For Everything There Is a Season, and a Time for Every Matter Under Heaven

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Luke 9

18 When Jesus was alone praying, his disciples came to him, and he asked them, “What do people say about me?”

19 They answered, “Some say that you are John the Baptist or Elijah[e] or a prophet from long ago who has come back to life.”

20 Jesus then asked them, “But who do you say I am?”

Peter answered, “You are the Messiah sent from God.”

21 Jesus strictly warned his disciples not to tell anyone about this.

Isaiah 50

10 None of you respect the Lord
    or obey his servant.
You walk in the dark
    instead of the light;
you don’t trust the name
    of the Lord your God.[a]
11 Go ahead and walk in the light
    of the fires you have set.[b]
But with his own hand,
the Lord will punish you
    and make you suffer.

World Scripture and the Teachings of
Sun Myung Moon

Chapter 2

Truth and Universal Law

Duality

3. Duality Operates by Giving and Receiving

Not a handful of rain descends from above with-
out the earth sending up two handfuls of mois-
ture to meet it.
Genesis Rabbah 13.13 (Judaism)

Love works in a circle, for the beloved moves
the lover by stamping a likeness, and the lover
then goes out to hold the beloved in reality.
Who first was the beginning now becomes the
end of motion.
Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica 13 (Christianity)
Verily in the creation of heaven and earth and
the alternation of night and the day are signs for
people of understanding.
Qur’an 3.190

Observe how all God’s creations borrow from
each other: day borrows from night and night
from day, but they do not go to law one with
another as mortals do… The moon borrows
from the stars and the stars from the moon…
the sky borrows from the earth and the earth
from the sky… All God’s creatures borrow from
the other, yet make peace with one another
without lawsuits; but if man borrows from his
friend, he seeks to swallow him up with usury
and robbery.
Exodus Rabbah 31.15 (Judaism)

When the sun goes, the moon comes; when the
moon goes, the sun comes. Sun and moon alter-
nate; thus light comes into existence. When
cold goes, heat comes; when heat goes, cold
comes. Cold and heat alternate, and thus the
year completes itself. The past contracts. The
future expands. Contraction and expansion
act upon each other; hereby arises that which
furthers.
The measuring worm draws itself together
when it wants to stretch out. Dragons and
snakes hibernate in order to preserve life. Thus
the penetration of germinal thought into the
mind promotes the workings of the mind. When
this working furthers and brings peace to life, it
elevates a man’s nature.
I Ching, Great Commentary 2.5.2-3 (Confucianism)

Difficult and easy complete one another.
Long and short test one another;
High and low determine one another.
Pitch and mode give harmony to one another,
Front and back give sequence to one another.
Tao Te Ching 2 (Taoism)

For everything there is a season, and a time for
every matter under heaven:
a time to be born, and a time to die;
a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is
planted;
a time to kill, and a time to heal;
a time to break down, and a time to build up;
a time to weep, and a time to laugh;
a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather
stones together;
a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from
embracing;
a time to seek, and a time to lose;
a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
a time to rend, and a time to sew;
a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
a time to love, and a time to hate;
a time for war, and a time for peace.
Ecclesiastes 3.1-8

Heaven and earth come together, and all things
take shape and find form. Male and female mix
their seed, and all creatures take shape and are
born.” In the Changes it is said, “When three
people journey together, their number decreases
by one. When one man journeys alone, he finds
a companion.
I Ching, Great Commentary 2.4.13 (Confucianism)

Heaven is high, the earth is low; thus the Creative
and the Receptive are determined. In correspon-
dence with this difference between low and high,
inferior and superior places are established.
Movement and rest have their definite
laws; according to these, firm and yielding lines
are differentiated.
Events follow definite trends, each
according to its nature. Things are distinguished
from one another in definite classes. In this way
good fortune and misfortune come about. In the
heavens phenomena take form; on earth shapes
take form. In this way change and transformation
become manifest.
Therefore the eight trigrams succeed one
another by turns, as the firm and the yielding
displace each other.
Things are aroused by thunder and
lightning; they are fertilized by wind and rain.
Sun and moon follow their courses and it is now
hot, now cold.
The way of the Creative brings about the
male; the way of the Receptive brings about the
female.
The Creative knows the great beginnings;
the Receptive completes the finished things.
I Ching, Great Commentary 1.1.1-5 (Confucianism)

Thirty spokes share one hub to make a wheel.
Through its not-being (wu),
There being (yu) the use of the carriage.

Mold clay into a vessel.
Through its not-being,
There being the use of the vessel.
Cut out doors and windows to make a house.
Through its not-being
There being the use of the house.
Therefore in the being of a thing,

There lies the benefit;
In the not-being of a thing,
There lies its use. 16
Tao Te Ching 11 (Taoism)

The Created World Has Two Axes, Visible and Invisible

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Cheong Seong Gyeong 2162

So if we cannot connect this nation
with God centering on a national main-
stream ideology to form a new view of
the nation having new three-dimen-
sional, or two-dimensional aspects, and
take that national concept and stand
forth with it as the ideal content center-
ing on the nations of the world today, we
will be unable to see the dawning of the
homeland.

Cheon Seong Gyeong 1080

When we say, “Save money!” we
should think of the more public pur-
pose of saving for the nation rather
than for the more personal purpose of
gathering wealth. We are not saving to
become rich. We are doing so to save
the nation. The reason I say to Ameri-
ca, “America must be frugal and should
save!” is in order to save the world.
America collects the most taxes in the
world. If it had collected a lot of taxes
for the world, then America would have
been respected by the world. If this was
done just for the sake of the American
people, then they should oppose the
government, and even the world would
oppose it. I believe America shows a
tendency and a culture that is ruining
the world. Consequently, for the world
I can say, “Although I may face oppo-
sition, the way I am going is the just
and right way.” That is how it is with
everything I hear, say, and do. (111-256,
1981.2.22)

World Scripture and the Teachings of
Sun Myung Moon

Chapter 2

Truth and Universal Law

Duality

2. The Duality of Spirit and Matter

Know that prakriti (nature, energy) and Purusha
(spirit) are both without beginning, and that
from prakriti come the gunas (qualities of
the phenomenal world) and all that changes.
Prakriti is the agent, cause, and effect of every
action, but it is Purusha that seems to experience
pleasure and pain. Purusha, resting in prakriti,
witnesses the play of the gunas born of prakriti.
But attachment to the gunas leads a person to
be born for good or evil. Within the body the
supreme Purusha is called the witness, approver,
supporter, enjoyer, the supreme Lord, the high-
est Self… Whatever exists, Arjuna, animate or
inanimate, is born through the union of the field
and its Knower. 12
Bhagavad-Gita 13.19-22, 26 (Hinduism)

By a marvelous mating, He brings a spiritual
nature into union with one that is material
and makes the soul and body active and pas-
sive principles, respectively, of a single human
whole. This operation of God, so marvelous and
mysterious, He performs not only in the case of
man, who is a rational animal and the highest
and noblest of all animals on earth, but also in
the case of the tiniest insects. And no one can
reflect on this marvel without a sense of aston-
ishment and some expression of admiration for
the Creator.
Saint Augustine, City of God 22.24 (Christianity)
Our body is just a shell. Inside and outside, there
is nothing but the energy of heaven and earth,
and yin and yang.
Chu Hsi (Confucianism)

Teachings of Rev. Sun Myung Moon

The human body consists of 40 trillion cells. They are connected by the body’s circulatory system that is constantly in motion, with blood circulating through arteries and veins. At the same time, electrical energy circulates up and down through the nervous system. In sum, the body contains dual systems of circulation: one visible, the other invisible. (262:126, July 23, 1994)

There is another pair of dual characteristics in reciprocal relationship, which are even more fun-damental to existence than the dual characteristics of yang and yin. Every entity possesses both an outer form and an inner quality. The visible outer form resembles the invisible inner quality. The inner quality, though invisible, possesses a certain structure that manifests visibly in the particular outer form..
Let us take human beings as an example. A human being is composed of an outer form, the body, and an inner quality, the mind. The body is a visible reflection of the invisible mind. Because the mind possesses a certain structure, the body that reflects it also takes on a particular appearance. This is the idea behind a person’s character and destiny being perceived through examining his outward appearance by such methods as physiognomy or palm reading. Here, mind is the internal nature (sungsang) and body is the external form (hyungsang). Mind and body are two correlative aspects of a human being; hence, the body may be understood as a second mind. Together, they constitute the dual characteristics of a human being. Similarly, all beings exist through the reciprocal relationships between their dual characteristics of internal nature and external form…
The body resembles the mind and moves according to its commands in such a way as to sustain life and pursue the mind’s purposes. Mind and body thus have a mutual relationship of internal and external, cause and result, subject partner and object partner, vertical and horizontal.
Similarly, all created beings, regardless of their level of complexity, possess an intangible internal nature, which corresponds to the human mind, and a tangible external form, which corresponds to the human body. Within each being, the internal nature, which is causal and subject, commands the external form. This relationship allows the individual being to exist and function purposefully as a creation of God. (Exposition of the Divine Principle, Creation 1.1)

This created world in which we live has two axes: a visible axis and an invisible axis. They form a dual structure. The object partner revolves around its subject partner, but the subject partner also revolves. An example is the body and mind of a human being engaging in give-and-take action. All beings exist according to this principle.
Fallen humans in the world must correct their axis in order to be restored. The correct human structure has the mind at the center of the body and the spirit dwelling in the center of the mind. The body revolves around the mind and moves in accordance with the mind’s commands. If his mind says, “Go to the east,” his body heads east, and if his mind says, “Go to the west,” his body heads west. His body cannot make a move by itself. (136:14, December 20, 19

If a Person Lives Alone There Is No Joy

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Hebrews 11

32 What else can I say? There isn’t enough time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, and the prophets. 33 Their faith helped them conquer kingdoms, and because they did right, God made promises to them. They closed the jaws of lions 34 and put out raging fires and escaped from the swords of their enemies. Although they were weak, they were given the strength and power to chase foreign armies away.

Psalm 111

God rescued his people,
    and he will never break
his agreement with them.
    He is fearsome and holy.

10 Respect and obey the Lord!
This is the first step
    to wisdom and good sense.
    God will always be respected.

World Scripture and the Teachings of
Sun Myung Moon

Chapter 2

Truth and Universal Law

Duality

Teachings of Rev. Sun Myung Moon

When God created, He worked centering on human beings. With human beings as His model, He expanded the creation in all directions. Hence, He created all creatures—minerals, plants, and animals—in pairs. The act of creation proceeded by weaving together in pairs the vertical paths and the horizontal paths. Some moved straight, some in a zigzag, others engaged in all manner of actions, but all were arranged in a pair system to create the natural world. It is teaching material for people to learn about ideal love. (173:211)

Inside the seed of a plant are two parts in a reciprocal relationship. The two are completely one inside a single shell. They engage in give and take action through the embryo in order to propagate life. In an egg, too, there is an embryo between yolk and white, and they form one body within the single shell. The same is true for the human fetus. Whether human beings or plants, life forms through a harmonious union of subject and object partners by means of give-and-take action. These multiply in a way that resembles their causal being, thus connecting to the foundation of their existence. Ultimately we resemble the First Cause. Therefore, the First Cause must be the basic model, with subject and object partners forming a perfect harmonious union, and having the status of Subject Partner in relation to all beings. (89:226, November 27, 1976)

Even though a person may have many possessions, many children and great power, there is no joy if he or she lives alone. Likewise, although God is the Subject and the Absolute Being, without a partner He also is lonely. Why did God create heaven and earth? God is the Absolute Subject, but He cannot experience joy as long as He remains alone. Joy cannot be experienced alone; it arises only in the context of a relationship. Peace, too, and happiness, only exist in the context of relationships. For this reason, God cannot function as God as long as He is alone. (58:210, June 11, 1972)

Throughout the universe, love is something that no being can possess by itself. Once a being meets its counterpart, however, and they relate with love, they can obtain all the things that love provides. For example, even though a couple may love children, until they have children of their own, they cannot experience parental love. They cannot become the owners of the kind of love that parents have for their children. From this perspective, we can understand why God created human beings and the universe: He created them as His object partners in order to realize true love.
All types of love—including the love of children, love of siblings, love of husband and wife, and love of parents—come about through the unity of subject and object partners. Once subject and object partners become one, nothing can separate them. If they could be divided, we could not say that true love is indestructible. Among married couples, there should not be even the thought of divorce. (True Family and World Peace, March 14, 1999)

God created everything in complementary pairs so that they could receive God’s true love. God wanted them to receive this one love as a partnership. If a man and a woman perfect God’s love, embody God’s love, and share that love with each other from the same ground of complementarity as God, then they will definitely become an ideal couple. (26:155-56, October 25, 1969)

For the sake of love, God created human beings as His partners. God created all things in the universe in pairs so that God’s love may be eternal, man’s love may be eternal, woman’s love may be eternal, and children’s love may be eternal. They are all God’s family; hence they should be eternal. (201:193, April 1, 1990)

The Entire World of Being Exists in a Pair System

Join us for the Urban Life Training Chapter Workshop, online or in-person on July 3rd 2020. Learn how to teach the core providential content of sexual abstinence before marriage to middle and high school youth: https://www.urbanlifetraining.org/index.php/109-training/351-urban-life-training-chapter-workshop .

Watch the latest Richard Urban Show: All Lives Matter: https://youtu.be/ivlBBBCszyA
Why are we only hearing about George Floyd and not those black lives killed during the looting and shooting? Are these protests godly, Is the Black Lives Matter movement honest, and do they promote fear and hatred?

Cheon Seong Gyeong 1854

I love water. Water is the source of all
life. Water embraces and absorbs every-
thing. There are two rivers in Jardim: the
Miranda River and Plata River, which
are like yang and yin. The water in the
Plata River is clear, whereas the water
in the Miranda River is muddy. Usually,
people run away when there is muddy
water, but yesterday I saw a clear stream
of water being drawn into a whirlpool,
without any resistance. With dignity,
the clear water joined the muddy water
and changed its color. Yet as the days go
by, the water gains the strength to regain
its color and purify itself as it continues
flowing. (276-140, 1996.2.18)

Richard: Notice here that Rev. Moon is talking about harmony of different streams, which can be an anology of how all races and cultures can harmonize to create God’s culture. It is not about division and conflict.

Cheon Seong Gyeong 1239

The Blessing Ceremony of the Unifi-
cation Church is not simply a wedding
through which a man and a woman come
together and form a family. Until now,
all weddings were solely for the sake of
the people getting married. But our wed-
ding ceremony is significant and neces-
sary to set a condition to indemnify the
past and return joy to God. Therefore,
we conduct our ceremonies in a sacred
and splendid manner. Divine Principle
clearly explains to us that our wedding
ceremony alleviates God’s bitter grief
that was caused by the Fall of Adam and
Eve. It goes beyond the standard of hus-
band and wife, which Jesus was unable
to attain. (22-212, 1969.2.4)

World Scripture and the Teachings of
Sun Myung Moon

Chapter 2

Truth and Universal Law

Duality

Teachings of Rev. Sun Myung Moon

The entire world of being exists in a pair system. Human beings exist as men and women, and animals as male and female. Insects also exist as male and female. So do butterflies, birds, ants, and even minerals. The 107 elements do not come together randomly; when one element finds another that can be its reciprocal partner, nothing can stop them from uniting. But not even God can bring together two positives that repel each other. If there is a reciprocal quality between two things, they will come together automatically, and nothing can stop them. (203:353, June 28, 1990)

When we study the universe, we see that all beings exist by forming reciprocal relationships between masculine (yang) and feminine (yin). This holds in all cases. On the level of minerals, the bonding of positive and negative ions forms molecules. In plants, existence and propagation occur through the cooperation of pistil and stamen.

This duality is even more pronounced in animals. Birds, mammals, and all other types of animals exist as male and female. Finally, we human beings, who are God’s highest creation, are differentiated as men and women. The first man, Adam, and the first woman, Eve, were the first ancestors of humankind.

For what purpose did God create the universe with duality? The Creator separated all things into masculine and feminine so that the two could join by giving and receiving love. All species increase their numbers and carry on life through acts of love. (201:204-05, April 9, 1990)

The universe emerged out of relationships— between up and down, right and left, and front and back. Therefore, from insects to animals and humans, heaven and earth exist in a pair system. Even the five sensory organs exist in a pair system. So do the hands, feet, mind and body (however our mind and body are not united as one, and this is a most critical problem). Our eyes blink together. Our nostrils breathe together. Our lips move together when we speak. Sound resonates in both ears when we hear. We use both hands to make things. We cannot walk with one foot alone but require two feet. Everything in the universe needs a partner in order to function and act. Nothing can function alone. Hence, a being by itself cannot resemble God. (391:174, August 21, 2002)

In the Image of God He Created Him; Male and Female He Created Them

Deuteronomy 26

26 The Lord is giving you the land, and soon you will conquer it, settle down, 2 and plant crops. And when you begin harvesting each of your crops, the very first things you pick must be put in a basket. Take them to the place where the Lord your God chooses to be worshiped, 3 and tell the priest, “Long ago the Lord our God promised our ancestors that he would give us this land. And today, I thank him for keeping his promise and giving me a share of the land.”

Ecclesiastes 11

7 Nothing on earth is more beautiful than the morning sun. 8 Even if you live to a ripe old age, you should try to enjoy each day, because darkness will come and will last a long time. Nothing makes sense.[c]

9 Be cheerful and enjoy life while you are young! Do what you want and find pleasure in what you see. But don’t forget that God will judge you for everything you do.

10 Rid yourself of all worry and pain, because the wonderful moments of youth quickly disappear.

World Scripture and the Teachings of
Sun Myung Moon

Chapter 2

Truth and Universal Law

Duality

Duality is a consistent theme throughout the cosmos. All existing beings display duality or polarity: male and female, light and dark, heaven and earth, mind and body, subject and object, the self and the whole, being and non-being. The dynamic interactions between these poles are a source of generative and creative power. This is seen in the regular cycles of nature, the alternation of day and night, and the changing seasons. Duality is portrayed mythically by the cosmic union of god and goddess, and recognized by science in the electromagnetic interactions that construct atoms and molecules. Some religions, notably Confucianism and Taoism, regard the polarity of yang (masculine) and yin (feminine) as a governing principle of nature, one that can instruct human beings on the proper way of life. Father Moon devotes considerable attention to duality, which he develops into a systematic relational ontology. He observes the interactions in nature and sees in them the basis for the principle of altruism; as giving precedes receiving in all successful relationships. Even the forces of repulsion in nature have the effect of reducing threesomes to twosomes, thus protecting the realm of creative and loving relationships that duality provides. On that basis, he also critiques the Marxist dialectic for teaching a flawed conception of reality, rooted in conflict.

  1. The Duality of Masculine and Feminine

And all things We have created by pairs, that
you may receive instruction.
Qur’an 51.49

All things are twofold, one opposite the other,
and He has made nothing incomplete.
One confirms the good things of the other,
and who can have enough of beholding His glory?
Ecclesiasticus 42.24-25 (Christianity)

The Originator of the heavens and the earth;
He has appointed for you of yourselves spouses,
and pairs also of the cattle, by means of which
He multiplies you.
Qur’an 42.11

The Great Primal Beginning generates the two pri-
mary forces [yang and yin]. The two primary forces
generate the four images. The four images generate
the eight trigrams. The eight trigrams determine
good fortune and misfortune. Good fortune and
misfortune create the great field of action.
I Ching, Great Commentary 1.11.5-6 (Confucianism)

The Creator, out of desire to procreate, devoted
Himself to concentrated ardor (tapas). Whilst thus
devoted to concentrated ardor, He produced a
couple, Matter and Life (prana), saying to Himself,
“these two will produce all manner of creatures for
me.” Now Life is the Sun; Matter is the Moon.
Prasna Upanishad 1.4-5 (Hinduism)

By the transformation of Yang and its union
with Yin, the five agents arise: water, fire, wood,
metal and earth. When these five forces are dis-
tributed in harmonious order, the four seasons
run their course. The five agents constitute the
system of Yin and Yang, and Yin and Yang con-
stitute one Great Ultimate.

Chou Tun-i, Explanation of the Diagram of the
Great Ultimate (Confucianism)

Mujahid said, “God has created all things in
pairs: He created man and woman, heaven and
earth, sun and moon, night and day, light and
dark, mankind and jinn, good and evil, morning
and evening, also all different kinds of foods and
winds and sounds. God has made all these as
signs of His greatness.”
Al-Qurtubi, Al-Thuriat Surat 17 (Islam)

So God created man in his own image, in the
image of God he created him; male and female
he created them.
Genesis 1.27

“Male and female He created them.” From this
we learn that every figure that does not com-
prise male and female elements is not a true
and proper figure… Observe this: God does not
place His abode in any place where male and
female are not found together, nor are blessings
found save in such a place.
Zohar 1.55b (Judaism)

All life, all pulsation in creation throbs with the
mighty declaration of the truth of Shiva-Shakti,
the eternal He and the eternal She at play in
manifestation. 11
Kularnava Tantra 3 (Hinduism)

When the upper world was filled and became
pregnant, it brought forth two children together,
a male and a female, these being heaven and
earth after the supernal pattern. The earth is
fed from the waters of heaven which are poured
into it. These upper waters, however, are male,
whereas the lower are female, and the lower are
fed from the male and the lower waters call to
the upper, like a female that receives the male,
and pour out water to meet the water of the
male to produce seed.
Zohar 1.29b (Judaism)

The Innate is twofold, for Wisdom is the woman
and Means is the man. Thereafter these both
become twofold, distinguished as relative and
absolute. In man there is this twofold nature:
the thought of enlightenment [relative] and the
bliss arising from it [absolute]; in woman too it
is the same, the thought of enlightenment and
the bliss arising from it.
Hevajra Tantra 8.26-29 (Buddhism)