Category: World Scripture-2

People Living Ordinary Self-centered Lives Lack Stimulation

Blog by Richard Urban:
Unmasking the Covid-19 Hysteria in West Virginia and the United States

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Deuteronomy 15

7 After the Lord your God gives land to each of you, there may be poor Israelites in the town where you live. If there are, then don’t be mean and selfish with your money. 8 Instead, be kind and lend them what they need. 9 Be careful! Don’t say to yourself, “Soon it will be the seventh year, and then I won’t be able to get my money back.” It would be horrible for you to think that way and to be so selfish that you refuse to help the poor. They are your relatives, and if you don’t help them, they may ask the Lord to decide whether you have done wrong. And he will say that you are guilty. 10 You should be happy to give the poor what they need, because then the Lord will make you successful in everything you do.

11 There will always be some Israelites who are poor and needy. That’s why I am commanding you to be generous with them.

2 Chronicles 21

18 After this happened, the Lord struck Jehoram with an incurable stomach disease. 19 About two years later, Jehoram died in terrible pain. No bonfire was built to honor him, even though the people had done this for his ancestors.

World Scripture and the Teachings of
Sun Myung Moon

Chapter 3

Joy

2. Divine Joy Surpassing the Pleasures of the Senses

Teachings of Rev. Sun Myung Moon

What is the way to live in joy and ecstasy? Most people’s eyes are too dim to see, their ears are too dull to hear, their noses are too numb to smell, their tongue too numb to taste, and their limbs too heavy to move. What is the way to live in unity—my eyes, my ears, and all my sense organs all knit together with my nervous system, all united into one? What is the shining way that will not only satisfy me in my personal life, but will also satisfy my family, clan, country, world, and even God?
(95:181, November 13, 1977)

People living ordinary, self-centered lives lack stimulation. But if your life is filled with God’s grace, you will feel newness in your spirit every day and experience your surroundings as ever new and fresh. Every morning there is something new; every evening there is something new. When God’s grace is rolling in like waves, you can feel the mystery in three dimensions. Anyone who experiences life like this is a happy person. (30:134, March 21, 1970)

When you become a child of God and dwell in His love, your joy has no limit. You breathe in and out with the entire universe. We are meant to be intoxicated by the love of God. Can the artificial intoxication provided by drugs or alcohol even remotely compare? In the realm of God’s love, every need is satisfied. All your body’s forty trillion cells are dancing together. Your eyes and ears, your hands, and all the parts of your body revel in the rapture of joy. Nothing else can ever match it. God’s love is real, and it is our highest aspiration to pursue this love. We must have it. (69:79-80, October 20, 1973)

The fact that we can rejoice this day is something to be grateful for.
But we must understand:
If we cannot link today’s joy with the joy of tomorrow,
today’s joy becomes for us as an enemy,
a condition for sorrow, difficulty and lamentation.
Joy, we know, is not only good,
and sorrow is not only bad;
the question is our investment of inner effort
to link joy and sorrow to the accomplishment of our purpose,
and how much our joy and sorrow connect
with the values of God’s Will. (43:10, April 18, 1971)

Even a Slave Can Enjoy the Pleasures of the Body

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Cheon Seong Gyeong 1726

The substantial realm of the dual
characteristics is intended to become
God’s partner and return to Him
through true love. It is the origin-divi-
sion-union action. The internal nature
and external form, which were origi-
nally one, come together again sub-
stantially through the blessing of Adam
and Eve. At this place where everything
unites, God comes there to unite with
man and woman, who are united. I’ve
spoken these great words. God is that
near to us. There is nothing better than
coming to know God, who used to be at
the depths of our minds. In accordance
with His command, we should walk the
path of victory unerringly throughout
the course of our lives. (250-108, 1993.10.12)

Richard: This profound teaching explains how God fundamentally manifests in the Blessed sexual union of husband and wife.

Cheon Seong Gyeong 1273

The path of restoration begins from
the era of the servant of the servant and
passes through the eras of the servant,
adopted son, and true son. Then, if you
were to pass through the eras of servant
of servant, servant and adopted son
could you then form a relationship with
the era of the true son? You cannot form
a relationship with the era of the true
son just like that. You must establish the
foundation of faith, the foundation of
substance, and finally the foundation for
the Messiah, as laid down in the Divine
Principle. What that means is that you
need to receive the Messiah. The Mes-
siah is the true Son of God. The adopted
son and the true son are of different lin-
eages. That is why conversion of the lin-
eage is necessary. (55-192, 1972.5.9)

Richard: The Blessing is the ceremony of the conversion of lineage: See here.

World Scripture and the Teachings of
Sun Myung Moon

Chapter 3

Joy

2. Divine Joy Surpassing the Pleasures of the Senses

The kingdom of God is not food and drink but righ-
teousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.
Romans 14.17

The Infinite is the source of joy. There is no joy
in the finite. Only in the Infinite is there joy.
Ask to know the Infinite.
Chandogya Upanishad 7.23 (Hinduism)

God has promised to believers… beautiful man-
sions in Gardens of everlasting bliss. But the
greatest bliss is the good pleasure of God: that is
the supreme felicity.
Qur’an 9.72

The bliss of lusts and heaven-world equal not
One sixteenth of the bliss of craving’s ending.
Udana 11 (Buddhism)

Having tasted the flavor of seclusion and the
flavor of pacifying the passions, he becomes free
from anguish and stain, imbibing the taste of the
joy of the Dhamma.
Dhammapada 205 (Buddhism)

Anybody can enjoy the pleasures of the body, a
slave no less than the noblest of mankind; but no
one allows a slave any measure of happiness, any
more than a life of his own. Therefore happiness
does not consist in pastimes and amusements,
but in activities in accordance with virtue.
Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics 10.6 (Hellenism)

When totally free from outer contacts
a man finds happiness in himself,
He is fully trained in God’s discipline
and reaches unending bliss.
The experiences we owe to our sense of touch
are only sources of unpleasantness.
They have a beginning and an end.
A wise man takes no pleasure in them.
Bhagavad-Gita 5.21-22 (Hinduism)

The Self-existent is the essence of all felicity…
Who could live, who could breathe, if that bliss-
ful Self dwelt not within the lotus of the heart?
He it is that gives joy.
Of what is the nature of joy? Consider the
lot of a young man, noble, well-read, intelligent,
strong, healthy, with all the wealth of the world
at his command. Assume that he is happy, and
measure his joy as one unit.
One hundred times that joy is one unit of
the gandharvas; but no less joy than gandharvas
has the seer to whom the Self has been revealed,
and who is without craving.
One hundred times the joy of the gandharvas
is one unit of the joy of celestial gandharvas
[angels]… One hundred times the joy of the
celestial gandharvas is one unit of the joy of
the pitris… joy of the devas… of Indra… of
Brihaspati… of Prajapati… of Brahma, but no less
joy than Brahma has the seer to whom the Self has
been revealed, and who is without craving.
It is written: He who knows the joy of
Brahman, which words cannot express and the
mind cannot reach, is free from fear. He is not
distressed by the thought, “Why did I not do
what is right? Why did I do what is wrong?” He
who knows the joy of Brahman, knowing both
good and evil, transcends them both.
Taittiriya Upanishad 2.7-9 (Hinduism)

We Are Born to Experience Love With God

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Exodus 20

12 Respect your father and your mother, and you will live a long time in the land I am giving you.

13 Do not murder.

14 Be faithful in marriage.

15 Do not steal.

16 Do not tell lies about others.

17 Do not want anything that belongs to someone else. Don’t want anyone’s house, wife or husband, slaves, oxen, donkeys or anything else.

Psalm 69

69 Save me, God!
    I am about to drown.
2 I am sinking deep in the mud,
    and my feet are slipping.
    I am about to be swept under
    by a mighty flood.
3 I am worn out from crying,
    and my throat is dry.
    I have waited for you
    till my eyes are blurred.

World Scripture and the Teachings of
Sun Myung Moon

Chapter 3

Joy

  1. Heavenly Joy

Teachings of Rev. Sun Myung Moon

Joy begins in the heart of God, and it is fulfilled in human beings. The heart of the invisible God is manifested in the hearts of visible human beings. (27:29, November 15, 1969)

Why are human beings born? It is to experience love with God and with all creation. Conversely,because human beings exist, God can love and be loved, and love can fill the universe. (81:334,December 29, 1975)

What is God’s purpose of creation? Is it analogous to what we human beings aspire? God created out of the desire to rejoice and be happy. What brings God joy? Money? His creatures? Certainly itis not the material things that people like to own. God created heaven and earth so that He could experience joy through love.
     Then, what do all creatures desire more than anything else? Because God’s purpose of creation is to experience joy through love, all creatures likewise seek a relationship of love with God, toexperience joy. Accordingly, all creatures interact with one another in order to be linked with God’s love. (114:63, May 16, 1981)

The meeting point of the human heart and God’s heart is the starting point of happiness. (Way of God’s Will 1.8)

When people feel good, they want to be with their parents, siblings, and relatives so they can share their joy. Happiness is eternal, and what is eternal is of the heart.
     The center of the universe is the parent-child relationship, that is, between God the Father and each one of us as His sons and daughters. The ultimate purpose of human life is to find our Father,form an unbreakable bond with Him, and experience joy. (12:104, December 16, 1962)

When God sees you loving His creatures, He says, “Wonderful! You are doing something that I cannot do”; and He loves you. God will want to show His love to you. Maybe He will stretch out His arms and hug you from behind, whispering, “Yes, you are great!” This happens. God will hug you out of joy.
     Suppose that while God is embracing you from behind, you turn around and hug Him. Would God say, “You shouldn’t do that”? What do you think? What if you give God a long, long bear hug? God would say, “It’s good! I like it! I like it!” God cannot but like it. He and everyone, everything,will like it. You would be in ecstasy.
     After that experience, what if you just lie around aimlessly, smitten with love-sickness? Would God be displeased? No, He would burst into laughter, saying, “Ah, My love must be really good! Ha,Ha, Ha!” Then He would say, “Amen.”…

What might happen the next time you meet God? God is as smitten with you as you are with Him, so you can do anything together; it doesn’t matter. You and God might hug each other, or ridearound on each other’s back, or wrestle on the floor one on top of the other. If you took God out somewhere, He might attach Himself to your hip like a tail. Wouldn’t that be the ultimate state of bliss? God, humanity and all things of creation want to experience it. (111:170, February 15, 1981)

God Created Human Beings to Lead a Joyous Life

Watch or listen to part 3 of the series on Why Abstinence Matters-3: Fatherlessness and Rage

Cheon Seong Gyeong 2033

I would like to add one more point,
if you go back to work for a company in
the future, when it becomes 5 o’clock
everyone leaves the factory. Center-
ing on the work place, you must have a
Home Church, Gajeong Gyohae, system
in place. Then centering on a foundation
of these separate activities, you must
form a tribe of your spiritual sons and
daughters. Through this basic rule you
can develop. When you raise other peo-
ple, you yourself will grow. You should
cultivate people. (173-335, 1988.2.21)

Cheon Seong Gyeong 1861

God will restore human beings back
to the world before the Fall. God has to
take care of all the enemies in order to
restore Adam’s perfected world before
the Fall. There were no enemies in that
world. Everybody was like brothers and
had only the concept that they were
one family. It is about swallowing one
another. In the fish world in the Pan-
tanal, the larger fish swallow the small-
er fish without regard, whether there is
something filthy or not. It swallows the
excrements of the internal organs and
everything else. (297-170, 1998.11.19)

World Scripture and the Teachings of
Sun Myung Moon

Chapter 3

Joy

The search for happiness is basic to human life, and to the religious quest as well. Union with Ultimate Reality can bring transcendental joy. It is a state variously characterized as bliss (ananda) Nirvana, or even the mystic marriage with the divine Lover. In the monotheistic faiths, God created human beings for joy. The unity of God and His creatures makes that joy complete.
The section opens with passages that describe heavenly joy, when the human heart and God’s heart beat in unison. Second are passages that contrast the greatness of heavenly joy with the paltry pleasures of the senses. This insight should not be overlooked in discussions of ethics; George Washington once asserted that
there is “an indissoluble union between virtue and happiness.” We conclude with passages describing thes ynergy between a joyous life and heavenly joy. A cheerful and optimistic attitude, accompanied by efforts to spread happiness to others, can attract the joy of the Holy Spirit. This can be experienced in the mystic connection between conjugal love and divine love. (See Chapter 19: Conjugal Love)

1. Heavenly Joy

Thou dost show me the path of life;
in Thy presence there is fullness of joy,
in Thy right hand are pleasures for evermore.
Psalm 16.11
I created you human beings because I desired to
see you lead a joyous life.
Ofudesaki 14.25 (Tenrikyo)

Happiness is spiritual, born of Truth and Love.
It is unselfish; therefore it cannot exist alone,
but requires all mankind to share it.
Science and Health, 57 (Christian Science)

No eye has seen, nor ear heard,
nor the heart of man conceived,
what God has prepared for those who love
Him.
1 Corinthians 2.9

No person knows what delights of the eye are
kept hidden for them—as a reward for their
good deeds.
Qur’an 32.17

I am the Tathagata,
The Most Honored among men;
I appear in the world
Like unto a great cloud,
To pour enrichment on all
Parched living beings,
To free them from their misery
To attain the joy of peace,
Joy of the present world,
And joy of Nirvana.
Lotus Sutra 5 (Buddhism)

The soul which is free from the defect of karma
gets to the highest point of the universe, knows
all and perceives all, and obtains the transcen-
dental bliss everlasting.
Kundakunda, Pancastikaya 170 (Jainism)
Without doubt, in the remembrance of God do
hearts find satisfaction.
Qur’an 13.28

Mother mine! Bliss have I attained in union
with the Divine Master:
Spontaneously has union with the Divine
Master come about—
In my mind resounds joyous music.
Fairies of the family of jewel harmony have
descended to sing holy songs;
Sing all ye the Lord’s song, who have lodged it
in heart!

Says Nanak, Bliss have I attained on union
with the Divine Master.
Adi Granth, Ramkali, Anandu, M.3, p. 917 (Sikhism)

And may the sovereign Good be ours!
According as one desires bliss may one receive
bliss
Through Thy most far-seeing Spirit, O Lord,
The wonders of the Good Mind which Thou
wilt give as righteousness,
With the joy of long life all the days!
Avesta, Yasna 43.2 (Zoroastrianism)

A True Person Loves His Enemies

Galatians 6

7 You cannot fool God, so don’t make a fool of yourself! You will harvest what you plant. 8 If you follow your selfish desires, you will harvest destruction, but if you follow the Spirit, you will harvest eternal life. 9 Don’t get tired of helping others. You will be rewarded when the time is right, if you don’t give up. 10 We should help people whenever we can, especially if they are followers of the Lord.

Proverbs 12

23 Be sensible and don’t tell
    everything you know—
    only fools spread
    foolishness everywhere.

24 Work hard, and you
    will be a leader;
    be lazy, and you
    will end up a slave.

World Scripture and the Teachings of
Sun Myung Moon

Chapter 3

Perfection

3. Perfection Is to Love as God Loves

Teachings of Rev. Sun Myung Moon

Love is the standard for perfect character. Character is perfected through the infinite and absolute love of God. (33:79, August 9, 1970)

To pioneer this path, Jesus emphasized love as never before in history. He taught that we must overcome every difficult situation with patience. He stressed that we must be more faithful to God’s Will than sinners are committed to doing evil. These are the fundamental points of what Christians call the nine fruits of the Spirit. From a life of love arises joy, happiness, and peace. From patience arises mercy and goodness. From a life of faithfulness arises humility and gentleness.
Jesus emphasized the love of heaven, the patience of heaven, and the faithfulness of heaven to remove the evil elements from human beings dwelling in the fallen world. Through this practical philosophy, we can be elevated to the heavenly way of life. Nevertheless, does Christ’s love exist in your hearts today? (2:345, August 4, 1957)

What makes God true?15 God likes both good and bad people on earth. Don’t even condemned criminals cry out, “Oh God, have mercy on me! I love you!” just before their execution? Why would a condemned man pledge to God with a good and sincere heart, hoping for a new start? Why does he yearn to grasp God fully, trust Him, try to be with Him, and share with Him his feelings and difficulties more than he would with his parents or brothers and sisters? It is because God is true.
A true person, then, loves not only those whom he likes, but also the enemies who are trying to kill him. He should be a person whom we can trust fully, with whom we want to share all our problems and through whom we can wish for everything.
Is a person who hates someone a true person or a false person? Definitely, he is a false person. Then, are most people in this world true people or false people? They are false people.
To be a true person, you must be true in all dimensions. If you members love the people who love me and hate the people who hate me, are you good members or bad members? You are bad members.
Therefore, I am teaching you to love those who hate you. If you love them, sooner or later they will come to like you. If you return good three times for every time someone does you wrong, eventually that person will bow his head. Try it yourself and see if I am right or not. Everyone has a conscience. (39:302-04, January 16, 1971)

Is God’s love so deeply rooted in your minds that you cannot pull out no matter how hard you try? Can you say, “I am completely bound by God’s love; I cannot do whatever my body wants to do. Since God’s love is rooted so deeply in my body, I cannot live any way I like. I cannot live without centering on God’s love. When I eat, I eat with God’s love. Whatever I do, both my mind and body are centered on God’s love”? Is it that way for you? (140:24-25, February 1, 1986) ❖