The recordings of the Dividing Line; Ending the Culture that Causes Sexual Abuse workshop are now available.
Cheon Seong Gyeong 1847
There are many vast lakes in the world. In Alaska alone there are three million lakes more than twenty thousand pyung in area. If fish could be raised within such an area of twenty thousand pyung, it would support two hundred or even three hundred households. So, how many could be fed if there are three million lakes? If each lake is twenty thousand pyung, six hundred million people can be supported. Two times three is six – so six hundred million. That is why if we can make fish farms in lakes in Africa, it would provide a food supply for 650 million people. Then the food shortage would be relieved. Fish is much better for your health than beef or any other meat from land animals. Fish is easily digested and absorbed. Therefore, a time will come when people will not eat meat or beef, even if they are told to do so. (271-39, 1995.8.15)
Richard: A very important issue is solving the problem of hunger (starvation) throughout the world. This topic is close to Rev. Moon’s heart, and it should be something that we are working toward solving.
8500 children die every day from malnutrition worldwide. 165 million children experience stunting (below normal height for age) from malnutrition each year, which contributes to one half of these deaths. These deaths are entirely preventable.
Cheon Seong Gyeong 1188
As viewed from God’s original ideal of creation, the eldest son should come from God’s side and, of course, the second son should also come from God’s side. Due to the Fall, the position of the first son was taken by Satan, and the position of the second son went to God. This has to be made right. Thus, when we consider the story of Esau and Jacob in the Bible, Jacob united with his mother and received her help. He gave Esau the pottage of lentils and bread in exchange for the birthright of the first-born son. Until today, we could not understand why Bible history is the way it is. With the appearance of the Unification Church, its meaning was clarified for the first time. (134-304, 1985.8.16)
True Love
4. True Love Begins from Faith and Character
Teachings of Rev. Sun Myung Moon
People seek love with each other—horizontal love, while God’s love is vertical love. If love is to be perfect, the horizontal and the vertical lines must be connected. (238:140, November 22, 1992)
It is a teaching of the Principle that God dwells in an individual whose mind and body are in oneness. Why does God dwell there? Love most certainly dwells where a person’s mind and body are united. Love is the starting point of unity. The object partner’s love brings God near, to dwell there.
It is said that human beings are temples of God. What kind of place is a holy temple? Is it a place of work? No, a temple is a place of rest and tranquility. Where can we rest? We can rest in the midst of God’s love; that is the most ideal place. Don’t you agree? So we can be God’s temples when we can rest in God’s love.
We aspire to have such a mind, with God’s love and peace abiding within our inmost heart. Then we would dwell in what is called “the world of heart (shimjung).” That place is like an ever-flowing spring of the purest fresh water. Love and peace well up from within, never ceasing, never stagnating. It is endless because God dwells there.
Become that kind of person, a temple of God, and you can comfort those who are crying out in pain. (91:77, January 30, 1977)
True love moves at the zero point. The zero point is where the mind and body become one. There, every void is filled and every excess flattened. There the mind and body have perfect rest. At the zero point, only love has the power to move us. Nothing else works. At the zero point both the wife’s mind and the husband’s mind are at zero; therefore they can become one, they can become totally one. At the zero point, neither the wife nor the husband clings to their own concepts. Abiding there, they have no concept of “two,” only “one.” What does it mean? They are living for each other. That is the zero point. In that state they free in everything; wherever they go and whatever they do they are free. (230:103, April 26, 1992)
A person who does not love himself cannot love God. A person who does not love himself cannot love his parents. A person who does not love his parents cannot love his country. You must first love yourself to be able to love your parents, love your country, love the world, and love God. (22:97, January 26, 1969)
According to the ideal of love, all love relationships in the animal and plant kingdoms are for reproduction only. Human beings are the sole exception. Humankind enjoys freedom in the conjugal relationship of love. This is humanity’s special privilege as the lord of all creation. God blessed His sons and daughters with the infinite joy of love.
However, the true freedom that God allowed requires human responsibility. If an individual were to insist upon and practice freedom of love without responsibility, how much confusion and destruction would take place! Achieving the highest ideal of human love is possible only when one takes responsibility for love.
We can think of this responsibility in three ways. The first responsibility is to become a master of true love—truly thanking God for the freedom of love and knowing how to cultivate and control ourselves. We do not take this responsibility for a love relationship merely because of law or social convention. Instead, a person should establish this responsibility through his own self-mastery and self-determination within a committed vertical relationship with God.
The second responsibility is toward our partner of love. By nature, people do not want their spouse’s love to be shared with others. Horizontal conjugal love, which differs from the vertical love between parents and children, loses its potential for perfection the moment it is divided. This is because the Principle of Creation requires husband and wife to become one in absolute love. Each spouse has the responsibility to practice absolute love, living for the sake of the other.
The third responsibility of love is toward our children. The love of parents is the basis for children’s pride and happiness. They would wish to be born through the total and harmonious unity of their parents in true love, and they would wish to be raised in that kind of love. The highest responsibility of parents is not only to rear their children externally, but also to offer them life elements of true love that can perfect their spirituality. This is why the family is so valuable. (277:201-02, April 16, 1996)