The Abundant Life -- For Unificationists

Michael Kiely -- Jardim, Brazil

While a moderate house in the United States may cost $70,000 to $200,000 to build, in Western Brazil it may cost $2,000 to $3,000, and land is a near giveaway. No expensive home heating system is necessary, and locals don't use air conditioning because they construct their homes so that air passes through continually, creating a nearly perpetual, cooling breeze.

What's more, rice is dirt cheap, and beef costs only 40 to 50 cents a pound with the best beef going for twice that price. Vegetables and fruit grow easily here, and many crops are harvested two or more times a year.

If that sounds like paradise, indeed it is.

In this Western region of Brazil in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul where Jardim is situated, Brazilians can live for $50 to $60 per month and never have to worry about a lack of food.

What's more, water is available in abundance. Even in the event that there is no surface source for water, good quality well water is always available.

Tired of shelling out $25 to $50 in the States for a shirt? In Campo Grande, the state capital, shirts go for $3 each, and other clothing is comparably priced.

Pollution is virtually non-existent. The air is clean and fresh to breathe. Clouds pile up in spectacular, three-dimensional displays during the day without a trace of smog, and at night, myriad bright constellations of stars appear to hang close enough to the earth that they could be plucked like ripe fruit. Each day begins with an intensely colorful, panoramic and ever-changing sunrise and ends with an equally stunning sunset. Also, a number of the rivers in the area are crystal clear; one can easily see the abundant fish in them. In fact, in one town, Bonito, you can safely swim among the darting fish for a small fee.

Indeed, in the so-called Pantanal, a large wilderness area that includes Mato Grosso do Sul and parts of Paraguay, the abundant wildlife and numerous rivers in the region make this a hunter's and a fisherman's paradise. For those searching for natural beauty, waterfalls abound as well as many natural caves, often with spectacular crystalline formations centuries old.

For those who are tired of the rat race, who believe that there is another dimension to life than the 24/7 scramble to come out on top of the pile and live in the suburbs, there is an alternative. Brazilians work hard, too, but they take time out for an afternoon of soccer or an evening of samba, a typical Brazilian dance. They seem to know innately that they need to take time to develop warm human relationships. They also know that it doesn't take much work to afford to live well here.

The miracle is that all this beauty and rich natural resources have not yet been discovered by the tourist industry and by developers. So, life is cheap and enjoyable. A little money goes a long way. As one American living in the area said, "You don't have to be wealthy in America to live like a king here."

About four years ago Rev. Moon recognized that this little known region had considerable potential for building an international community where the world's different peoples, ethnic, religious and cultural groups could live together in harmony and create a model for world peace. That community, called The Kingdom of Heaven on Earth, started out less than four years ago as a few tents in the wilderness a half-hour's drive from Jardim, a little town of 20,000 people southwest of Campo Grande.

Now nearly four years later it has been transformed into a thriving community and workshop center with a 2,000-person auditorium with sweeping arches, two large dining halls of similar architecture, six large classroom buildings, over a dozen air-conditioned residential buildings with a capacity of nearly a thousand people (with sleeping bag space for another thousand in as yet unused classrooms), a 440 kilowatt generator, and three water tanks with a combined capacity of nearly 200 tons . For anglers there is a well-stocked lake with a variety of catchable fish. Also, there are a number of large green houses for agricultural research, fruit and vegetable farms, an ostrich farm, a cattle ranch, a bee farm for honey production, an escargot (gourmet snail) farm and numerous other agricultural facilities and enterprises.

New Hope East Garden or simply New Hope Farm, as the facility is called, is the site of a series of 40-Day Ideal Family Workshops designed to prepare Unification families to register for and live in the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth. Rev. Moon has urged all unification families to participate in the workshop as soon as possible. Centered on daily Hoon Dok Hae, which is community reading of Rev. Moon's words, The Divine Principle and other texts, the workshops train couples in the practical aspects of true love and the rearing of blessed children. It provides them an opportunity to work out family problems and to deepen their life of faith in a setting of incomparable beauty. There are also a number of deep but practical lectures given by Rev. Yoon, the Education and Workshop Director and other staff members.

In addition to receiving a rich spiritual diet, families dine on a wide variety of locally grown, organic vegetables and fruit and generous helpings of local beef and other meat. Virtually all food is grown on Unification farms, and the fruit and vegetables are pesticide free. In short, the food is scrumptious.

As one Unificationist quipped, "I'm still waiting for the indemnity to start."

For most necessities or a snack during the breaks, there is a small store run by pleasant Brazilian Unificationsts. The store has toiletries, diapers and baby goods, stationery items, gifts, food and sundry other items. It does not, however, sell Hoon Dok Hae sets, The Divine Principle or Dr. Lee's book. As a result of these ongoing workshops, a number of couples have already decided to move their families to the farm. For such families, there is a fully accredited multi-lingual elementary school with an international curriculum including music and the arts. Inaugurated this year, the school teaches Portuguese, Korean, Japanese and English as well as a combined Brazilian and Unification curriculum.

In addition, the Brazilian government has already approved the creation of a high-school in the facility which Rev. Yoon says will be comparable to the well-known and highly respected Eton School near London, England. The high school, he said, will have a capacity of 1500 students. "In the next twenty years, graduates of this high school will become world leaders," he predicted.

Both the elementary and high schools will emphasize moral education. "Twelve to 18 is the most critical time in the growth of a young person," Rev. Yoon said, "so we teach them the right values during that formative period." If a person develops bad habits during this period, it is quite difficult for him or her to change them later on, he explained. So, the school will guide them in developing moral, other-centered habits that will last their whole life, he said. "We want to set a high standard for the second generation," he added..

He said that people usually decide "which way they will go" from age 15 on. "True Father had his first life encounter when he was 16," Rev. Yoon said.. "When True Father was 16 he met God and chose his way," he said.

Rev. Yoon also said negotiations are already complete for the establishment of a university in cooperation with another Brazilian university. New Hope University, as the facility may be called, will develop its curriculum in full cooperation with Sun Myung Moon University in Korea and the University of Bridgeport in the United States.

Encouraging unification families to move to Jardim as "pioneers" before Rev. Moon calls on Unificationists to migrate en masse to Jardim, he said, "Life is cheap here; we will take care of school for your children, and we will create industries here," he said. He encouraged members to identify and contribute their skills to the building of the kingdom. He said this is the time for actively building the kingdom, and those who contribute now will be eternally remembered.

"Living in the secular world is very difficult for children," he said. "Competition helps your brain to develop but not your shimjung." Because competition in the secular world is "too severe," the development of shimjung is thwarted. "You have to enjoy your heart, you have to enjoy your life," he said.

He said that if you live in a developed country, especially in big cities, you have to fight and compete throughout your life, so you have no time to relax and enjoy life. That is not ideal; "the ideal world is the world of harmony," he said, where one should be able to enjoy life. We can learn something about this ideal from the Brazilians, who do take time to "enjoy life," he said.

Because this is still a pioneering project, there are some surmountable challenges for families who are considering moving here. The climate is sometimes quite hot; mosquitoes bite in the evening, and there are poisonous snakes. But air conditioning during the afternoon, bug spray and avoiding tall grass and night walks makes those challenges quite livable. One needs also to avoid drinking tap water, but there is plenty of potable water, tea, a local health drink called matte, ginger tea and coffee available.

For more information, please contact your National Unification Movement headquarters. In the United States call (212) 997-0050, ext. 272 and ask Betty Lancaster to fax you complete information on Jardim. There will soon be a New Hope Farm Internet website where the most recent information about workshop requirements, fees, transportation and packing lists will be available.

Age Of Cosmic Peace

J. H. Pak
February, 1999

This has been a year of tremendous historical victories for God and True Parents. Following the celebration of the Holy Days held in Uruguay in January, True Parents came through North America and on to Korea to prepare for Blessing '99. Every victory gained has laid the foundation for True Parents' world speaking tour which is still going on and will lead to the opening of the heavenly kingdom.

The greatest victory occurred when President Kim Dae Jung of Korea responded to True Father's invitation to attend the Saegae Times Tenth Anniversary Banquet held just days before the Blessing. He not only attended but he gave a 15-minute congratulatory speech and participated with True Parents in the traditional cake-cutting ceremony. He showed respect, honor and acceptance to True Parents.

President Kim is Catholic. His wife is Methodist. The Blue House has many Christians on staff. They were not happy that President Kim was being supportive of Reverend and Mrs. Moon. But the president stood strong. He did not care about public opinion. This was a great victory for Parents and it makes President Kim a historical figure indeed. Because we are approaching the year 2000, it becomes the peak of the Dispensation of Restoration. Having this particular victory was a most fortunate occurrence.

Of course, Blessing '99 itself was overwhelmingly successful, with 360 million couples participating., broadcast by satellite and internet. Actually, the final total of participating couples was nearer to 400 million. Unimaginable. As I reported in my previous article, the Korean Church was preparing the Olympic gymnasium for the Blessing, where many of the '88 Olympic sports events took place, but True Father said "No, use the Olympic stadium, not the gymnasium!" Imagine how the church leaders felt when they were given that directive. They had the responsibility to fill that huge stadium! And with less than 30 days to organize!

Well, I was at the Blessing ceremony, and all of you heard the reports--the number of overflow people that were left outside was in the thousands! I saw this myself. It was indeed, a victorious event..

We already know about the amazing weather that day and how pleasant it was. Well, things work out when you are heaven-centered. Father has a plan, he has conviction, commitment and faith! Heaven and Earth will move to obey the command of true ownership. Even when we look back to the Old Testament times, we know that Moses and others had control over the weather when it was necessary. Again, Heaven and Earth will move at the command of a person filled with conviction and faith and with commitment to a heavenly plan. That person is a true owner.

We read the following story of Jesus in Luke 8:22-25

One day Jesus said to his disciples, "Let's go over to the other side of the lake." So they got into a boat and set out. As they sailed he fell asleep. A squall came down on the lake, so that the boat was being swamped, and they were in great danger. The disciples went and woke him, saying, "Master, Master, we're going to drown!" He got up and rebuked the wind and the raging waters; the storm subsided, and all was calm. "Where is your faith?" he asked his disciples. In fear and amazement they asked one another, "Who is this? He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey him."

It was a victory to have spiritual leaders from other faiths join with True Parents on stage at the Blessing to give their blessings. This interreligious spirit naturally has the potential to flow out to the world in the way of pulling into unity all of God's people everywhere. These spiritual leaders come because they already have outreach hearts and deep-thinking minds, desiring unity. And when they see that True Parents are successfully drawing millions of people to the Blessing from all walks of life, all religions, and all nations of the world, they have an even clearer view of what God expects of them and what God expects to have happen in the Universe.

The participation of Judaism, represented by Rabbi Herzel Kranz from Washington, DC was another outstanding victory. In another article, I reported about his favorable participation with True Parents on stage at the Blessing in Korea. I recently learned that Rev. Chang Shik Yang in Washington took some big, delicious Korean apples and pears to Rabbi Kranz and how Rabbi Kranz reportedly responded by saying, "Korea must surely be a special chosen land to have such delicious fruit! He also reportedly said that he thinks Reverend Moon is a great man.

Hearing this, I was reminded of the Old Testament story in the book of Numbers (ch. 13), when Joshua, Caleb and the others were sent by Moses to spy on the conditions in Canaan:

(17) ...When Moses sent them to explore Canaan, he said, "Go up through the Negev and on into the hill country. (18) ...See what the land is like...(19) what kind of towns do they live in...(20) What is the soil like...Do your best to bring back some of the fruit of the land. (It was the season for the first ripe grapes.)...(23) When they reached the Valley of Eshcol, they cut off a branch bearing a single cluster of grapes. Two of them carried it on a pole between them, along with some pomegranates and figs. (24) That place was called the Valley of Eshcol because of the cluster of grapes the Israelites cut off there...(25) At the end of forty days they returned from exploring the land. (26) They came back to Moses and Aron and the whole Israelite community at Kadesh in the Desert of Paran, There they reported to them and to the whole assembly and showed them the fruit of the land.

It is said that Rabbi Kranz is thinking about organizing Rabbis that are open to uniting with others. I bought a book which he told us about titled America's Real War by Rabbi Daniel Lamkin. I was told it will be a best-seller. In the book the author says that though America is a Christian nation, still they allow Judaism to exist peacefully side by side in this country without any persecution. However, he said that Judaism in America does not respect Christianity so much. That means we have religious warfare. In America, we not only have immoral warfare, family warfare, political and cultural warfare, racial warfare and satanic warfare of all kinds, but the author is saying we also have religious warfare. America is a field of warfare. It is dangerous for that reason.

If the Rabbis can organize and Christianity and Judaism can come together on the grounds of love and respect, we can learn from each other and all go forward together, teaching true family values and building the Kingdom.

When we think of 'peace' we usually think of world peace. But True Father thinks bigger; he thinks in terms of cosmic peace. That is his goal. On their world speaking tour, True Parents are bringing the message of the path of life humankind must take, so that families of the new millennium can live in true love and happiness for all Eternity. But while Father's message is given on the Earth and for the Earth, he is thinking beyond the Earth, out to the Universe and the heavenly world of spirit where we spend Eternity. Father's goal is to reach the entire Cosmos. God wants peace to reign throughout the Cosmos. That is the scale of God and True Parents' thinking. That should be the goal and the scale of thinking for all humankind.

But in speaking in terms of world peace: two thousand years ago, God and the world were preparing for Jesus Christ, the king, and hence Pax-Roma came to be. Rome battled with Northern Africa, with the France and Germany, they battled with Greece and Egypt and they eventually conquered the Mediterranean Sea area. They became Pax-Roma, meaning that through political and military power, they forcibly brought the peace which needed to be in existence for the Christ-child to reign. Pax-Roma was very materialistic and humanistic and very political. It was centered on Rome's military power.

When we think about America, we know that it is the window of the world. Numerous nations in the world look to America for "what is happening." When we travel to other nations, we can surely see some of America there, both good and bad. We can compare America to Rome two thousand years ago. While all eyes were upon Rome, Rome was "eating and drinking and making merry." Over-indulging in good food, selfish spending and prosperous living, and immorality. But we have political and military power. So we can say that Pax-Roma is repeated now in another cycle, Pax-America.

In the letter to the Romans, St. Paul says in 14:17:

For the Kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit...

This is the nation God prepared to receive the Messiah, the Lord of the Second Advent. Through its powers, America can maintain some sort of peace in the world. But God and the Messiah expect for real peace, God-centered peace, to reign from within America so that its powerful influence will naturally flow out into the world. It must be turned around to be used by God. Peace must flow from here, not battle skirmishes with other nations. We must become an example of moral living.

Media and money have become controlling factors. All the money powers are gathered on Wall Street. Like Rome, America is so materialistic. And the frightening thing is, people are becoming de-sensitized to all of this negative influence and immorality. This is so dangerous, because immorality is becoming the norm. America must clean up its immoral pollution and become a clean nation. We know that God expects this Christian nation to be one of peacemaking, not mischief-making. But our peacemaking efforts must be centered on True Love and the True and Living God, not on seeking ways to make harmony just to co-exist with misdirected people and misdirected groups.

God and True Parents want to make America a nation of True Love and Sacrificial Living, a nation of purity and peace that goes beyond religion, race and nationalism.

True Father concerns himself with the physical environmental pollution as well. He knows we cannot continue to live and breathe in a dirty world. For this, he has gone to South America and has literally rolled up his shirt-sleeves and pants-legs to become a part of nature and the environment, living with mosquitoes, snakes and alligators in the Pantanal, in order to create practical, workable solutions. This is how much God and True Parents love the world and the cosmos. They are working constantly toward making Earth and Heaven the places of purity, peace and happiness once and for all!

We ourselves must go back to a more simple lifestyle, one in which we can dwell with and appreciate nature. This will bring us closer to God and the wonders of His Creation. We have become people of greed. We are spoiled. We have come to expect things that we are not rightful owners of. We have to clean up our lives as individuals, as families, as a society, nation and world. Only then will cosmic peace reign.

We need cosmic peace! In these last days, the world is full of disease, mental illness, crime--brothers killing brothers, husbands and wives killing each other and their children, children killing their parents, wars and battles! Because there is satanic blood running through the veins of fallen humankind, evil spirits have gained control. Evil spirits take control of our tempers, our characters, our desires. Human energy is expended in the wrong way. Evil has reached a degree of such great magnitude!

Our ancestors in the spiritual world suffer under this evil bondage as well. Of course, some in spirit are good and bring help to us, but so many of them descend on us from the spiritual world and cause much trouble in our lives. We need liberation for ourselves and for the billions and billions of humankind's departed ancestors as well. We need the Blessing and so does the spiritual world. We all need to be purified and filled with God's Holy Spirit. Only then will we have total peace on Earth and in Heaven, the entire Cosmos.

This applies to the President of this nation as well. In fact, how wonderful it would be if heads of nations could know these things and lead the people to righteousness and liberty. It would create goodness in the nations so quickly.

We need Chung Pyung and the prayer intervention of our great mother Dae Mo Nim. We need the deliverance this can bring. We have so much in the way of remedy for our life and our spirit if we will only truly believe. But we should not only think of the results and benefits that are available to us; we need also to think of how we can sacrifice and dedicate ourselves for the Kingdom. We are fortunate that Dae Mo Nim will visit America soon. We have the chance to prepare ourselves well and to have the right mind and heart to receive the liberation that is available to us.

The spiritual world Blessings began with some key figures in 1995. Since then, millions have been blessed there. People from recorded history, those who dedicated their lives to God have been blessed as well as those in the lower realms of the spiritual world. What we call the Cain and Abel sides of the spiritual world have both been blessed. On Earth we have the Cain and Abel sides also. In the physical world many people are denying that there is even a God. How dreadful for the ancestors of these people.

A famous evangelist in America said, "The greatest warfare going on in the world today is that between humankind and God." Many people say that God is dead. Many think He is living but do not apply His values to their lives. Well, Pax-Americana is certainly not the ideal from God's point of view. But those of us who follow the guidance of True Parents are aiming higher than the world when we speak of peace. We are aiming for Cosmic Peace--liberation of Cain and Abel, liberation of the physical and spiritual worlds, the entire Cosmos. This is a very exciting thing.

Judeo-Christian traditions and values are not working in America. Rather, in America, we have more of "Clintongate," which is a symbol of immoral living and encourages sexually immoral activity among our young people. Such a leader sits on the nation as a false king, clearly an image of fallen Adam. We have race crimes and even tragic incidences like the recent one in New York where four policemen sent 41 gunshots through the body of an unarmed man of another race. All of this present-day activity is clear evidence of the Cain and Abel generation, born of the fallen family of Adam and Eve. So Pax-Americana is not the ideal peace which is needed, but rather we need Cosmic Peace.

From the city level, county level on to the state, nation and world levels, this struggle is ongoing. America is seeking to create pseudo world peace. Who is the true peacemaker of world peace and cosmic peace? The answer is: True Parents. They are God's embodiment of substantial Truth and Heart. True Son and Daughter of God, True King and Queenship of God, owners of God; they established a True Family; they taught True Family Values.; and they are bringing forth the worldwide community of blessed families.

This interreligious, international, interracial worldwide movement has spread to 185 nations. A miracle. For that, True Father has led a total sacrificial life, never once thinking of himself. When he found himself in prison, he continued such a life, choosing 3am as the hour to meet God in prayer, a time when he could be totally alone with God. To comfort God's suffering heart has always come first in True Father's life. To give his life sacrificially for humankind has been his lifestyle, his whole life. How else could he have embraced the entire cosmos.

So how can we expect to create peace when we ourselves live anyway we choose, not living sacrifically for others or dedicating ourselves to God? We have to seriously think how we contribute to world and cosmic peace. When we lay conditions to have our ancestors liberated, we are contributing toward cosmic peace. (Please read that last sentence once again. It is very important.) We are contributing toward cosmic peace when we liberate our ancestors. We are preparing for our Eternal Life. When we ourselves make the transition to the spiritual world we want to be going home, not roaming around like some lost wandering spirit in a wilderness.. That is not cosmic peace. True Parents' teaching is a way of life. Like Taoism, the principle of living the way. With True Parents it is a way of life throughout all eternity; living in harmony and peace with all creation, all humankind. This is true cosmic peace.

By the year 2000 and before True Father's 80th birthday (solar calendar) all people on Earth and in Heaven will have had the opportunity to be blessed. How wonderful it will be.

Just 40 ago, True Father blessed the first three couples, Rev. Won Pil Kim's couple, Church President Hyo Won Eu's couple and Rev. Young Whi Kim's couple. How far Father has come! Now True Father is planning the Blessing of 400 million unmarried young people's couples. True Parents cannot do that alone. Just the matching of this many people is overwhelming. Some of this will be done by many assistants of True Parents. It will be a collective effort under True Parents' supervision. And Father will no longer bless already-married couples. That is the responsibility of the Tribal Messiahs.

What is the main content of True Father's teaching?

The establishment of the True Family movement of humankind.

Interreligious and International Federations working together for world peace.

Making our way of life one that attains individual mind-body unity, husband-wife unity, family unity, national, world and cosmic unity--all of which will bring world and cosmic peace.

Living a pure life should be our way of life.

Practicing a life of true family values.

Living all our life preparing for Eternity in the spiritual world, the Kingdom of Heaven in Heaven.

Establishing the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth and in Heaven.

No matter what we scientifically study about the physical heavens, and no matter how powerful the telescope that is being used for explorations, the dimensions are nothing to speak of when compared with the spiritual world dimensions, which are higher than, bigger than, wider than, greater than the physical world. We are moving toward that place of eternal life where we will feel joy, happiness and peace. For this we will become peacemakers.

In Family Pledge #4, we pledge to build the cosmic family encompassing Heaven and Earth, which is God's ideal of creation, and perfect the world of freedom, peace, unity and happiness... For you and I, right now, this is available! This year! Imagine.

In Pledge #5, we pledge to strive everyday to advance the unification of the spirit world and the physical world... We were created to be the mediators between the two worlds. Our mind belongs to the spiritual world, our body belongs to the world of material. Everyday we need to concern ourselves with mind and body unity, spiritual world and physical world unity.

In Pledge #6, we pledge to...perfect a family that moves heavenly fortune and conveys Heaven's blessing to our community...In this year we need to give the Blessing throughout the world and liberate our ancestors from corner to corner in the spiritual world and give the Blessing.

In Pledge #7, we pledge to perfect a world based on the culture of heart, which is rooted in the original lineage, through living for the sake of others... We connect with the original blood lineage. We live for the sake of others and establish the culture of heart (shimjung ).

In Pledge #8, we pledge to enter completion ...we enter the Completed Testament Age, to achieve the ideal oneness of God and humankind in love...liberating the Kingdom of God on Earth and in Heaven... This means God is in us and we are inside God. When disciple Philip said to Jesus, "Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us." Jesus answered him: "Don't you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, "Show us the Father? Don't you believe that I am in the Father and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you are not just my own. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work...." (Jn 14:8-10).

If we live Pledge #8, we can also become the visible living God--we in God, God in us, just like Jesus and True Parents. This is the longing and desire of God. We are to be His true children, His physical, visible manifestations. God was inside the flesh of Jesus; Jesus was inside of God. The two were one ("I and the Father are one..." Jn 10:38). God is inside the flesh of True Parents; True Parents are inside God. This is how valuable they are; this is how authoritative they are. This can be our value and authority if we achieve the level which Jesus and True Parents achieved. They are our spiritual teachers and our spiritual standards. We ourselves can demonstrate the true father-like image, true mother-like image and true family-like image.

With absolute faith, love and obedience.

We are not talking about 10 years from now, we are talking about today! This year! And the center for North America is New York. How serious and how precious is this Tuesday Morning Leaders Breakfast Meeting. We will look on this years from now and remember that we were making history. Our contribution to this meeting is something which should sober our minds.

In the year 2000 we can say good-bye to darkness, all struggles, satanic culture and such things will all be burned out. A New Heaven and New Earth will be in our midst. Purification and New Start. The peak of Jesus' ministry, the peak of True Parents' ministry. Two thousand years ago, Jesus died and was not able to fulfill the Kingdom of Heaven where purity and peace reigns. True Parents inherited the mission to complete the mission on Earth. So now, Jesus' mission and True Parents' mission is fulfilled. And don't let us forget the devotion of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, Moses and all others down through the ages who were central people in the Providence of God.. They too are now fulfilled.

Christian and Jewish leaders are now beginning to call out for prayers for the Reverend and Mrs. Sun Myung Moon. This is a special year, 1999. This is the time to be hardworking, faithful, loving and obedient. If we are these things, it will be the time for miracles. Don't give up just as we are nearing the peak. Let's reach the top to be with God on Earth and in Heaven. God bless you. 

Preservation and Sustainable Development in the Pantanal

Reverend Chung Hwan Kwak

This address was given at the World Conference on Preservation and Sustainable Development in the Pantanal, February 27, 1999 at the Hyatt Regency Hotel, Washington, DC

First please accept our deep and sincere gratitude to each one of you, not just for your contribution to this historic conference, but also for your life-long dedication to protecting and preserving this unreplaceable world treasure, the Pantanal.

We have been blessed with a place of endless beauty that is integrated into the world's ecology. It may have been safe in earlier times to take such a place for granted, but present conditions do not allow such luxury.

If we do not invest all our wisdom, expertise, and cooperation, this precious treasure will be threatened by all kinds of misuse and destruction. We must be vigilant every day, and it is your contribution of scientific study, environmental protection programs, and education, which are doing just that. I trust this conference is providing valuable information and relationships which will assist you in this great cause of protecting the Pantanal

I am sure many of you must have been surprised by the conference sponsorship; including a university in the distant land of Korea, a university in Northeastern United States, and a major news conglomerate in the world's most powerful capital. What possibly could bring such diverse sponsoring bodies into a joint project focusing on yet another distant system, namely the Pantanal?

Let me explain how this conference came into being. The founder of Sun Moon university, and major supporter of the other organizations, Reverend Moon, asked me to organize this conference on the preservation of the Pantanal.

But who ever heard of a religious leader requesting a conference gathering foremost experts from highly specialized arenas of science, economy, and other human enterprises, which are always thought of as anything but religious?

Finally let me ask, what could a religious leader from Korea possibly know about a Latin American ecosystem like the Pantanal? It is hard to think of any world religious figure who has trod the narrow pathways to even get to the Pantanal.

Well, for those of you who know anything about Reverend Moon, the one thing we surely know is that he is not a typical religious leader.

I am sure many of you have read all sorts of articles about Reverend Moon by people who claim to be experts. Or perhaps you have heard friends or colleagues speak with great confidence.

If so, have you ever read in any article, or has any colleague ever told you that Reverend Moon (now nearly eighty years old) spent most of 1998 on the rivers in the Pantanal, virtually alone. He traveled on a small boat through remote areas where he had to duck his head to get through the tangled brush over the river. He traveled on this boat so late almost every night that he would rely on a flashlight to make his way back watching the red gleam in the eyes of the half-submerged caimans.

Well, if such supposed experts cannot even tell you what Reverend Moon did just last year... what kind of expertise is that? What if you read an article on the Pantanal placing this wetlands system in Nepal? You would reject the article as nonsense.

No, I'm afraid that the story of Reverend Moon has not been well told. Many who claim expertise should be checked closely. You in the fields of science, economics and other refined areas have highly disciplined patterns of study and investigation of sources. You are well trained to avoid jumping at any old claim, presuming it to represent accurate knowledge.

The truth is that Reverend Moon's interest in the Pantanal, and his enormous investment in its protection and preservation are in every way a natural outgrowth both of who he is as a person, and what he teaches religiously.

In his heart, despite his world changing activities, Reverend Moon remains a boy from the farm. He continues to be informed by his original love for nature, his love for his childhood places where he would sit for days secretly watching a bird's nest to see the tiny chicks be born. And for times when he followed the tracks of a weasel on the winter snow throughout the night, so single-mindedly that he found himself several villages away, much to the alarm of his family and townsfolk. He wanted to understand where the weasel lived and where it was going.

It is only natural then that such a man eventually would gravitate to a world of original and pristine beauty like the Pantanal. And once having witnessed the rapture of its infinite wonder dedicate the full measure of his influence to preserve and protect this treasure from harm. And that impulse to protect this precious area means hard work.

If Reverend Moon knows anything he knows that no good comes from mere intentions. Good can only result from personal investment, heartfelt self-sacrifice, and systematic and principled actions. Reverend Moon believes that the Pantanal belongs to God, and that it exists to give joy and natural education to humanity. It cannot be abused or treated carelessly. Future generations must learn God's secrets from this vast ecology and wonderland.

Unfortunately, I do not have time here to explain more fully how Reverend Moon's religious teachings naturally led to him giving himself unconditionally to champion the careful and systematic preservation of the Pantanal. I hope you will find time and the means to study his simple but profound teaching. If you understand it, you will see how his teaching naturally leads to environmentalism.

Briefly the Divine Principle explains that God created humanity to grow to maturity, receive God's Blessing in marriage, form an ideal family, and rejoice in God's nature. These three aspects of life are called the three blessings. No step can be overlooked, and trying to jump over one, results in disaster. The cause of damage to the environment stems from human immaturity, and deformed families. Such people do not have the sensitivity to love and protect nature, even though they may have the intelligence or skills to control enterprise. The corporate rape of fragile environments may be seen as stemming from the same sort of insensitivity as a cruel child torturing one of God's creatures. Neither could be possible if that child, and later that adult were raised in an atmosphere and family of True Love.

The only place we can inherit enough loving care and sensitivity is from mature and harmonious parents. This is why Reverend Moon's life-long labor is to erect and glorify True Families. And this is why his passion for environmentalism is a natural outgrowth of this life-long work.

So far Reverend Moon has taken up two projects to protect the Pantanal. The first is the International Family Education Center in Jardim which is just outside the Pantanal. Here he has plans to establish an elite education center where experts from all areas can teach the ideals of True Family, and thereby slowly elevate people from all countries to live as loving couples and raise children in a loving way, so that they can inherit a natural sensitivity to God's environment and ecology. When this is done, it will be far more effective than external legislation trying to thwart fixed bad behaviors which lead to environmental violence.

Secondly, he has initiated a project in which all 185 nations take personal responsibility to protect and preserve a specific designated sector in the Pantanal. This is not a matter of land ownership or any such thing. Rather it is a matter of global stewardship, to guarantee that the pressing matter of preservation is not just left to chance. It will be at one and the same time a global support system, and a global watchdog to ensure that the pristine, environmental conditions are forever preserved.

This would best be served by the establishment of research stations from which scholars and environmentalists can monitor ecological conditions on a regular basis. These can be maintained by the World University Federation.

Also, he recommends nature exhibitions from these designated areas. These will show all the fascinating elements from that particular sector, through which the international community can be educated and have their love for nature sparked within them. After experiencing such an exhibit people will have a stronger determination to protect this precious area. Each nation's government and its appropriate ministries should assist with the creation of excellent and well thought out exhibitions of this kind. I hope you will support these ideas and proposals.

Thank you for your time and attention. Once again we are grateful indeed for your life's work, and we pray that God may bless all that you are doing for the Pantanal.

Celebration of True Parents’ Birthday

Rev. Chung Hwan Kwak

This is from a memo sent out on February 23, 1999

As with the victory of the Blessing of 360 million couples, the celebration of True Father’s 79th and True Mother’s 56th birthday was gracefully and splendidly held in Seoul. Being the birthday celebration held following the great success of the Blessing of 360 million couples, the preciousness and glory of our True Parents shone all the more brilliantly at this event.

The Main Pledge Ceremony was held at Hannam-dong at 7:00 am on February 21 (Jan. 6 by lunar calendar) and was attended by National Messiahs and leaders from around the world including leaders from Korea and Japan. At the morning ceremony, Father emphasized that each leader should live their life with their focus set correctly both vertically and horizontally.

After the Pledge, there was a commemorative service at the Central Training Center at 10:00 a.m. attended by more than 7,000 leaders and Korean members. Father spoke with the title, "Let’s Liberate Love Itself." Father emphasized a lot about the center of love that parents’ love is formed through children, husband’s love is formed through his wife and wife’s love is formed through her husband.

Next, the congratulatory entertainment held at the Little Angels Art Performing Center became a meaningful one that returned glory and comfort to True Parents through various programs prepared by Korea with special guest appearances from Japan, Taiwan and the USA.

The International Leaders’ Conference was held on Feb. 22nd at Hannam-dong attended by National Messiahs and leaders from Korea and Japan. At the morning meeting, Father emphasized a great deal on achieving the victory of the Blessing of 400 million couples of single men and women and the preparation for the World Culture and Sports Festival IV to be held in Seoul surrounding True Parents’ Birthday Celebration in the year 2000.

The Path of Life For All Humankind

Dr. Hak Ja Han Moon

This is the text of the speech that is being presented on the worldwide speaking tour.

Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,

I am deeply grateful that you have taken the time from your busy schedules to help me make today's gathering such a success. Our theme for today is "The Path of Life for All Humankind."

Today the world is lost in great confusion and cries out in agony. We face endless conflict as individuals, in our families, in our nations and in the world. As individuals, we are confronted with inner turmoil between our mind and body. Our families are plagued with the moral decadence of our young people and the breakdown of family-centered traditions. Historical rivalries lead to distrust and even war among our nations, fanning the embers of uncertainty and hopelessness in the world. The solution to all these problems lies in experiencing an ideal love relationship with God.

Throughout history, humankind has sought to answer the basic question: Why are we born? Some have concluded that they were born for the sake of their country. Others have decided that they were born for the sake of their parents. Still others believe they were born for their own sake. People of faith believe they are born for the sake of God.

Yet, it is not enough to say that God created the universe for the sole benefit of human beings, or even for Himself. The creation of humankind involved the cooperation of many beings and elements. Although each had its own inherent purpose, they had to be aligned to initiate the creative process. God's purpose in creating, the angel's purpose in assisting, nature's purpose in providing the materials, and even the human purpose for being created must all be consistent. Each one must be pleased. There must be some common content that will be pleasing to God, to the angels, to the rest of creation, and to human beings themselves.

This common content must be something that gives greater happiness and joy the longer it is possessed. It should be something that, once we possess it, we would never let it go. It cannot be external in nature. It must be something internal and invisible. Things like knowledge, money and power are merely collateral conditions that are needed in people's lives. We are not born into the world for the purpose of possessing them. Such external things may exist in a reciprocal relationship with humankind, but only temporarily, not eternally.

God has no need for money. If Almighty God ever needed money, He could create as much as He desired. Also, we know that God is the root of all knowledge, since He created the universe through certain principles and laws. Furthermore, the Creator God is the subject of power, so He has no need to seek power.

What, then, is this common content? It is something we cannot achieve through human effort alone. This is because human effort cannot control the fundamental origin of life. This content must be something capable of directing the motivation, course, and even final destination of each person's life.

From this perspective, this common content can only be true love. Human beings are born in love and are destined to go the path of love. People even die for love. This shows that love is more valuable than life itself. Moreover, we see that love precedes life. That is why people willingly offer even their lives for the sake of love.

Love is eternal. When human beings reach the state of consciousness in which they are able to love the universe, all the doors of the universe open to them. For example, I am just a tiny being occupying this space right here. But centered on love, I can reciprocate in relationship with a being of any size or magnitude. Let us say that God is an extremely large being. Then by the power of love, I can rise to a position reciprocal to that of the Absolute God. This is possible because love is an attribute of God.

Thus, a person who recognizes and keeps God's covenant of love can enjoy freedom anywhere in the universe. Such an individual, called by God to represent all humankind centering on this cosmic love, would be the Messiah. Jesus is that representative. We can never find this cosmic love without going through the Messiah. It is reasonable to say that all people on Earth will have to follow the Messiah. Jesus said: "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but by me" (John 14:6). The meaning of this would be clearer if the word love were added: "I am the way, and the truth, and the life, and the love; no one comes to the Father, but by me."

Parents and Children

The Divine Principle of the Unification Church teaches that energy is produced when a subject and object become one. In a family, parents hold the position of the subject partner and children hold the position of object partner. Once they reciprocate in a relationship of love, they become one entity -- a true family. This entity then becomes a new object, which can enter into unity with a larger subject. If God is that subject, then the parent-child unity becomes one with God. We can also say that when a perfect subject-object relationship is formed with God, centering on His ideal of love, God and humankind can exist in total oneness. When the realm of love between God and humanity becomes a reality, the light of love will shine throughout the universe as bright and constant as the sun.

Not only is each person a life-connecting entity in whom the lives of both parents are brought together as one, but we are also partners in our parents' love. We are one with their love. Furthermore, we are one with their ideals, including happiness and peace.

Each person is connected to the lifeline, love-line and ideal-line of their parents, and no one can sever these lines. Even God cannot sever them, nor can the universe. In fact all the forces of the universe work together to safeguard these lines. This is because the parents are the cause and the children are the result. The parents and children are one, centering on love. Cause and effect become one to form a substantial realm of love. This is a principle of the universe.

Three Stages of Life

Each person comes into the world through three sets of parents. The first parent is the material world. Elements from the world of matter combine to form each person as the center of the material world and as a complex material being. Thus, it can be said that these physical elements themselves are the ancestors who gave us birth. On the other hand, the material world is an extension of us. The universe is created so that matter can settle only in the ideal of love. It is only in the ideal of love that all cells can live in tranquillity. But this is all ruined whenever a person becomes angry.

Our second set of parents is our physical parents. By giving birth to us, our parents gave us a particular form, and to this extent they are the masters of our lives. However, no matter how hard they may try, these parents cannot be the masters of our love.

The master of love is God. In this context, God exists so that love can be expanded into the entire universe and made eternal. Because God is the subject of love, He becomes the parent centering on love. That is why God is our third parent. So we have three sets of parents.

Human life can be divided into three periods: life in the womb of about ten months, a physical life of about a hundred years, and life in the spirit world that lasts tens of thousands of years into eternity.

If we look at our own faces, we also see three stages: the mouth, the nose and the eyes. These reflect the three periods of our lives. The mouth symbolizes the period in the womb, which is a world of material. The nose symbolizes the period on Earth, which is the world of humanity. The eyes symbolize the period in Heaven, which is the spirit world.

To the fetus, the aquatic world of its mother's womb is a world of total freedom. Interestingly, although it is constrained within the confines of the womb, the fetus feels completely free. In the womb, it can't stretch its legs as much as it would like, and the fetus relies on an umbilical cord to breathe and receive nutrients for survival since its nose and mouth are both useless in this world. Nevertheless, to the fetus, the world in the womb is one of complete freedom.

As soon as the baby is born, it begins to cry. At the same time, it starts to breathe through its nose and becomes linked to the second world, the world of air.

As the baby leaves the womb to enter the world of air, the umbilical cord is destroyed along with the water sac and everything it needed in the world of the womb. With the death of these things, the baby is born into the bosom of its new mother, the planet Earth. Once born, the baby begins to eat with its mouth and breathe with its nose. The food we eat on Earth nourishes our physical bodies, but it does not contain the essential element of life. This life element is nothing other than love. Thus, while we are in this world, we also need to breathe the air of love. We need to inhale this air of love from our mother and father.

Growing in Love

A newborn baby automatically searches for its mother's breast, following the vibrations of her love. Whether she is beautiful or ugly does not matter to the baby. The only thing that matters is that she is its mother. It is a sacred scene manifested in limitless variety. We are born in love and we grow by receiving love.

Once we are born, our parents take responsibility to see that we become good human beings during our life on Earth. Our parents act on behalf of the world, the nation and the family to teach and provide for us. We receive material things and education from our parents so that we may become complete as individuals. Based on this, we then become linked to a horizontal foundation of love, which is marriage.

Parents take responsibility for us until we marry. After marriage, we inherit the love shared by our mother and father. When we marry and start rearing our own children, we begin to understand how much our parents loved us and thus come to inherit parental love. In this way, the individual becomes capable of receiving and giving love completely. This is how each of us matures as a complete man or woman.

We are born and mature in the vertical love of our parents, and later we engage in horizontal love. This is the only way we can find the integrated realm of love. Heaven and Earth together form a spherical world, covering all the dimensions of top and bottom, left and right, as well as front and back. When the vertical and horizontal love relationships are linked, they interact, revolve, become integrated, and finally emerge as a single center of harmony. Once the vertical love of Heaven and Earth is firmly established as the axis internally and externally, then the need for horizontal love arises. This takes place during adolescence.

During adolescence, even the sight of an autumn leaf blowing along the ground can seem inspiring. Girls who used to be so reserved when they were younger suddenly start doing things to their hair, putting on make-up and trying on all sorts of clothes and accessories. Their interests expand as well. These are horizontal phenomena of love.

The Path of Life

When a husband and wife love each other, it symbolizes the planting of God. Parents represent God's original position. Here, the husband and wife each embody different sides of God. Also, each child is like a small God. Since God is the original entity of true love, when the various members of the family link themselves to true love, they become one body with God. Here, parents are the living embodiment of God representing Him. Husband and wife each represent God, and the children represent Him as well. Thus, three generations, centering on true love, stand in the position of God.

This is why all members of the family - parents, husbands and wives, and children - need true love. A family formed in this way, centering on true love, is the foundation for the Kingdom of Heaven. Unless we first establish such a foundation, the Kingdom of Heaven can never be established. This is the formula. The family is the center of the entire physical universe. People today do not realize that their family represents their country, world and universe. They do not know that their family is the center. Breaking apart a family is an act of rebellion against the country, world and universe.

Because a perfect family is the foundation for a perfect universe, a person who loves the universe as she loves her family can travel freely everywhere. In such a case, God, as the Parent of the entire universe, sits in the central position to these manifold relationships of love.

When a man and woman become one centering on true love, they form an ideal couple, and build an ideal family. By doing so, they stand in a position representing God and thus are connected to everything in the universe. If this happens, then all of God's possessions become theirs. Think how wonderful that would be! This is the reason we naturally desire to have dominion over all creation.

Men and women come together as pairs to build families, societies, nations and the world. Thus, the family centering on one man and one woman must be the model for the tribe. This tribe, in turn, must be the model for the nation. Families must strive to achieve the ideal family, tribe and nation. Therefore, until ideal families appear, ideal nations will never emerge.

God and My Family

Respected guests! The greatness of true love is that it enables us to become God's object partners and also enables God to become us. The Bible speaks of God being in us and Jesus being in us. This is similar to the idea that the parent is in the child, the grandchild is in the grandparent, and the grandparent is in the grandchild.

A grandmother and grandfather should bind their hearts together centering on their grandchildren. This is necessary so that the vertical line of love can have a beginning. Also, grandchildren must become one with their grandparents. Grandparents are in the same position as God, so we should attend them as we would attend God. Grandchildren will not be able to find the vertical axis of love without doing this.

After the formation of this axis, the horizontal expansion can develop. The horizontal can be connected to all directions, but the vertical has only one direction. The horizontal can turn North, South, East or West; it has a range of 360 degrees. The vertical can move centering on one point only and cannot be split.

Our first task is to create mind and body unity, centering on love. Then, we need to know how to love the spirit world, which is the vertical world centered on God. Furthermore, if in the future a central country emerges, we should love humanity centering on that country. When we love the spirit world and the whole of humankind by means of sacrifice, service and dedication, we can automatically become the central figures who can have dominion over the two worlds, and make them into one. Then God will surely dwell there.

The entire spirit world, combined with the entire physical universe, is called the cosmos. The spirit world and the universe yearn for the unification of the cosmos centering on true love. True love can unify the cosmos. True love can transform all families into ideal families and make them one. Thus, we can conclude that true love is the only thing that humanity needs absolutely, whether we are alive on the Earth or are in the spirit world.

We can conclude, therefore, that nothing in this world is more precious than a true person who possesses true love. As the highest being in creation, human beings are in a reciprocal position equal to God's. So human beings should be able to act even more quickly than electricity or light, which travels at three hundred thousand kilometers per second. It is our spiritual selves that make such a thing possible. The fastest action in the world is not electromagnetic waves.

In the world of God's original ideal, a person who has experienced true love has the ability and authority to possess instantly anything God wants.

People need to experience such a state while on Earth. One can rise to this position only if the physical and spiritual selves become one while establishing a love relationship with God, centered on the true family. We can feel God's love by loving our countrymen, the people of the world, and creation. Each of us, regardless of nationality, must develop the heart to love people of all races. We should love not just people but even the smallest microorganism. This love has to spring naturally from within. When a flower blooms, its beauty and fragrance come naturally. The blossom of love has to bloom in the same way. The fragrance of love should fill the air naturally.

To do this, we need to receive the nutrients that make it possible for the blossom of love to bloom. In the same way that plants receive nutrients from the soil and sun, we receive nutrients through our physical body and spirit self. We receive vitality elements through our physical bodies, and then we receive living spirit elements through our spirit selves.

This is how we become beings who are totally equipped to love and how we develop the ability to fly anywhere. When this happens, the solar system and the entire universe become the stage of our activity.

The Next World

When we finish our physical life, we go through a second birth. This is called death. The place into which we are born this second time is the spirit world. We go into the spirit world and, on behalf of the entire universe, receive love from God, our third parent. That is to say, we receive ideal love. So in the spirit world, unification is inevitable.

In the spirit world, people breathe and live centered on love. We are born in love, live in love, and give birth to sons and daughters through love as God's representatives. Eventually, we reach the resting place of love, and return to God so that we may live eternally in His presence. In other words, our lives begin in love, ripen in love, and are finally harvested as the fruit of love. When a person dies, he harvests the fruit of his love.

During our life, we receive the love of our parents, share love with our husband or wife, and give love to our children, bringing to fruition all the seeds of God's love sown in the internal world of love. Eventually, we harvest this fruit and go into the next world. So when we become completely one in love, we come to resemble God. If a husband and wife work together to complete the three stages of love and then go to the spirit world, they will exist as creators and lords in a reciprocal relationship with God, who is the eternal subject. That is what happens when a husband and wife die centering on love. We begin and end in God.

To die means to move from a world of land, where we crawl and walk, to a world where we fly freely. We pass through death in order to become qualified travelers who, with love, can enjoy the entire universe. That is why death is, in reality, a new birth.

The Suffering of God

Ladies and gentlemen, our life course is not a smooth path. This is because human beings fell. The Fall of the original human ancestors did not result in misery only for human beings. God, also, suffered misery. For this reason, we do not dedicate our lives only to the accomplishment of the ideal world. An even more important goal for our life is to clear away the sorrow and agony in the heart of God, who is the origin of all life. Thus, when human beings finally attain happiness, then God, too, will be happy. God and humankind have gone through the course of history in the same situation, pursuing the same goal.

As a result of losing Adam and Eve, God has walked the most difficult path, a path that no one would choose to walk. Human beings, too, have walked this inevitable path of destiny brought about by the Fall, always hoping for the coming day of salvation.

Humankind's most fervent hope in relation to God is to become His sons and daughters. This is because no relationship is more intimate than that of parent and child. We were born when the love and life of our parents converged, and thus we represent their ideals. But words like love and ideals never refer to just one person. Life cannot be created by one person alone, but must come from a love relationship between husband and wife. So when God created humankind, He created us to be the object partners of His love, His life and His ideals. This is amazing and incredible.

If I did not exist, my parents' love could not become visible. The love, life and ideals of my parents exist in relation to me. I am the fruit of my parents' love, life and ideals. That is why the child's position is the most precious of all.

Had Adam and Eve not fallen, they would have been the children of God's direct lineage, and His royal descendants. That is, Adam and Eve were the prince and princess who stood to inherit the Kingdom of Heaven in the spirit world and on Earth. At the same time, because they were created as the objects of the invisible God, who is the subject, Adam and Eve were substantial beings who could receive His love. They were substantial manifestations of the invisible God.

It is the special privilege of a child of God to say, "God is mine. All that is His is also mine. Even His love, His life and His ideals are mine." It is up to human beings to recover this amazing and incredible value that was originally ours.

The Messiah's Mission

If God is the subject of love, who exists eternally, then the reciprocal partners of His love must also exist eternally. When I become one with God's love, God becomes me.

Had Adam and Eve not fallen, their bodies would have been the homes where God could dwell. They would have placed God at the center of their hearts and become entities of love, life and lineage who were unified eternally through true love. If they had done this, our mind and body would not be in conflict today.

The Fall meant that we inherited the life and lineage of evil, centering on evil love. We were born from false parents. We, therefore, have to rebuild the lineage. We have to take the false olive tree and change it into a true olive tree. To do this, we should be engrafted onto the true olive tree, go through at least three generations, and produce the fruit that becomes the true olive tree representing the original standard. Only then will fallen human beings be restored to the original state. That is when the Providence of Salvation will be completed.

In this way, God is trying to make human beings become children of the parents of goodness, centering on love that is one with Him. This is why He sends the Messiah to the Earth as True Parents. The Messiah is the one who comes to return the lineage of all humankind to God and establish the original ideal of creation.

Before seeking to excel on the world stage, humankind should have first excelled in the original family of Adam and Eve. Had Adam and Eve taken their places as lineal prince and princess before God, they would have been the most exalted among all men and women. They, however, fell and lost their entitled positions of the elder son and daughter, the crown prince and princess. This tragedy has remained throughout human history. That is why humankind has traveled a path of life in search of the positions of first son and first daughter so that we might recover God's true love.

If we are to receive His true love, we cannot live selfishly, centering on our own self. Instead, we should live for the sake of God and humankind as our brothers and sisters. The more a person sheds blood and tears for her brothers and sisters in place of her parents, the deeper, wider and higher will be the love she receives. This is the son and daughter we must become if we are to inherit everything from our parents. Every man and woman must go this path. Even if we have to face death ten times or a hundred times, we must continue our search for God's true love. This is the supreme path of life.

The Original Homeland

The Divine Principle of the Unification Church teaches that the Fall occurred when human beings left the realm of God's true love. Restoration means to return to that realm. When a person enters the realm of such love, he can merely look at his body and praise it tens of thousand of times. In that world, you know that your own body is one that receives God's true love. Words cannot express such joy. This wonderful world is called the Kingdom of Heaven.

Until now, people knew relatively little about the spirit world. It is a world where people are recognized depending on how closely they followed God's principle of existence - the principle of living for the sake of others. A world built on this content is the ideal Kingdom of Heaven.

This is the original homeland for which all humankind must search. Today, we live as fallen people who have been expelled from our homeland, so it is our destiny to return there. However, we cannot do this on our own.

God has worked through history to resolve this problem by establishing numerous religions in accordance with the different cultural backgrounds, customs and traditions of various nations. He has done this so that human beings would have a path to lead them back. Religion is the training ground where we can cultivate the qualifications that enable us to return to our homeland. In accordance with the cultural background of each region, God is guiding us toward one unified world of religion that can advance us to a higher ground.

Let us make the new millennium an age of true peace and true ideals in which people will practice the way of true love. I hope we will recover the value of true original human beings centered on God, establish true families, and live for others eternally, centering on God and the True Parents.

May your families and country be filled with an ever greater abundance of God's love and blessings.

March 1999

 
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World Religions at Blessing ’99

by Dr. Frank Kaufmann
NYC

The Inter-Religious Federation for World Peace (IRFWP) was a co-sponsor of the Special Convocation of the World Culture and Sports Festival (WCSF). Approximately 50 major leaders from the world's religions participated in the convocation. Their presence was important for a number of reasons, as there was an uncommon degree of emphasis on inter-religious dialogue and harmony from Father's this time. This emphasis was particularly evident at the inaugural plenary of the newly founded Interreligious and International Federation for World Peace (IIFWP).

In addition to representing an important witness and foundation for the establishment of the Interreligious and International Federation for World Peace (IIFWP) at its inaugural plenary, religious leaders also were involved in two other aspects of the week's events, namely the IRFWP panel, and prayers at the Blessing.

On February 6, 1998 the IRFWP held its "Concurrent Panel" on the theme "The Family and the Interfaith Ideal." Five panelist took up the topic which was designed to examine the possible tension inherent in the fact the family naturally pursues strong particular faith for the children. which on the face of it can seen as contrary to the promulgation of strong interreligious attitudes. How then can one be strongly pro-family, and strongly pro - religious dialogue at the same time?

The papers were heartening and imaginative. Speakers from five traditions each spoke well to the conclusion that instilling a strong particular faith during childhood does not interfere with the establishment of attitudes of inclusivity, and embrace of believers from radically different traditions. Professor Mumtaz Ahmad spoke from the perspective of Islam, Professor Selengut from that of Judaism, Venerable Kongchinda offered a Buddhist point of view, Professor Smart, a Protestant (Anglican) perspective, and Archbishop Milingo a Catholic view. This session was inspiring and informative. Additionally the faith representatives who spoke themselves embodied these very paired ideals which they insisted could be fully embraced without internal tension.

The third and most celebrated role for the religious leaders present was that of offering prayers for the Blessed couples together with Reverend and Mrs. Moon during the Blessing ceremony on Sunday, February 8, 1999. This tradition began at RFK stadium in 1997, occurred again in Madison Square Garden in 1998, and continued here in Seoul this year for the third time.

I think it's fair to say that this year representation from different religious traditions was the broadest to date. Eight traditions were represented. (It should be noted that the desire for broad representation clashes with the impulse to produce a briskly paced ceremony that respects the participants and the international viewing audience.) In my estimation that balance was threatened but not tipped.

Professor Shivamurthy Swamiji of Karnataka offered Hindu prayers, Khamba Lama Dambajav from Mongolia offered Buddhist prayers, Rabbi Herzel Kranz offered Jewish prayers, Archimandrite Vikentiy Miskov offered prayers from the Christian Orthodox tradition, Archbishop Emanuel Milingo from the Catholic tradition, Reverend T.L. Barrett of Chicago offered prayers as a Protestant, and Professor Manjit Singh Jathedar offered blessings from the Sikh tradition.

It should be noted that there may be those (perhaps even well meaning) who will be moved from impulses of religious bigotry to condemn these committed leaders of their respective faiths for the role they played in the Blessing ceremony. Unfortunately this sort of divisive behavior may well be around for some time to come in the religious world; a fact regrettable to all decent people and people of conscience. This negative reaction notwithstanding, it must be said that the task of invoking the Blessings of the one true God, over millions of couples, young and old, from all nations and all religions can only be properly understood as fulfilling the highest calling of any leader from any tradition. The lucky couples who were Blessed that day forever will be proud that their vows and their union received prayers and well wishes from a Rabbi, a Jathedar, a Monk and many others. It will be a story each couple can tell to their children and grand-children, and members from all traditions should be proud and thankful to their respective leaders for bringing to the world's attention the unique beauty and wisdom from each great world religion.

There are many deeply moving stories from behind the scenes of such occasions which I hope to share in future writing.

Working With the Foreign Press Corps

by Chris Corcoran
NYC

I arrived in Seoul on Monday evening, February 1, five days before Blessing '99 was to begin at Olympic Stadium. My mission - to work with the 30-odd members of the foreign press stationed in Seoul. As soon as I stepped out of the airport in Seoul and felt a blast of Arctic air, my heart sank and I immediately had images of a half empty stadium with gale force winds buffeting brides dressed in down parkas. How were we going to pull off an outdoor Blessing in the middle of a Korean winter?

However, faith soon kicked in as I recalled feeling the same kind of dread just prior to Blessing '97 in RFK stadium, and miraculously, the weather wasn't so bad there after all. God exists and I decided to offer up the weather program to more able hands than mine.

Upon arriving at the elegant Lotte Hotel in downtown Seoul, I noticed several government cars parked in front and soon learned that True Parents and President Kim Dae-jung of Korea were inside celebrating the tenth anniversary of the Seyge Times. The lobby was swarming with our church leaders and Korean government officials. This was a great blessing for the Seyge Times and the first time President Kim appeared in public with our True Parents. He urged the Times to become a special bridge between Korea and the world and he praised Father's worldwide media network as being uniquely qualified to strengthen that bridge.

Robin Marsh, our brother who takes care of Public Affairs in Great Britain, soon arrived in Seoul to help with the foreign media. (I prefer 'international media' but they call themselves the 'foreign media'.) Robin had lived in Korea for two years and had a fairly good command of the language and knew how to get around in Seoul. Also, he had worked in Korea doing media relations during the 1992 Blessing. He proved to be an invaluable partner.

The next day we visited the Foreign Press Club which was only a fifteen minute walk from the hotel. Many of the 30 or so foreign media use this club/office as their base of operations and it became a good place to meet them. We took our newly created press packet for them and found several of them in and willing to talk. A few of them asked about Mike Breen, our church brother who had been in Seoul as a journalist for many years and was the former president of their press association. It was a great feeling to walk into an office full of journalists and immediately feel welcomed and respected. They all showed a great interest in attending the Blessing as well as the Special Convocation of the Fifth World Culture and Sports Festival that was taking place at the Lotte Hotel for four days.

At the Convocation's opening banquet, Father spoke from a prepared text and was introduced by Gen. Alexander Haig, Jr., the former Secretary of State under Reagan and the White House Chief of Staff under Nixon. Robin and I hosted a media table that was attended by about ten journalists, including those from the International Herald Tribune, Itar-Tass (Russian), Business Week, Time magazine, The Washington Times (Tokyo bureau), The Sydney Morning Herald and Diplomacy Magazine (Korean). There were also correspondents from Tiempos del Mundo and Czech Radio among the convocation participants.

Gen. Haig gave a moving introduction and tribute to Father, describing how their lives first intersected during the Korean war. Gen. Haig recalled how his regiment was among those which landed during the famous Inchon strike, and he continued to fight his way up to Hang Nam where his forces were able to help liberate the prison where Father was held.

He then praised Father for publicly calling for a more conciliatory approach to then President Richard Nixon during the Watergate crisis. Finally, he praised Father as one who dealt a decisive blow to communism, saying that it was not primarily the arms race which toppled the Soviet Empire, but rather the culture war which was fought on a number of educational and media fronts which was the deciding factor.

Two days later, Robin and I organized a press briefing by Gen. Haig in his hotel suite. It was well attended and when asked if he were a Unification Church member he replied, "No, but who couldn't be behind the values espoused here at this conference? It would be like being against motherhood."

Two days before the Blessing, the International Herald Tribune ran a story in the business section which drew attention to some of the financial problems of the Tongil business group. However, the headline said it all, "Rev. Moon Rises Above Ailing Businesses". For me, it was a testimony to Father's ability to go beyond the temporal problems which would cripple a lesser man.

Every day, Robin and I faxed out one or two Press Advisories, informing the media about what transpired the previous day and what was upcoming. These were very necessary. They not only served to keep the media's interest alive but also served as direct copy for some of the articles that were written.

The Special Convocation was a combined conference of leaders from the ten or so major Federations established by True Parents over the years. It drew over 400 guests from more than 100 countries. The highlight for me was the establishment of the new Interreligious and International Federation for World Peace, an organization dedicated to bringing the wisdom of the world's religions into the political policy-making arena.

Some of the major participants in the convocation were Arnaud De Borchgrave, the new head of UPI news service; Susan Ford Bales, the daughter of President Ford; Carmilla Anwar Sadat, daughter of the late Egyptian president; Hon. Albert Reynolds, the former Prime Minister of Ireland; and Hon. Edward R. Schreyer, former Governor General and Commander-in-Chief of Canada.

There are two English-language newspapers originating in Korea, The Korea Times and the Korea Herald. On the Saturday before the Blessing, The Times wrote a short, objective article about the WCSF '99 and ran a nice photo of the Women's Federation for World Peace.

Working with the media in a 'foreign' country was challenging on many fronts, but the main hurdle to overcome was coordinating our message with the message that was coming out of the Korean UC headquarters. We had to get both messages to agree and when you're dealing with something as complicated as an international Blessing ceremony, there is a lot to work out. Whenever Robin and I needed to speak to Mr. Ahn, our brother who was working with the Korean media, we had to go through an interpreter. Fortunately, Mr. Ahn was patient and had his message well outlined, but needless to say there were times of exasperation.

On the Friday before the Blessing, the cold spell began to change and by Sunday the weather was like a spring day with plenty of sunshine! Robin and I (along with our superb new volunteer Peter Ross) arrived at the stadium around 11:00 am and began looking for couples that would be good subjects for interviews. A reporter from Agence France Press began the first interview of a Dutch sister currently living in England and her bridegroom, a Czeck brother. They gave a very good interview and spoke from their hearts about how precious this day was for them. Soon, a television reporter from the BBC was in on the interview as well.

Much to my amazement, the cavernous Olympic Stadium quickly filled and by 1:45 there was standing room only. Almost everyone who wasn't dressed in formal bridal wear was wearing a wide, white blessing shawl, which gave a white, holy glow to the crowd. It was awesome and I felt as though I were looking at a glimpse of the Kingdom; the power of True Parents' foundation on earth was palpable.

Before the ceremony, Reuters television and Associated Press television interviewed me standing in front of the seated couples. They were short interviews of me explaining the purpose of the gathering.

Once the ceremony began, Robin and I mingled with the media behind the first section of couples who were arrayed in front of the stage. We just chatted with them and answered their questions. The ceremony was concise and powerful and as soon as it was finished BBC television asked me for an on-camera interview. The journalist asked me about the purpose of the ceremony and ended the interview by asking how Father could be a promoter of family values when it appears that at least some of his children have had some major problems to overcome. I explained that Father and Mother sacrificed personal time with their own children in order to realize their worldwide ministry, and as a result, their children suffered but were overcoming their problems.

Later that night at the closing banquet at the Little Angels' school, several journalists sat at our table and enjoyed a spectacular evening of ballet, speeches and gift-giving.

In closing, I can say that in the eyes of the public, the Blessing has become the defining event of the UC worldwide and it is an image which most people call to mind when they think of us. While this is not a negative image, we hopefully can move beyond this to become known for the result of the Blessing. namely strong families and extraordinary children. When the world truly knows us by our fruit, we will have accomplished what no public relations campaign could ever do, the resurrection of our True Parents' name.