why is that? It is because the power of true love is supporting me, pushing me forward like a tailwind. The person who pays attention to each individual, tries to meet their needs, passionately loving his brothers and sisters and his society, can never go wrong or be neglected. Nothing in your life is more precious than love.
Everywhere I go, I deal with individuals. I never shrink from this or try to avoid anyone. At East Garden I am always in the position of host, whether it is morning, noon or evening. I am always there to pay attention to everybody. Sometimes my family and household members even neglect the people who come to visit, saying, "Oh, Father will take care of them." Sometimes the East Garden kitchen staff, for example, who are mostly married and have their own children, are all gone-nobody is in the kitchen. I might call for some water or something at midnight and no staff people are in the kitchen, so I go and get it myself.
The people who just disappear from their jobs are not my kind of person. I will remove such staff, one by one, from East Garden because they do not understand their responsibility. They should think, "I am always the one responsible for this household. No matter who comes in or when, I will serve them and have something ready for them." Everybody should feel that way, not just me.
Some people may come to Belvedere at 2:00 in the morning, praying, "I hope Father will speak." Those people come and sit in the front and they are the true masters, true hosts and hostesses of the Unification Church. Each of you should feel, "I want to multiply Father's message. I want to take this big burden upon my shoulders and become the number one person in the church, the person to take the initiative in practicing Father's message." You should want to take the heavy burden of the words of God and True Parents and sprinkle them everywhere-in every direction. You are always emptying yourself out, then coming back to get refilled by the word. Those who are doing that with bubbling enthusiasm are the true Moonies.
I have been practicing this way of life for more than 40 years. When I first began, nobody could even imagine what would happen. But today the Unification Church is booming. Established Christianity is declining. The communist world is virtually bankrupt and the United States is also faltering. But our movement is expanding. In 10 or 20 years, the showdown will be completely apparent.
Even though you are rather hesitant, saying, "I don't know if I want to go in that direction," I am always forging ahead. That is a shameful situation. I know how to live without shame, how to stand tall in the universe. You American people answer me: am I indebted to the United States, or is this country indebted to me?
Many American people thought, "Reverend Moon is trying to exploit our young people, sending them out to sell flowers and fill his own pockets with dollars. Soon he will take away all that money and disappear from the American scene." What a mistaken idea that was. When the truth is known, they will completely change and surrender to the truth. I have consistently lived by the same principles, done the same things.
Satan has no business in the original homeland. If Satan even tries to touch that homeland, his hand is burned up. Don't you all want to dwell with me in that same homeland? Amen? (Amen!) Every aspect of the environment is ready-everything except you. It's all up to you now to choose that route. You have to be determined, saying, "I want to follow Father's living model and be like him."
Today is July 1, so half of the year is over. The second half of 1987 is beginning today. I want you to live the remaining six months of 1987 according to this principle that I have spoken about today. Can you say, "Yes, I pledge to live by that principle. Father, you can trust me"? Raise your hands if you can do that. Thank you and God bless you.
