Until You Have Finished Your Home Church Work, You Have No Way to Complain

Happy True God’s Day!

Today we offer excerpts from Rev. Sun Myung Moon’s address on True God’s Day, 1982, which was celebrated on January 1, 1982 (True God’s Day is now celebrated on the Heavenly Calendar, which is based on the Lunar Calendar).

Victory of Home Church

There is an insect called a cicada that makes a noise during the summer. For a while, it is encased inside a certain shell and surrounded by liquid. As long as the cicada refuses to break out of this cocoon, he is simply rejecting his wonderful future of flying around from tree to tree. We are encased inside a shell of flesh here on this earth, destined for a wonderful future. Before now, 1982, we have lived with a certain fear of death. But from now on, we can be free of that fear and understand what death really is…..

When one pursues only external values in life, he tends to go away from God’s purpose; but whenever a person seeks after the internal purpose of his life, he will get closer to God. Which one would you want? The person who masters the internal way of life is capable of doing things well externally, also, since internal is subject over external. But the person who only values external things cannot ever achieve internal values. You must become a person who is welcomed by both worlds…

Would you like to become the victors of home church? Do you, then, go to your home church area to be served by the people there? Do you only go to the clean, good places where you expect people to come and bow down to you ? There is no true love in that kind of situation. When a woman does the work of a man, or a man does the work of a woman, then that person learns to do something opposite from the usual and he is free to do anything. Similarly, when you mingle with men of literature, you can learn to write good poetry, like they do. You may not be the greatest artist, sculptor, or singer; but when you sing with true love, that is the best music. The painting done with true love is the best painting….

In order to be victorious in home church, should we then seek out the beautiful places, where everything smells sweet? Should we go to disco dances for our home church work? No, you must go to the ugly, smelly places and make them beautiful and sweet smelling. You must go to the suffering people and make them feel happy-that is your home church work. If you do this kind of work, then you don’t have to make effort to elevate yourself; the people will try to push you into a beautiful, high place, even though you resist and say you want to stay in the low place….

When men and women of separated mind and body try to love each other, it is impossible. Their minds go one way and their bodies go another; that is satanic love. You can love someone else only when your mind and body are one with each other. The husband who caresses his wife should have his mind and body united; likewise, the wife should be a united person, not a person of division between mind and body. True love between husband and wife is the love of give and take between a man and woman of united mind and body. Is there anyone here who thinks he has reached that level? Knowing that you have not achieved that level yet, how can you think that you deserve the heavenly Blessing? Asking for the Blessing before you are ready is an example of a greedy mind. Those who complain, “I’m 32 years old! Why doesn’t Father bless me?” are much further away from God than those who say, “Father, I don’t deserve the Blessing yet. I want to make more effort to unite my mind and body.”…

Why should we live such a life? Because our job is to subjugate Satan, not by force, but in a way that Satan will voluntarily surrender. Who are the true saints? Not those people who are revered by the rich and comfortable people, but the ones who are revered by the miserable, suffering poor people. When such miserable people say someone is a saint, then that person is, indeed, a saint. True love can be found in the lowest places, not in the Waldorf Astoria or in the palaces of kings….

Although we have talked about many things today, we come to the one main point: home church. Why do we need home church? Because fallen parents came into being. In order to restore this position, Jesus came to the earth. He had to go through a certain process; he needed to restore the Abel family of Zechariah and the Cain family of Joseph, uniting them. Because this was left undone, we must go, in our time, to the home church mission and restore those positions. Who crucified Jesus? Fallen men, men of faithlessness. Therefore, until you have paid back that debt, you cannot be restored.

There are many steps beyond just home church. After that, there is the clan church, the tribe church, the nation church, the world church. You have to pass through all these levels. Doing home church is not easy, but doing tribe church and nation church are even more difficult. No individual is capable of doing all these levels; therefore, True Parents came to this earth to do it for everybody else, for you and all your posterity.

Do you think I have a battle between my mind and body? Yes, I have the same battles as you; the only difference is that my battles have been victorious. I knew the truth, so I persevered through my battles. On the road of dispensation, when a person loves himself or his own family and things more than he loves the dispensation and his God given mission, that dispensation will stop right there. My mission has been, in the position of Abel, to win over the position of Cain; to restore the unity on all levels. As the family­Abel, I had to win over the family­Cain; and on up to all the other levels. In order to win over Cain, one cannot stay in the same place and have it happen automatically, but must go out to the world and set the right conditions. On each different level, Abel must go out and win Cain. That is why I came to the United States; I was searching for Cain on the worldwide level.

Here I could be beaten and then restore it. When Abel returns, he becomes the elder brother, restoring the birthright. You must restore the elder brother’s position in order to enter into the Kingdom of Heaven……

If you want to become a true person, you must do the things that you say you will do. Your words and your deeds must become one. The good teacher is one who lives his own teachings, not just speaks about them. The true saint is not one who only cares for his family, but who first cares for others, even those who care the least for him, before his own family. We can define the good God as the God who sacrifices Himself for the sake of others. I, too, have lived according to this principle. I have sacrificed my immediate family, even Mother, for the sake of the Unification Church. It is very seldom that I eat a meal with my own children; I usually eat with the church leaders from all over the world. They are the ones who are sitting right next to me and Mother, eating breakfast, lunch, and dinner, our children are not there. Sometimes when I am eating a meal with the children and some of the church leaders come in, I immediately send the children to the kitchen to finish their meal and give their seats to the church members. My children, as well, must have Cain to enter the Kingdom of Heaven; they cannot enter without Cain…..

In the United States, the government is in the Cain position, while Christianity is in the Abel position. Only through the unity of these two positions can this country be acceptable to God. Today. on the contrary, the United States government is dominating Christianity and this is the opposite of what should be happening. The communist world, which denies God, is in the position of the Cain world and the free world is in the position of the Abel world. The Unification Church is in the mother’s position, so we are supposed to embrace both sons: the Abel, democratic world and the Cain, communist world. By doing so, the world can accept the Messiah; it can welcome the universal parent.

That has not been done very successfully, so, for that reason, we have to make the foundation from the very bottom. The very bottom is home church, then progressing to tribe church, nation church, and world church. Who has to do this? The Unification Church is committed to doing this, but I have already fulfilled those levels. Each of you must pay a certain amount of indemnity by doing home church. I have come through the entire process and I have erected such a powerful foundation that those hostile to me have a frenzied desire to kill me. But in your case, you encounter no such drastic opposition. Compared to what I have faced, your persecution is very minor; in fact, doing home church is an easy job. Do people try to kill you? You are not risking your life by doing home church. However, as I work in the United States there is a constant danger to my life. No one besides me is clearly declaring a war against communism; for that reason, the communists consider me their archenemy. I push Tiger Park to squarely confront the communists through CARP. Even though Tiger Park is leading the demonstrations, the communists don’t fear him nearly as much as they fear me, since they understand that I am the ultimate source of this war against communism.

I have been doing this mission at the risk of my life, but you don’t have to risk your life in the same way. I have created a safer way for you to go. You must become a tribal messiah in your home church in order to save your own family; the tribe is the strength of the family. When your home church is protected by the tribe, nation, and all the other layers, nothing can invade your home and family. When you willingly take up the cup of persecution in your home church area, trying to win the people, no power can invade you.

The home church providence started as a major crusade in 1979. At that time, our slogan was, “Completion of the Kingdom of Heaven through Home Church.” In 1980 our slogan was, “Home Church is the Base of the Kingdom of Heaven.” In 1981 we had the slogan, “Home Church is My Kingdom of Heaven.” After those three consecutive years, we have the slogan for this year: “Victory of Home Church.”…

I am not the one who should buy myself a home in Korea. The parents’ home should be bought by the children, Cain and Abel. God’s house, too, is bought by the children; home church will become God’s dwelling place, God’s house. You cannot win the victory without committing yourself to fighting the battle. You have learned the tactics of victory: just go. The important thing is to go, be beaten, and then win. Satan’s method is always to attack first and ultimately to lose, while the method of Heaven is to be beaten first, but to obtain the victory in the end….

Home church is a far more precious gift from God than becoming heads of state or kings and queens. Once your home church people welcome you wholeheartedly, the entire spirit world will welcome you. Suppose you should drop dead in your home church area. Don’t worry, because you are not really dead; you will be resurrected into the highest place in spirit world, where everyone will glorify you. You would like to dwell in the same place in spirit world as I do, wouldn’t you? Even though I may be letting you endure suffering at this time, my ultimate plan is to take every one of you with me, arm in arm, to the Kingdom of Heaven. At that time, you will be a true victor. You can take off, non­stop, to the Kingdom of Heaven….

In the beginning of the message tonight, I said that Adam and Eve were never supposed to have a fear of death. They were supposed to be aware of spirit world and eternity; only because of the fall of man did fear of death come into being. Today, we must be the ones who liquidate the fear of death; we shall be aware of eternity and have no fear of it.

The true fulfillment of the Bible is being done by the Unification Church. Jesus said, “Whoever seeks to save his life shall lose it; but whoever seeks to lose his life for my sake will save it.” This is a dilemma and a contradiction, but we know that those who seek the highest positions shall be lowered, and those who seek the lowest places shall be elevated. Why should this contradictory statement be there in the Bible? People don’t realize it, but such a statement is in the Bible because of the principle of indemnity….

Starting from Dr. Durst, everybody has a home church area. Dr. Durst has been thinking that home church is good, but we need to emphasize street witnessing in order to gain new members. But if you witness to someone on the street, it has only the significance of that individual. An amazing thing is that, although we are doing the same activity, witnessing, when you do it at the home church level, it has historical and providential significance because it is connected at that point to the historical indemnity course. When you connect with one person in your home church area, that individual is representing his family, clan, nation, world and cosmos. By working with one person in home church, you connect yourself to the entire cosmos; but when you go out into the streets, you are only connecting with one individual. It is a one­ to ­one relationship that does not go beyond that level…

Until you have finished your home church work, you have no way to complain. You should not get tired. Knowing the Principle, I have no way to get discouraged or to slow down. I continue to march forward; even if I collapsed, I would fall forward, not backwards or to the side. I have always known that I must go over the hill and I cannot stop marching before I go beyond that hill; I cannot afford to die before I get there. Since no one can know when he will die, you must begin now to go beyond the hill. My 21 year course was actually completed in 16 years, 5 years earlier than scheduled. Why? Because I did not know when I would die.

You must overcome your fear of death, becoming men and women who can live without fear, dwelling within the love of God. Unless you can live this way, life is miserable. Once you are elevated into spirit world, there is no way to return to the earth. It is your good fortune to have met me and to have heard this message; but if you do not fulfill my message, it is not good. More than anything else, home church is top priority. Push aside everything else to do home church. For whom are you going this way? Not for the sake of the Unification Church and not for the sake of God or True Parents, but for the sake of yourself, your children, and your posterity. For that reason, you must go to home church and be victorious!

Read the entire speech here.

Nirvana Is a State Without Self

Cheon Seong Gyeong 2106

We inherit in the name of heaven and by heaven’s command. We do not inherit democratically. This would lead to ruin. Seats in the national assembly and the ruling party are not decided by the power and influence of political parties alone. The tradition of the country should be established. It works based on commands, so we should be able to receive commands. This is the way society should be. (178-38, 1988.5.27)

Cheon Seong Gyeong 742

If you possess true love, you can join God’s party anytime. You will see thousands of ancestors and spirits because of being able to transcend time and space. Only those who have the heart of true love can manage and transcend all this. The only way to obtain the privilege of receiving the rights of inheritance from God is through love. If people of true love were to push past me, I would be very happy and would not react against them. Everyone would welcome them. Since the other world is like that, you must be trained here.

Emptiness–Nirvana

Emptiness, Nirvana–the ultimate state of inner peace in Buddhism—is a state without self, without passions, without desires. it is a state beyond thought, beyond words, beyond any intellectual attempt to grasp what it is. yet paradoxically, in this emptiness there is fullness, fearlessness and enlightenment. it is a marvelous, mystical state, almost impossible to describe.
Father Moon calls the state of emptiness the ‘zero point.’ he explains its mystical feeling as a resonant connection with God, who also dwells in emptiness when he creates the world. Father Moon also teaches an active way of self-emptying in the service of others. self-giving, living for others, giving even when it is difficult to give: these practices can lead to the zero point just as surely as meditation.

“All states are without self.” When one sees this in wisdom, then he becomes dispassionate towards the painful. This is the path to purity.
Dhammapada 279

The Man of the Way wins no fame,
The highest virtue wins no gain,
The Great Man has no self.
    Chuang Tzu 17 (Taoism)

Where egoism exists, Thou art not experienced,
Where Thou art, is not egoism.
    Adi Granth, Maru-ki-Var, M.1, p. 1092 (Sikhism)

Torah abides only with him who regards himself as nothing.
    Talmud, Sota 21b (Judaism)
 
The Plain of High Heaven is not a specific place localized here or there, but refers rather to a pure state without any anomaly or excess. In terms of the human body, it is a state within the human breast without thought, contemplation, or passions.
    Masamichi Imbe, Secret Oral Tradition of the Book of        the Divine Age(Shinto)
 
This is Peace, this is the excellent, namely the calm of all the impulses, the casting out of all ‘basis,’ the extinction of craving, dispassion, stopping, Nirvana.
    Anguttara Nikaya 5.322 (Buddhism)
 
When a man is free from all sense pleasures and depends on nothingness he is free in the supreme freedom from perception. He will stay there and not return again.
 
It is like a flame struck by a sudden gust of wind. In a flash it has gone out and nothing more can be known about it. It is the same with a wise man freed from mental existence: in a flash he has gone out and nothing more can be known about him.
 
When a person has gone out, then there is nothing by which you can measure him. That by which he can be talked about is no longer there for him; you cannot say that he does not exist. When all ways of being, all phenomena are removed, then all ways of description have also been removed.
    Sutta Nipata 1072-76 (Buddhism)
 
For him who has completed the journey, for him who is sorrowless, for him who from everything is wholly free, for him who has destroyed all ties, the fever of passion exists not.
 
He whose senses are subdued, like steeds well-trained by a charioteer, he whose pride is destroyed and is free from the corruptions—such a steadfast one even the gods hold dear.
 
Like the earth, a balanced and well-disciplined person resents not… He is like a pool, unsullied by mud; to such a balanced one, life’s wanderings do not arise.
 
Calm is his mind, calm is his speech, calm is his action, who, rightly knowing, is wholly freed [from defilements], perfectly peaceful and equipoised.
 
The man who is not credulous but truly understands the Uncreated (Nibbana), who has cut off the links, who has put an end to occasion [of good and evil], who has eschewed all desires, he indeed is a supreme man.
    Dhammapada 90, 94-97 (Buddhism)
 
Here, O Shariputra, form is emptiness, and the very emptiness is form; emptiness does not differ from form, form does not differ from emptiness; whatever is form, that is emptiness, whatever is emptiness, that is form. The same is true of feelings, perceptions, impulses, consciousness.
 
    Here, O Shariputra, all dharmas are marked with emptiness; they are not produced or stopped, not defiled or immaculate, not deficient or complete.Therefore, O Shariputra, in emptiness there is no form, nor feeling, nor perception, nor impulse, nor consciousness…
    There is no suffering, no origination, no stopping, no path. There is no cognition, no attainment, and no non-attainment.
    Therefore, O Shariputra, it is because of his indifference to any kind of personal attainment that a bodhisattva, through having relied on the perfection of wisdom, dwells without thought-coverings. In the absence of thought coverings he has not been made to tremble, he has overcome what can upset, and in the end he attains to Nirvana.
    Heart Sutra (Buddhism)
 
Nan-po Tzu-k’uei said to the woman Nü Yü, “You are old, and yet your complexion is like that of a child. How is this?”
    Nü Yü replied, “I have learned Tao.”
    “Could I get Tao by studying it?” asked the other.
    “I fear not,” said Nü Yü. “You are not the sort of person. There was Pu-liang Yi. He had the qualifications of a sage… so I began teaching him. In three days, all distinctions of high and low, good and bad, had ceased to exist. Seven days more, and the external world had ceased to be. In nine more days, he became unconscious of his own existence. He first became ethereal, next possessed of perfect wisdom, then without past and present, and finally was able to enter where life and death are no more—where killing does not take away life, nor does giving birth add to it. In that state, there is nothing he does not welcome, nothing he does not send off, nothing he does not destroy, nothing he does not construct. This is to be at Peace in Strife. He who can be at peace in strife is on the way to perfection.”
    Chuang Tzu 6 (Taoism)
 
The Perfect Way is only difficult for those who pick and choose;
Do not like, do not dislike; all will then be clear.
Make a hairbreadth difference, and Heaven and Earth are set apart;
If you want the truth to stand clear before you,
never be for or against.
The struggle between ‘for’ and ‘against’ is the mind’s worst disease;
While the deep meaning is misunderstood, it is useless to meditate on Rest.
It [the Original Mind] is blank and featureless as space…
At the ultimate point, beyond which you cango no further,
You get to where there are no rules, no standards,
To where thought can accept Impartiality,
To where effect of action ceases,
Doubt is washed away, belief has no obstacle.
Nothing is left over, nothing remembered;
Space is bright, but self-illumined; no power of
mind is exerted.
Nor indeed could mere thought bring us to such a place.
Nor could sense or feeling comprehend it.
It is the Truly-so, the Transcendent Sphere,
where there is neither He nor I.
For swift converse with this sphere use the concept ‘Not Two’;
In the ‘Not Two’ are no separate things, yet all things are included.
The wise throughout the Ten Quarters have had access to this Primal Truth;
For it is not a thing with extension in Time or Space;
A moment and an aeon for it are one.
Whether we see it or fail to see it, it is manifest always and everywhere.
The very small is as the very large when boundaries are forgotten;
The very large is as the very small when its outlines are not seen.
Being is an aspect of Non-being; Non-being is an aspect of Being.
In climes of thought where it is not so the mind does ill to dwell.
The One is none other than the All, the All none other than the One.
Take your stand on this, and the rest will follow of its own accord;
To trust in the Heart is the Not Two, the Not
Two is to trust in the Heart.
I have spoken, but in vain; for what can words tell
Of things that have no yesterday, tomorrow, or today? 22
    Seng Ts’an, On Trust in the Heart (Buddhism)
 
 

 

The Liberation of the Self Is Based on the Unity of Your Mind and Body

Acts 10

9 The next day about noon these men were coming near Joppa. Peter went up on the roof of the house to pray 10 and became very hungry. While the food was being prepared, he fell sound asleep and had a vision. 11 He saw heaven open, and something came down like a huge sheet held up by its four corners. 12 In it were all kinds of animals, snakes, and birds. 13 A voice said to him, “Peter, get up! Kill these and eat them.”

14 But Peter said, “Lord, I can’t do that! I’ve never eaten anything that is unclean and not fit to eat.”[c]

15 The voice spoke to him again, “When God says that something can be used for food, don’t say it isn’t fit to eat.”

16 This happened three times before the sheet was suddenly taken back to heaven.

Amos 1

8 I will destroy the king of Ashdod
    and the ruler of Ashkelon.
I will strike down Ekron,
and that will be the end
    of the Philistines.
I, the Lord, have spoken!

Judgment on Phoenicia

9 The Lord said:

I will punish Phoenicia
for countless crimes,
    and I won’t change my mind.
They broke their treaty
and dragged off my people[r]
    from town after town
to sell them as slaves
    to the Edomites.
10 That’s why I will send flames
to burn down the city of Tyre
    along with its fortresses.

Liberation

2. Universal Liberation

Teachings of Rev. Sun Myung Moon

Liberation means that all hazardous conditions in our world are transformed into harmonious relationships. Our world becomes unified, without any sharp edges, where up and down, right and left, and front and rear have equal value.
    Once liberation comes, grandfathers and grandmothers will like it, quarreling husbands and nagging wives will be satisfied, children and grandchildren will be glad. The multitudes will rejoice, and people of all nations will cheer. (341:161-62, January 1, 2001)
 
Before trying to liberate North Korea, you should ask yourself whether you are liberated. The liberation of the self is based on the unity of your body and mind. The liberation of the nation is the fifth level after the liberation of the individual, family, tribe and people.18 (187:126, February 5, 1989)
 
All things that were supposed to be united into one were shattered into pieces. They were turned upside down throughout humanity’s fragmented history, because countless indemnity courses blocked heaven and earth and passed each other in all directions. Therefore God has been leading a course of re-creation. To walk that course, True Parents came to the earth.
    Heavenly Father, we know how hard Thou hast striven throughout history, in Thy providence of recreation which Thou hast conducted through our forbearers, to reconnect all the divisions in the mineral world, the world of microscopic organisms, the plant kingdom, the animal kingdom, the human world, and even in the heavenly world…
    Therefore, centering on the love that is proper to God’s ideal of creation, we should restore back what was lost in the world of minerals, the world of microscopic organisms, the plant kingdom, the animal kingdom, the human world, and the heavenly world. Thou, Heavenly Father, and we, True Parents, should create the realm of oneness… I sincerely hope and ask Thee to guide us to create one unified world, joining the heavenly world and earthly world. (May 4, 2003)
 
Throughout history, human beings have been searching for their own liberation and salvation, but who has been concerned about God’s situation? Does God dwell in blissful joy for eternity, not in need of liberation? God is the Parent who has been mourning over human beings as they suffered in sin and evil throughout history. How, then, can God rejoice with a liberated heart? It is impossible. Depending on the degree of earthly liberation, God’s heart can also be liberated. Only when God is liberated can human beings be liberated, be free to enjoy a family life of true love, and bring liberation to the creation. Furthermore, only when God is liberated can the beings in the spirit world be liberated and released. (April 30, 2004)
 
The ultimate goal of God’s providence of salvation goes beyond the individual; it is to liberate and save the family, tribe, nation, physical world and the spirit world including hell. Until this is done, God Himself is not liberated. When the purpose of God’s providence of salvation is fully attained, in other words, when even hell and all the spirit world are liberated, on that day, God will declare the completion of His ideal, proclaiming, “My will is done! Hallelujah! March forward into one world, under the dominion of my love.” (114:78, May 17, 1981)
 
 
 

The Creation Waits With Eager Longing for the Revealing of the Sons of God

Cheon Seong Gyeong 478

God exists in the dual characteristics of plus and minus. When this is manifested as a plus, it is Adam, and when it is manifested as a minus, it is Eve. (32-238, 1970.7.19)

Cheon Seong Gyeong 788

This universe grew in size from a small point in this way: through partners coming into existence, unceasing motion occurred and the universe came into existence. The universe has been engaged in endless motion by the power of inertia that transpires in the dimension of space.

Liberation

2. Universal Liberation

And [Jesus] came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up; and he went to the synagogue, as his custom was, on the sabbath day. And he stood up to read; and there was given to him the book of the prophet Isaiah. He opened the book and found the place where it was written,

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me to preach
good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives
and recovering of sight to the blind.
to set at liberty those who are oppressed,
to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.

And he closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant, and sat down; and the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. And he began to say to them, “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”
Luke 4.16-21

For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God; for the creation was subjected to futility, not of its own will but by the will of Him who subjected it in hope; because the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and obtain the glorious liberty of the children of God. We know that the whole creation has been groaning in travail together until now; and not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. Romans 8.19-23

The holy sparks that fell when God built and destroyed worlds, man shall raise and purify upward from stone to plant, from plant to animal, from animal to speaking being, purify the holy sparks that are imprisoned in the world of shells (kelippot) That is the basic meaning of the service of each one in Israel.
It is known that each spark that dwells in a stone or plant or another creature has a complete figure with the full number of limbs and sinews and, when it dwells in the stone or plant, it is in prison, cannot stretch out its hands and feet and cannot speak, but its head lies on its knees. And who with the good strength of his spirit is able to raise the holy spark from stone to plant, from plant to animal, from animal to speaking being, he leads it into freedom, and no setting free of captives is greater than this. It is as when a king’s son is rescued from captivity and brought to his father.
All that a man owns, his servant, his animals, his tools, all conceal sparks that belong to the roots of his soul and wish to be raised by him to their origin.
All things of this world that belong to him desire with all their might to draw near him in order that the sparks of holiness that are in them should be raised by him.
Man eats them, man drinks them, man uses them; these are the sparks that dwell in the things. Therefore, one should have mercy on his tools and all his possessions for the sake of the sparks that are in them; one should have mercy on the holy sparks.
Take care that all you do for God’s sake be itself service of God. Thus eating: do not say that the intention of eating shall be that you gain strength for the service of God. That is also a good intention, for course; but the true perfection only exists where the deed itself happens to heaven, that is where the holy sparks are raised.
In all that is in this world dwell holy sparks, no thing is empty of them. In the actions of men also, indeed even in the sins that a man does, dwell holy sparks of the glory of God. And what is it that the sparks await that dwell in the sins? It is the turning [repentance]. In the hour where you turn on account of sins, you raise to the higher world the sparks that were in it.
Israel Baal Shem Tov (Judaism)

The Interminable Struggle Between Mind and Body Will Completely Disappear

Hebrews 8

8 What I mean is that we have a high priest who sits at the right side of God’s great throne in heaven. 2 He also serves as the priest in the most holy place inside the real tent there in heaven. This tent of worship was set up by the Lord, not by humans.

3 Since all priests must offer gifts and sacrifices, Christ also needed to have something to offer. 4 If he were here on earth, he would not be a priest at all, because here the Law appoints other priests to offer sacrifices. 5 But the tent where they serve is just a copy and a shadow of the real one in heaven. Before Moses made the tent, he was told, “Be sure to make it exactly like the pattern you were shown on the mountain!” 6 Now Christ has been appointed to serve as a priest in a much better way, and he has given us much assurance of a better agreement.

Psalm 21

4 He asked to live a long time,
    and you promised him life
    that never ends.

5 The king is highly honored.
You have let him win victories
    that have made him famous.
6 You have given him blessings
    that will last forever,
    and you have made him glad
    by being so near to him.
7 Lord Most High,
    the king trusts you,
    and your kindness
    keeps him from defeat.

Enlightenment

1. The State of Inner Freedom

Teachings of Rev. Sun Myung Moon

According to the perspective of religion, humanity does not dwell in a liberated state. People today do not live in the realm of God’s freedom; rather they are constrained within the fallen world under Satan’s control. In other words, the world is in bondage. Christians in the established churches and we Unification Church members have the same understanding: we are in bondage.

This bondage is manifest as the persistent struggle between our mind and body. If human beings were made from the beginning with their minds and bodies in conflict, it would be absolutely impossible for them to perfect their character or attain liberation. In fact however, humans were created with harmonious internal elements, by which they could have attained the ideal state of liberation. They only fell into bondage during the course of their growth, when as a result of the Fall they were driven into a state of disorder, where we remain to this day. Therefore, it is entirely possible to be liberated from bondage and attain the ideal state. (85:227, March 3, 1976)

What does it feel like to experience the being of God? The interminable struggle between your mind and the body, which formerly plagued your self-centered life when you put yourself as number one in everything you did, will completely disappear. Instead, you will live the life that God wants you to live: living for the sake of others and giving yourself for the whole. Then, true love will continue forever, and God’s joy will be displayed in the spirit world. You will experience such satisfaction and happiness as you have never felt before, because it will be connected to the whole. Thus, you will discover yourself in the state of liberation. (329:301-02, August 11, 2000)

The body has a limit, but the mind is infinite. The world of the mind is beyond form, beyond any philosophy or viewpoint. Still greater than the mind is the world of the heart. It has no restrictions. The world of the mind has certain restraints, conditioned by its relationships. Yet nothing can restrain the world of the heart. What could ever restrain a parent’s love for his or her children? Even a barrier as daunting as a huge mountain cannot block the way. (7:246, September 20, 1959)

It is written in the Bible, “Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.” (2 Cor. 3.17) The Father is a Spirit of freedom, liberation and unification. How, then, can the spirit of freedom, which transcends any trials, be instilled in your hearts? How can you find the point of liberation where you overcome all the walls of suffering? When will you experience that peaceful moment of total unification, which is your ultimate hope?
     In thinking about these important questions, consider that God is not free. Since God is not free, liberated and unified, the freedom people pursue today is not true freedom. The liberation people are proclaiming is not complete liberation, and the unification people are promoting is not complete unification…
     God created us. Therefore, the complete freedom, liberation and unification that we desire can be realized only when God is free and becomes the master of liberation and unification. God’s freedom, liberation and unification are the standards for humanity’s freedom, liberation and unification; that is only logical. (4:314-15, October 12, 1958)