Daily Inspiration: A Community for Daily Scripture Study

Never Suppose It Is Best for You to Do a Dishonorable Thing

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From what point will God’s ideal nation be realized? Where will the restoration of the homeland take place? It starts from the individuals who live by the philosophy to love their enemies. Therefore, as long as God exists, there is no way Christianity can avoid becoming a global religion, because Christianity offers a movement to break down national borders with love, to transcend all environments and cultural barriers, and to embrace even one’s enemies. If you plant beans, you get beans, because kidney beans come from kidney bean seeds, and red flowers bloom from red flower seeds. In the same way, if you plant a satanic seed, a seed of taking revenge on your enemies, you will get a tree of evil – a tree of vengeance. But if you plant the seeds of goodness, the seeds of loving your enemies, you will get a tree of goodness, a tree of love for enemies. This is just a natural principle.

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This is the path of suffering, the difficult path that religious people must follow. Christians long for Jesus every day, and are waiting impatiently for Jesus to come again. For 2000 years, they have cried out to heaven, “Jesus, our groom, please come quickly!” even though he did not come. When they reach the stage where their bodies are ready to burst, their hearts are being torn, their bones are melting, their spirit is hovering between life and death, and when they are connecting directly only with God or Jesus, only then, will the Holy Spirit come down upon them.
When the Holy Spirit comes to them, spiritual rebirth will occur. Through this, their spirits can be reborn into spiritual babies. Those of you gathered here, have you ever had such an experience? If you have not had one such experience, you are still the sons and daughters of the satanic world. You must understand that you can still be accused by Satan. Such people cannot go to the Kingdom of Heaven. They have no choice but to go to hell. (114-27, 1981.5.14)

Integrity

Integrity refers to an unchanging character. Regardless of the circumstances, a person of integrity maintains his purpose, keeps his promises, and does his duty. More than that, a person of integrity becomes the moral and spiritual center of his or her family and community. Others depend on him, trust him and rely on him. As Father Moon teaches, just as diamonds and gold are valued for their unchanging brilliance, a person of diamond-like value has an unchanging character.
One great test of integrity is duty; another is adversity. They place principle above expediency, as did rami, the hero of the Hindu Ramayana who refused a kingdom rather than disobey his father’s wishes. It is tempting to regard fulfilling a duty as an opportunity for wealth or personal advancement. It is a challenge to maintain a friendly disposition in adverse circumstances. It is even more difficult to fulfill one’s obligations when to do so puts one at risk of life. However, a person of integrity disregards the circumstances and fulfills a duty for its own sake. Having taken on a task, he or she pursues it to the end with an unchanging mind.

1. A Life Based upon Principle

He who walks in integrity walks securely, but he who perverts his ways will be found out.

Proverbs 10.9

When one follows unswervingly the path of virtue it is not to win advancement. When one invariably keeps one’s word it is not to establish the rectitude of one’s actions. A gentleman merely follows the norm and awaits his destiny.

Mencius VII.B.33 (Confucianism)

Virtue is the root; wealth is the result. If he makes the root his secondary object, and the result his primary, he will only wrangle with his people, and teach them rapine.

Great Learning 10.7-8 (Confucianism)

Not to be cheered by praise,
Not to be grieved by blame,
But to know thoroughly one’s own virtues and powers
Are characteristics of an excellent man.

Precious Treasury of Elegant Sayings 29 (Buddhism)

If one’s mind is sorrowless, stainless and secure, and is not disturbed when affected by worldly vicissitudes, this is the highest blessing.

Sutta Nipata 268 (Buddhism)

To gain a good reputation, be the kind of person that you want people to think you are.

Socrates (Hellenism)

Without goodness a man “cannot for long endure adversity; cannot for long endure prosperity.” The good man rests content with goodness; he that is merely wise pursues goodness in the belief that it pays to do so.

Analects 4.2 (Confucianism)

Make [virtue] your first object. Give up money, give up fame, give up science, give up the earth itself and all it contains, rather than do an immoral act. And never suppose that in any possible situation, or under any circumstances, it is best for you to do a dishonorable thing. Whenever you are to do a thing, though it can never be known but to yourself, ask yourself how you would act were all the world looking at you, and act accordingly.

Thomas Jefferson

Don’t Get Angry Centered on Your Own Desire

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What kind of being is God? God is the King of the secret emissaries. He is the King of the secret emissaries, the supreme commander who is appearing in this satanic world to restore the homeland. Yet, has there been one time in the past six thousand years when this God has been able to say to this earth, “I am God. This is the truth that I can teach you”? No, there has not. Even so, God has been working hard to instruct us through our clear consciences and to create a bond with us. The six-thousand-year history of the providence of restoration has been God’s effort to broaden the foundation of our hearts and to guide us toward a free world that can be in unity with Him. (29-48, 1970.2.16)

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God is the Creator who made heaven and earth. He is the origin, the very parent of all beings in this world. He is the origin of the value of all existence. Because of Him, this phenomenal world of today came to exist. Such an absolute being does not change according to the changing of the ages. An absolute being does not change. He is not limited by time and space. He transcends all limitations and is the one who governs every limitation. Who is that being? We do not only call Him God. He is our “Father,* so we call Him “Heavenly Father.” What do you call God? He is your Father who gave birth to you. The word “rebirth” exists because of the Fall, but it was God, your Father, who originally gave birth to you. Your physical father forms a bridge between you and God. But after your physical father goes to the spirit world, you will call him your brother, not your father. In the same way, you will call your physical mother your sister. (21-249, 1968.11.24)

Restraint

Teachings of Rev. Sun Myung Moon

Whenever you feel troubled, you should just let that feeling go. It is wrong to stand up in public and speak about this and that while you are still affected by bad feelings. (45:269, July 4, 1971)

When a person is powerful and capable, if he restrains himself, he gains the people’s respect. But when people who do not have any power or authority show restraint, they are regarded as weak. I have a fiery temper, yet I restrain myself and endure. That is why people think I am a great man.
(October 7, 1979)

Don’t get angry. You who walk the path of believers in God will lose everything if you get angry centered on your own desire. (32:34, June 14, 1970)

I, Reverend Moon, am not originally a good-natured person. That is why I train myself, biting my tongue, controlling myself and saying to myself, “I must go this way!” (320:251, April 16, 2000)

If I were to lose my temper at someone, thinking, “That good-for nothing!” or if I were to nurse feelings of ill-will, “Just wait a few months and we’ll see what happens to you…” in the end that person would be broken in pieces. That is why I bite my tongue and control myself. As the True Parent, I cannot use my mouth to curse others. Even as I hold back my words, Heaven releases me completely from my bitter feelings. When you see this, don’t you think God loves me? (162:205, April 12, 1987)

In history those who strike first always lose. Look at the First and the Second World Wars: the side that struck first lost. In the Third World War also, the side striking first will lose.7
This is why even in our individual lives we should persevere and restrain ourselves, for those who persevere will be blessed. Take the beating and persevere. Endure, and someday you will rise up. (7:222, November 13, 1959)

God is worthy of respect, for He has been restraining Himself in silence and with patience while enduring thousands of years of insults and suffering. When you truly realize what God has endured for your sake, you will feel deep in your heart, “Lord, you are truly my Father.” As God’s sons and daughters, should you not resolve to endure for His sake? It will take much endurance to become the core ancestors who embody the Father’s tradition and bequeath it for thousands of generations to come. (363:254, December 25, 2001)

If we cannot forbear, then we cannot pay back the debt we owe to God and cannot resolve the grievances within His bosom. Because the fortune of heaven and earth moves along with God’s providence, when we remain with God, sharing His bitterness, indignation and sorrow, then judgment can fall on the satanic world. This is the reason Heaven teaches us to restrain our anger, be gentle and modest, and persevere in our life of faith. Satan will invade if we fall out of step with God and create a gap between God’s providence and ourselves. Therefore, we who have the faith must unconditionally sacrifice and obey, following only the internal aspects of love. (1:113, June 10, 1956)

A Single Bangle Does Not Make a Sound

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Foundation Day Is Now

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You need to form families of love. Let it be known that the Kingdom of Heaven is the place for members of a unified royal family that have experienced love as princes and princesses of God’s Kingdom, the realm of His love! Amen! While you are living on earth, you need to base your lives on this principle. Even when you pass on to the next world, you need to do your absolute best to follow this principle. During my whole life, I have never thought of anything other than this. (238-262, 1992.11.22)

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Where does the life of the Kingdom of Heaven begin? It begins in the family, not in any other place. The Kingdom of Heaven is the dimensionally expanded version of the family; it does not appear outside the realm of the family. Hence, when you embrace your spouse, you need to think that all the men and women of the world are becoming as one. The family is the place where you can make the conditional offering of loving all humanity. (30-83, 1970.3.17)

Restraint

The path to self-control begins with restraint. Restraint has several aspects. First, we should avoid situations that would tempt us to sin. This requires self-knowledge; since by knowing our weaknesses we can avoid compromising situations. Second, we should restrain ourselves from acting on the promptings of anger, arrogance and other momentary impulses. thus Father Moon, knowing that he has a temper, says that he must make continual effort to restrain himself from exploding in anger because he recognizes the harm it would cause others. Third, religious teachings of non-violence and meekness, of preferring to be beaten than to harm others, train us in the discipline of restraint. Fourth, Father Moon teaches of God’s restraint and forbearance in the face of constant insults and aggravations over thousands of years as an inspiring example for us as we strive to be people who restrain ourselves.

Be angry but do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity for the devil.

Ephesians 4.26-27

Verily God forgives my people the evil promptings which arise within their hearts as long as they do not speak about them and did not act upon them.

Hadith of Muslim (Islam)

If an evil man, on hearing of what is good, comes and creates a disturbance, you should hold your peace. You must not angrily upbraid him; then he who has come to curse you will merely harm himself.

Sutra of Forty-two Sections 7 (Buddhism)

A single bangle does not make a sound.

Igala Proverb (African Traditional Religions)

The anger of man does not work the righteousness of God.

James 1.20

Abu Huraira reported God’s Messenger as saying, “The strong man is not the good wrestler; the strong man is only he who controls himself when he is angry.”

Hadith of Bukhari and Muslim (Islam)

You have heard that it was said to the men of old, “You shall not kill; and whoever kills shall be liable to judgment.” But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother shall be liable to the council, and whoever says “You fool!” shall be liable to the hell of fire.

Matthew 5.21-22

The very first principle of religion laid down by Lord Mahavira is Ahimsa—Non-injury to living beings—which must be observed very scrupulously and thoroughly, and behaving towards all living beings with proper restraint and control.

Dashavaikalika Sutra 6.9 (Jainism)

“Your cheeks are like halves of a pomegranate behind your veil” (Song 4.3): The emptiest of you are as well packed with religious observances as a pomegranate with seeds. For everyone who has the opportunity of committing a sin and escapes it and refrains from doing it performs a highly religious act. How much more, then, is this true of those “behind your veil,” the modest and self-restrained among you!

Canticles Rabbah 4.4.3 (Judaism)

Whenever there is attachment in my mind
And whenever there is the desire to be angry,
I should not do anything nor say anything,
But remain like a piece of wood….

Whenever I am eager for praise
Or have the desire to blame others;
Whenever I have the wish to speak harshly and cause dispute;
At such times I should remain like a piece of wood.

Whenever I desire material gain, honor or fame;
Whenever I seek attendants or a circle of friends,
And when in my mind I wish to be served;
At these times I should remain like a piece of
wood.
Whenever I have the wish to decrease or to
stop working for others
And the desire to pursue my own welfare alone,
If [motivated by such thoughts] a wish to say something occurs,
At these times I should remain like a piece of wood.
Shantideva, Guide to the Bodhisattva’s Way of Life 5.48-52 (Buddhism)

Love Today Is Basically Self-Centered

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What do you have to do to be a child of filial piety? You must always align yourself with the direction of your parents’ heart. The one who walks the path of filial piety does not do things separately from his parents. When his parents go east, he should also go east, and when they go west, he should also go west. There should be no question about it. Even if you are told to go a certain way and then to turn back ten times, you hould again turn back and follow your parents. (62-32, 1972.9.10

Self-Control

2. Self-Discipline: Training the Unruly Beast Within

Teachings of Rev. Sun Myung Moon

The human conscience is the faculty of mind that represents God. It does not exist for your sake, but for the righteousness of Heaven. The conscience always strives for goodness. The body rebels against it. The body desires to be comfortable; it is selfish and insatiable to satisfy its instinctive needs. The conscience reproaches such a body and tries to bring it into submission. This is the reason why conflict and struggle arise continually within the self.

Therefore, religions throughout history have taught people methods to strike the body. Religions are training grounds to enable us to control our bodily desires and have the body to surrender to the mind. They train and guide fallen people to become the men and women God intended at the creation. (219:118, August 28, 1991)

“Before you desire to have dominion over the universe, you must first have dominion over yourself”: I regard this as the most important matter. The three requisites for achieving this are to overcome the three enemies: food, sleep and sex. (366:287, January 17, 2002)

Despite every effort at self-cultivation, people are often caught by love. When they respond to the temptation of a handsome man or beautiful woman, they are caught. Human beings cannot claim to have attained self-mastery in matters of love. It is possible for people to control their sexual desire when they become one with God, but as long as they are self-centered they cannot overcome it. Even in movies, when a woman is being raped at first she fights, “No, no!” but once her passion is aroused she embraces the man. The power of love makes people give in to their enemies. (306:196, September 23, 1998)

Due to the Human Fall, love today is basically self-centered. That self-centered love does not originate from the mind, but rather is centered upon the body. The body is where Satan conducts his activities. The body is Satan’s dance hall; it is Satan’s mooring post. The mind represents God’s dwelling place—the subject position. But the body, which should assume the object position, tries to make itself another subject. It continually asserts itself, alluring or deceiving the mind. In human life, it is crucial to correct this relationship.

Therefore, God established religion to restore fallen humans. Through religion God is teaching people how to strengthen their God-centered mind and reverse the body’s dominion over their life and character. That is why religion requires fasting, sacrificial service, and a meek and humble attitude. These are methods to reduce the power of the body and make the body submit to the mind. Normally in religious life it takes about three to five years to overcome the habit of a body-centered life and create a new, spirit-centered way of life. (201:209, April 9, 1990)

When I put myself at the zero point and completely deny myself, at that point my mind and body can achieve perfect unity. (October 21, 2001)

Your goal is for the mind to be in control 100 percent. It is not enough for the mind and body to be 50-50. [After death] such a person will end up in the mid-level spirit world, in a buffer zone. If a person follows the body 60 percent of the time, he will undoubtedly go to hell… Always keep in mind that “I” am the womb that brings forth both good and evil. (37:122, December 23, 1970)

Are God’s mind and body fighting?4 No, they do not fight. How about you? If your mind and body do not become one, you can never enter the Kingdom of Heaven. (305:111, April 19, 1999)

The Man of Understanding Will Regulate His Bodily Habit

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Foundation Day Is Now

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The family that perfects the four great realms of heart and three great kingships is the ideal family. The grandparents stand as God, the parents as the king of the families of this world, and you as the children are the future kings and queens who will inherit the kingship in the spiritual and physical worlds. You become the kings and queens who inherit all of this. The ideal family is the place where the three great kingships should bear fruit. (239-185, 1992.11.24)

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This universe is a museum of love. Human beings must become the owners of this museum. The mineral world and plant world multiply centering on relationships of love. Without love, history would end. History can continue because there is reproduction. Consequently, man and woman should marry and give birth to children. Without doing so, they cannot find their place in the spirit world. When a baby is born, you should come before God and offer that baby as a gift to Him. Without this gift, you cannot hold your head up proudly.
When you go back to your hometown, what is it you will be most proud of and want to show your parents? You will take pride in how well you raised your children. It is the same in the spirit world. When you go before God, there is no greater gift than bringing God’s children, the people of heaven, whom you have raised on this earth. Money, power, and knowledge are not important. (229-15, 1992.4.9)

Self-Control

2. Self-Discipline: Training the Unruly Beast Within

Be not like a horse or a mule, without understanding, which must be curbed with bit and bridle, else it will not keep with you.

Psalm 32.9

Man makes a harness for his beast; all the more should he make one for the beast within himself, his evil desire.

Jerusalem Talmud, Sanhedrin 10.1 (Judaism)

Excellent are trained mules, so are thoroughbred horses of Sindh and noble tusked elephants; but far better is he who has trained himself.

Formerly this mind went wandering where it liked, as it wished and as it listed. Today with attentiveness I shall completely hold it in check, as a mahout controls an elephant in must.

Dhammapada 322, 326 (Buddhism)

Know that the Self is the rider, and the body the chariot; that the intellect is the charioteer, and the mind the reins. The senses, say the wise, are the horses; the roads they travel are the mazes of desire…

When a man lacks discrimination and his mind is uncontrolled, his senses are unmanageable, like the restive horses of a charioteer. But when a man has discrimination and his mind is controlled, his senses, like the well-broken horses of a charioteer, lightly obey the rein.

Katha Upanishad 1.3.3-6 (Hinduism)

The man of understanding… will regulate his bodily habit and training. Not yielding to brutal and irrational pleasures, he will regard even health as quite a secondary matter. His first aim will be not to be fair or strong or well, unless he is likely to gain temperance thereby, but to temper the body so as to preserve the harmony of the soul.

Plato, The Republic (Hellenism)

Irrigators lead the waters. Fletchers bend the shafts. Carpenters bend wood. The virtuous control themselves.

Dhammapada 80 (Buddhism)

It is true that the mind is restless and difficult to control. But it can be conquered, Arjuna, through regular practice and detachment. Those who lack self-control will find it difficult to progress in meditation; but those who are self-controlled, striving earnestly through the right means, will attain the goal.

Bhagavad-Gita 6.35-36 (Hinduism)

What is meant by saying that cultivation of the personal life depends on the rectification of the mind is that when one is affected by wrath to any extent, his mind will not be correct. When one is affected by fear to any extent, his mind will not be correct. When he is affected by fondness to any extent, his mind will not be correct. When he is affected by worries and anxieties, his mind will not be correct. When the mind is not present, we look but do not see, listen but do not hear, and eat but do not know the taste of food. This is what is meant by saying that the cultivation of the personal life depends on the rectification of the mind.

Great Learning 7 (Confucianism)

That man is disciplined and happy
who can prevail over the turmoil
That springs from desire and anger,
here on earth, before he leaves his body.
Bhagavad-Gita 5.23 (Hinduism)