chastity

We Are Trying to Deaden the Body

Cheon Seong Gyeong 2193

In what position do you have to stand in order to become a filial child? You have to stand in the position where you can take responsibility for the path of death, the path of the greatest suffering. So what is the path that filial children must walk? Parents will say “Love your brothers and sisters more than us. Live for the sake of your siblings in the same way as you live for our sake.” Fulfilling this is the way of the filial child. Parents will probably say that this is their will. (62-37, 1972.9.10)

Cheon Seong Gyeong 1218

Each time when the living environment of an individual and the age he is living in change, there is always the course of the five percent of one’s portion of responsibility that he must strive to complete in order to determine his position as God’s object partner responding to His call. This is true for individuals, as well as for churches, nations, and the world. (40-66, 1971.1.24)

Asceticism, Monasticism and Celibacy

The Ascetic Life of a Monk or Nun

Teachings of Rev. Sun Myung Moon

What are we trying to restrain? We are trying to deaden the body. That is why religions teach us to fast, do prayer vigils all night without sleep, be celibate and live as a hermit. In the Catholic Church the highest vocation is to be a priest or a nun; they do not marry for their entire life. In Buddhism also, most monks are celibate.
Compare these disciplines with the lifestyle of American youth. It is quite the opposite of that of religious people who make it their chief aim to conquer the body. As a result, they are living a hellish existence, constantly besieged by the temptations of the satanic world. The youth of America should realize this; they should understand that the way they are living is contrary to God’s Will. Instead of pursuing the body’s pleasure, we should torment our body. Why? Because [due to the Fall] our body has become Satan’s dance floor. (215:236, February 20, 1991) Continue reading “We Are Trying to Deaden the Body”

Monasticism Emphasized the Love of Christ Over the Love of Women

Cheon Seong Gyeong 2083

The paths of the North and the South are crossing now. Because the two are going in opposite directions, one wanting to go south and the other wanting to go north, their goals are different. The issue of how to unite is a serious one. Who is to take the lead in this mission? The North will object if the South takes the lead, and the South will object if the North takes the lead. Breakdown will occur again if each one adheres to its own way. The question is how to approach this issue. There must be a Korean who loves North Korea more than anyone else in the South. That is the only solution. The plan for unification can come about only through someone who is more loyal than anyone else in the South and someone who is more loyal than anyone else in the North. Is there any other way? There is not. (61-125, 1972.8.13)

Cheon Seong Gyeong 1424

Without a nation, there can be no nationality. Without a nation, there can be no foundation upon which you can be registered. We need to create a new nation of people, and be newly registered. We have to establish the Kingdom of God on earth and, as its citizens, love the kingdom and its people, live on earth together with our tribes and family members, and be the victorious sons and daughters who have inherited the true lineage of the parents of goodness. Only after doing so can we enter the Kingdom of Heaven in the spirit world. This is the teaching of the Divine Principle. (58-143, 1972.5.22)

Asceticism, Monasticism and Celibacy

ASPIRANTS WHO WISH TO COMPLETELY SEVER themselves from worldly life may adopt the secluded and sometimes solitary life of a monk or nun. In Buddhism and Jainism, and in Roman Catholic and Orthodox Christianity, the highest religious vocations require celibacy—monks, nuns and priests. Asceticism also abounds in Hinduism, where in addition to life-long ascetics, there is the tradition that brahmins would spend the last years of their lives as solitary ascetics devoting themselves to the goal of liberation. Christian monasticism took institutional form in order to provide a supportive setting for those who wished to take vows of poverty and chastity, who valued the love of Christ which surpasses the love of women.
There is no monasticism in Islam. Nevertheless, Muslims practice asceticism on a wide scale with the month-long fast of Ramadan. Fasting and all-night prayer vigils attack the body’s desire for food and sleep. They are examples of ascetic practices within everyone’s reach, unlike traditional monasticism which is practiced only by a spiritual elite. In Thailand and Sri Lanka, Buddhist young men usually devote six months to monastic training before embarking on family life.
In line with his teaching on subduing the desires of the body, Father Moon praises monasticism for its devotion to attaining mind-body unity. Nevertheless, a tension exists between the path of the celibate priest and the family ideal that God purposed at the creation. Hence, at the end of this section are passages critical of the monastic life; such are found in nearly every tradition where it is practiced: asceticism can lead to an overly severe personality devoid of compassion; monasticism is incompatible with the generative and productive life of the world which is ordained by God. Father Moon’s teaching points to the deeper problem that led God to institute the path of celibacy and asceticism in the first place: the corruption of marriage at the Human Fall. In the final passages, he describes the dawning of a new age in which marriage is restored to its original estate and there is no more need for the discipline of celibacy. While celibacy was a true and noble path in past ages, the time has come for religion to exalt marriage above the celibate life. Indicative of this sea-change is the decline of monasticism and celibacy that is being felt all over the religious world.

The Ascetic Life of a Monk or Nun

The blue-necked peacock which flies through the air never approaches the speed of the swan. Similarly, the householder can never resemble the monk who is endowed with the qualities of the sage, who meditates, aloof, in the jungle.
Sutta Nipata 221 (Buddhism)

Go on the begging tour, stay in a forest, eat but a little, speak only measured words, put up with misery, conquer sleep, practice friendship with all and non-attachment in an excellent manner.
Vattakera, Mulacara 981 (Jainism) Continue reading “Monasticism Emphasized the Love of Christ Over the Love of Women”

Should Young Men and Women Go on Dates?

Cheon Seong Gyeong 2250

What should blessed couples do if they fight? They should call their physical children and then their spiritual children to ask their forgiveness because the former represent Abel and the latter represent Cain. Having gone against the tradition that Cain and Abel should follow, they did not make Cain and Abel unite but did the opposite instead, and therefore must repent before them. Such a time will come. We share a common destiny. When the children do something wrong, they must obtain their parents’ forgiveness. If the husband, their father, does something wrong, he must beg them, and his wife, for forgiveness. This is the true family with true love at the center. (135-38, 1985.8.20)

Cheon Seong Gyeong 1186

On August 31, 1989, in Alaska I declared the Ceremony of the Settlement of the Eight Stages that allowed humankind to shift into the age when indemnity is no longer needed. This means that wherever I or the believers of the Unification Church go, the age of persecution is over. From now on, if we build the Kingdom of Heaven or do anything we want, no one can accuse us. That kind of foundation was laid by the Ceremony of the Settlement of the Eight Stages.

3. Is Touching or Even Looking Permitted?

You shall not eat of the fruit… neither shall you touch it, lest you die.
Genesis 3.3

Offering presents to a woman, romping with her, touching her ornaments and dress, sitting with her on a bed, all these are considered adulterous acts.
Laws of Manu 8.357 (Hinduism)

You have heard that it was said, “You shall not commit adultery.” But I say to you that every one who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
Matthew 5.27-28

The adultery of the eye is the lustful look, and the adultery of the tongue is the licentious speech, and the heart desires and yearns, which the parts may or may not put into effect.
Hadith of Muslim (Islam)

It is true that you commit no actual crimes; but when you meet a beautiful woman in another’s home and cannot banish her from your thoughts, you have committed adultery with her in your heart. Consider a moment! Would you have sufficient control over yourself to imitate the sage Lu Nantze if you were placed in a similar position? When he once found himself obliged to pass the night in a house whose only other occupant was a woman, he lighted a lamp and read aloud until morning to avoid exposing her to unjust suspicions.
Treatise on Response and Retribution, Appended Tales (Taoism)

The Buddha said, “Be careful not to look at women and do not talk with them. If you must speak with them, be properly mindful and think, ‘I am a shramana living in a turbid world.25I should be like the lotus flower and not be defiled by the mud.’ Regard old women the way you regard your mother. Regard those who are older than you the way you regard your elder sisters; regard those who are younger than you as your younger sisters, and regard children as your own. Bring forth thoughts to rescue them, and put an end to bad thoughts.”
Sutra of Forty-two Sections 29 (Buddhism)

Teachings of Rev. Sun Myung Moon

In the Western world, men and women shake hands, hold hands and hug each other so casually that they do not feel any special sensation. In the East, however, men and women rarely have physical contact with each other. So if they happen to merely brush against each other, they feel an electric spark.

Which is better, for men and women to have frequent physical contact or to refrain from touching until they are fully mature? When the electricity sparks, would you rather it be 50 volts or 100 volts? Therefore, you should wait. What do you think? Should young men and women go on dates, hold hands and kiss each other before marriage? You should wait and refrain from touching until you are fully ripe, like an apple that has turned totally red. Then even at the touch of your partner’s hand you will feel an exciting electrical spark. Yet most American women never experience the full sensation of first love, because having dissipated their electricity, the remaining charge is only at 50 volts or even 30 volts. Now what do you think of American style love?

Satan uses this and many other methods to invade the realm of high-intensity love. To a pure teenage boy, a girl is like a palace of mysteries. Likewise, to a pure teenage girl, a boy is like a palace of mysteries. But these days, where is the mystery? Boys and girls behave like animals. They love each other like cats and dogs, without any vertical love. (125:103, March 13, 1983)

The religious life is one in which your conscience tortures your body until it surrenders. Once the flesh is completely dead, your conscience should occupy it so it can never come back to life again. Thus, the mind must dominate the flesh.

Therefore, you should turn your habitual way of seeing inside out and see straight. Your eyes, which have been looking at things 180 degrees opposite the way they ought to, should now turn 180 degrees opposite their former way of seeing. Whereas, before, when you were on the satanic side you looked through the left eye, now you should look through the right eye. In other words, your eyes, which could not see properly because they were 180 degrees off, should be united with your conscience and return to their original place, coming back to the right side after having rotated 360 degrees. From that time on, your eyes are welcome to view anything because you see with the eyes of the original mind. (261:303-04, July 24, 1994)

Your Purity Should Be Your Pride

Cheon Seong Gyeong 2134

On this very significant occasion today when I am meeting some of the most distinguished leaders in the world, I would like to share with you my thoughts and teachings on the topic, “The Cosmos Is Our Hometown and Homeland.” The cosmos was created as an enormous house where human beings would live as its owners. Being at the center of the universe, they live within the spherical relationships of ‘above’ and ‘below’, ‘left’ and ‘right’, and ‘front’ and ‘rear’, namely the parent-child, husband-wife, and brother-sister relationships.
God exists in the seventh position which is at the very center of ‘above’ and ‘below’, ‘left’ and ‘right’ and ‘front’ and ‘rear’ numbered 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6. Thus, He can guide us in our daily lives even while existing in an invisible central position. Human beings can with God’s help be liberated from the satanic realm of bondage and suffering resulting from the Fall, to mature as true sons and daughters, meet their mates to become true husbands and wives, go on to have children, and become true parents according to the normal course of life.
Consequently, we cannot reject the idea of becoming true children, spouses, and parents. Doing so would be to violate a fundamental principle of the universe, thus destroying our own existence. Hence, each of us must participate in building a true family consisting of true parents, spouses, and children, which is the model for the ideal existence.

Cheon Seon Gyeong 481

A true husband is a person who says, “Since I am born for your sake, I will live for you and die for you.” It is the same with a true wife. If such a couple has a family where they are well suited to each other and live for each other’s sake, going beyond their own selves, this family will inevitably become an ideal family, a family of happiness, and a family of peace. (77-106.1975.4.1)

Chastity

2. Young People Should Be Abstinent before Marriage

How can a young man keep his way pure?
By guarding it according to thy word.
Psalm 119.9

So shun youthful passions and aim at righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call upon the Lord from a pure heart.
2 Timothy 2.22

Those who abstain from sex,
Except with those joined to them in the
marriage bond…
These will be the heirs who will inherit
Paradise.
Qur’an 23.5-11

Let those who cannot find the wherewithal for marriage keep themselves chaste, until God gives them means out of His grace…
Do not force your slave-girls into prostitution when they desire chastity, for your profit in worldly goods.
Qur’an 24.33

If any man takes a wife, and goes in to her, and then spurns her, and charges her with shameful conduct, and brings an evil name upon her, saying, “I took this woman, and when I came near her, I did not find in her the tokens of virginity,” then the father of the young woman and her mother shall take and bring out the tokens of her virginity to the elders of the city in the gate… But if the thing is true, that the tokens of virginity were not found in the young woman, then they shall bring out the young woman to the door of her father’s house, and the men of her city shall stone her to death with stones, because she has wrought folly in Israel by playing the harlot in her father’s house; so you shall purge the evil from the midst of you.
Deuteronomy 22.13-21

The Buddha said, “Of all longings and desires, there is none stronger than sex. Sex as a desire has no equal. Rely on the Oneness. No one under heaven is able to become a follower of the Way if he accepts dualism.”
Sutra of Forty-two Sections 25 (Buddhism)

Teachings of Rev. Sun Myung Moon

When a girl grows up and becomes a young woman, she looks for a young man. But will she really find true love in him? Can a young man be confident that he can trust his girlfriend? Without true love, men and woman cannot trust each other. Why? They do not understand that a man and a woman exist for the sake of each other. Instead, they are accustomed to using their partners to serve themselves. People use the opposite sex as servants or slaves because they do not know the value of true love. One’s first love should last eternally. (297:145, November 19, 1998)

When you are a young person nearing twenty, where do you take your clean and unstained purity, all wrapped up? You take it to the altar where God will be most happy to receive it. Then you join with your spouse, who has also guarded his or her purity. Then when God binds you together at the holy place [your sexual organs], you become a holy husband and wife.

Your purity should be your pride. Nevertheless, if you think that you can use your sexual organ freely in the manner of dogs or pigs, it would be better to cut it off or dig it out. (64:85, October 24, 1972)

You should not sully your innocence during adolescence. It is the precious period when you can overcome and indemnify the sorrow of Adam and Eve, who lost their innocence during their youth. You should preserve your innocence, precious and clean. You should have the integrity and resolution to say, “Even if I have to live alone for a thousand years, I will not allow anyone to violate my love.”

My tradition and teaching is that you cannot hold your partner of love unless you have loved your people and your nation. You cannot hold you partner of love unless you have loved the world. You cannot hold your partner of love unless you have loved God. Once you have loved God, loved the world and loved the nation, then you can love your spouse. This is a fundamental rule. (37:108, December 22, 1970)

The time has come when men as well as women should keep their chastity. If a man takes a wrong step and loses his chastity, it is as if his entire clan committed a serious offense against God’s Will.

The time has come when it is no longer acceptable for an elderly man to have a secret affair. A man’s philandering will ruin his entire clan. Once you understand the Unification teaching, you cannot do that. (Blessing and Ideal Family 1.2.6)

I am thinking that your children should be married at an early age, because I want them to be certain of marrying their first love. If each of you had met your spouse during adolescence with your first love intact, you would be so happy. First love is so pure! You would approach your spouse like a pure child loving its mother and father. Such a loving man and woman create an ideal couple and give birth to wonderful children. (118:310, June 20, 1982)

The Sexual Organs are the Palace of Love, Life, Lineage and Conscience

Cheon Seong Gyeong 1881

When you look at the ocean, you should not regard it simply as the ocean. You should consider it a gift from our Heavenly Father. A great revolution can begin from the moment you begin to reconsider and re-experience everything in the course of re-creation. The value of a great victory can sprout from this point. (112-306, 1981.4.25)

Cheon Seong Gyeong 1267

The Fall occurred through the wrongful marriage in the Garden of Eden. Now the time has come for True Parents to overturn this, by marrying people in the right way. The trouble caused by the false parents should be solved by the True Parents. Through them, hell can be eliminated and the millions and billions of ancestors in the spirit world can be blessed in holy matrimony. Through the foundation of the families of descendants on earth, centering on true love, the ancestors in the spirit world and the descendants on earth can unite into one vertically. The East and West will be connected horizontally with this vertical family foundation.
What should an adopted son do? He must be engrafted to the true son. The wild olive tree must be cut off at the root, and then the sprout of the true olive tree can be engrafted into it. It would be as if there were a movement to convert all the wild olive trees into true olive trees. In order to be reborn, you need to inherit the lineage of True Parents. That is why the whole of humanity hopes for True Parents, and Jesus and the Holy Spirit yearned to carry out the marriage feast of the Lamb. (19-164, 1968.1.1)

Chastity

1. Refrain from Adultery, the Most Serious Sin

Teachings of Rev. Sun Myung Moon

Some married men, when they see a pretty woman, think how nice it would be if she were their wife. Such a person has two minds. We call him a man with the mind of a thief. Satan started from two minds; thus it is right to call such a man with two minds “Satan.” He is no different from Satan. (Blessing and Ideal Family 1.2.6)

The sexual organ is the most fearful of the senses, because love was the cause of the Human Fall. That is why religions treat adultery as the most serious sin. The free sex that we see in the modern world today is an extension of hell. It is hell on earth and hell in the spirit world. It will entirely perish. (261:303-04, July 24, 1994)

Love, life, and lineage want to attach themselves to the sexual organs of men and women. They are the place to connect with God. They are the place where the Original Parent of all human beings comes and visits us. The sexual organs are the palace of love, palace of life, palace of lineage, and the palace of conscience. They are the starting point. Without them, we cannot find love; without them, we cannot find life. Without them, there would be no way for the life in a man and the life in a woman to meet as one. They are where a man and a woman meet and where a lineage comes into being. Your conscience, too, must be in accord with your sexual organ or it cannot manifest correctly.

Each of us has love; each of us has life, and each of us has a lineage. Inquiring where they come from, we learn that they are linked to our parents’ sexual organs. They are linked to the love that is in our parents’ sexual organs. That is how precious these organs are. The core of all the ideal traditions of the universe flows through their gates. The living water of eternal life flows from them. To become eternal living water, there must be love. So love is the most important. That is how precious these organs are. In nature, precious things, treasures, do not lie in plain view. Instead, they are hidden. Is this not true of gold? It is hidden, distributed in layers of feldspar or other rocks.

However, as the result of the human fall, all this was turned upside down. Each woman now thinks that her sexual organ is her own, but it is not hers. A man can never perfect his love without his wife’s sexual organ. Likewise, a woman cannot maintain her love forever unless she has her husband’s sexual organ to bring love to her. As long as men and women regard their sexual organs as their own, they cannot realize eternal love. Rather, they must exchange their sexual organs. The owner of a man’s organ is his wife, and the owner of a woman’s organ is her husband…

Will a new key fit two different locks? These days some knuckleheaded professors talk about free sex, and say this represents the liberation of love, or the emancipation of sex. They are thieves, and this world has become hell on earth because of such thinking. (300:320-21, April 15, 1999)