Cheon Seong Gyeong 2193
In what position do you have to stand in order to become a filial child? You have to stand in the position where you can take responsibility for the path of death, the path of the greatest suffering. So what is the path that filial children must walk? Parents will say “Love your brothers and sisters more than us. Live for the sake of your siblings in the same way as you live for our sake.” Fulfilling this is the way of the filial child. Parents will probably say that this is their will. (62-37, 1972.9.10)
Cheon Seong Gyeong 1218
Each time when the living environment of an individual and the age he is living in change, there is always the course of the five percent of one’s portion of responsibility that he must strive to complete in order to determine his position as God’s object partner responding to His call. This is true for individuals, as well as for churches, nations, and the world. (40-66, 1971.1.24)
Asceticism, Monasticism and Celibacy
- The Ascetic Life of a Monk or Nun
Teachings of Rev. Sun Myung Moon
What are we trying to restrain? We are trying to deaden the body. That is why religions teach us to fast, do prayer vigils all night without sleep, be celibate and live as a hermit. In the Catholic Church the highest vocation is to be a priest or a nun; they do not marry for their entire life. In Buddhism also, most monks are celibate.
Compare these disciplines with the lifestyle of American youth. It is quite the opposite of that of religious people who make it their chief aim to conquer the body. As a result, they are living a hellish existence, constantly besieged by the temptations of the satanic world. The youth of America should realize this; they should understand that the way they are living is contrary to God’s Will. Instead of pursuing the body’s pleasure, we should torment our body. Why? Because [due to the Fall] our body has become Satan’s dance floor. (215:236, February 20, 1991)
Christians in the Middle Ages practiced asceticism and placed great hardship on their bodies. However, in modern times many churches became disparaging of the ascetic life; they have lost sight of the fact that the body dominates the conscience unless one takes active measures to stop it. Not knowing this principle, they turned away from a central aspect of the Christian tradition. Now that you know clearly that the enemy lives in your physical body, you must treat it as an enemy. You must continue on the ascetic path until the body is suppressed. (254:222, February 13, 1994)
Two pluses repel each other. God is in the position of a plus, but Satan also tries to stand in this plus position, although [as a servant of God] he should be in the minus position—such is Satan. Why does the path of self-cultivation call us to asceticism? Its purpose is to strike Satan’s realm within each of us, that plus side that belongs to evil, in order to switch it over to the minus position. (4:23, February 16, 1958)
The path of religion is one of denial. On that path we should deny the desire for food, sleep, sex, and all the things that we like. Give up your sexual desire! Go without food and sleep! Originally, a human being should eat, sleep, and enjoy things. However, as these desires of the body lead us to death, we must reject them.
Burst a nuclear bomb in your body! Break and completely subjugate your body! The body wants to be respected and live in comfort. It dislikes harsh conditions and likes what is easy, soft and plump. But we should despise all that the body likes. We should love what is difficult, hard and rough. The body likes a high position. It is happy to eat well, even by taking someone else’s money. It does not care about anyone but itself. We have to destroy such a nature. We have to bring the body down to be humble, to serve and to sacrifice. (18:66, May 21, 1967)