Sun Myung Moon
August 26, 1983
Excerpts
Leaders' Conference
East Garden
Kook Jin Moon sitting on Father's tuna.
There are so many varieties of activities and different projects in our movement, but when the summer comes, the most important of all is Ocean Church.
As you know, only one third of the surface of the globe is land; two thirds are ocean. Therefore, without knowing the ocean we can never have dominion over the entire globe. So every one of you, every member of the Unification Church, is required to take a basic training in Ocean Church, including navigation, repairing and so forth.
It is just incredible to think that the ocean is not dead! It is alive and moving; not only moving by itself, but moving in conjunction with the land masses and the solar system's sun and moon. It's so wonderful to know the beauties and wonders that are hidden within the ocean. More than anything else in all of God's creation, the ocean is most sensitive to all the movements of the universe and the weather.
Once you understand the sensitivity of the ocean, have dialogue with it, and cope with it, you'll understand the most intricate of God's creations. By doing so, you can understand about land masses in no time.
The ocean is not only sensitive, but is also very changeable. Therefore, to know how to cope with this changeable situation provides us the best understanding of ourselves and nature. In order for us to mold our God-centered character we must know how to deal with the ocean, how to become subject over it, and how to have dominion over God-given creation.
Since God is presiding over the whole realm of dominion, God presides over all the changing and moving sensitivity of the entire creation. This is God's character, so we have to mold ourselves into resemblance of that character, particularly the American youth, because this nation is surrounded on three sides by the vast ocean.
Generally, an American's interest is focused in one narrow direction, but that is not the way God likes. You must open yourself up to all four directions, and the ocean is presenting you such a training ground. American young people have had very little interest in the ocean. Without this interest you might find it all right just for the present time, but as to a future vision, without an interest in the ocean you will never be a leader.
Many people say the space age has arrived, but you cannot dwell in space. From the ocean, however, you can draw resources, you can make a living from it. For this reason I founded and created Ocean Church. I feel in the future, the Ocean Church foundation can be greater than the land church. So far we've been living in the land church era, but from now on we'll be living in the Ocean Church era.
Becoming Flexible
Another important point is that when you deal with the ocean, you cannot be stubborn, cannot be inflexible -- there's no way that you could survive on the ocean. The ocean-going person must be flexible, and understanding of all situations.
For example land people work during the day and rest at night. There's no such thing on the ocean; you work day and night because the tidal waters are moving and all the fish groups move accordingly. When certain tidal waters and the fish come at night, then you've got to work at night.
Furthermore, even if you have a perfect schedule, when a typhoon comes, you absolutely have to abandon that schedule. You cannot go by your own will; you have to adapt to your surroundings and accommodate to others. So in ocean life, you have to make harmony with nature, particularly the ocean's nature. On land you can mostly plan and set your expectations, but on the ocean you cannot do so.
For example farmers are waiting for rain; without rain their crops suffer a great deal. But for ocean people, when the rain comes it presents a problem.
On the land mass there's one phenomenon that brings two opposite results; for example on one side of the globe is night, on the other side it is day. While on the land man confronts and tries to dominate nature, that ocean nature doesn't allow it so easily; therefore, men must learn how to live with the environment and how to be flexible. Instead of confronting nature, the ocean-going man must try to harmonize with it.
Training for Hopeless People
Some people have an inherent difficulty with the ocean because they have seasickness. Father sees that those guys have very poor ancestors! (Laughter)
In the long run, it is true that there was something wrong with the ancestors, either they had ulcers, or some kind of physical problem, some kind of deficiency -- you cannot deny that.
Unification Church members can be classified into three different groups. One is the champions of the ocean. You know we favor them, and the second class would be the mediocre: they're not so bad on the ocean but not so good either. Finally the third category is the hopeless group.
The Ocean Church mission is to use this hopeless group and make it into champions. This is true with any country that a nation is declining not because there are no strong people, but because there are so many hopeless or weak people. So the nation's well-being is assured by making the hopeless people strong, then the safety of the nation is assured. To transform hopeless people to hopeful people, that is the challenge of the Unification Church, particularly the mission of the Ocean Church. That means that the hopeless people will go to Ocean Church first, because they need the most training. So I have to tackle those people first.
Exposing Human Nature
I know how to train the hopeless people: take them and kick them into the ocean for three months. As long as they survive there... initially they look miserable, throwing up, looking pale like a green apple, and from every hole in their body there's some kind of mucous coming out. (Laughter)
But without hesitation, I say, "Kick 'em in." And one by one they came out. Seasick people don't need any hospital; you just leave them on the land mass for a while.
There they get their appetite back, and restore themselves -- this is the best hospital. And when their health is restored we kick them into the ocean again and repeat the same cycle. Then, after coming out again -- almost dead, let them recuperate, and then for the third time, kick them out again.
This three time repetition will make everyone who is hopeless into a champion. To make hopeless people hopeful again, that's the true challenge for Ocean Church and it is just as true for the nation.
Also, those healthy people who have aptitude for the ocean are ready to go. Tyler just completed his Ph.D., but he never dreamed that he would be assigned to Ocean Church, yet I kicked him to the ocean. I'm sure he thought he'd make a good professor at the Unification Theological Seminary, or he could write a book, or go to other universities and teach. I'm sure he thought about those things. Tyler Hendricks is like a real gentleman-type. He's very suave, very cordial. But once someone goes to the ocean... there is no bathroom, not even on the New Hope.
This summer I gave a boat to the sisters and a boat to the brothers, working side by side. But when the bathroom time comes, what do you do? You've got to do something! You have to get yourself relieved! Whether there are sisters around, or brothers, it doesn't make any difference! (Laughter)
Then you need guts! You have to attend to your relieving mission. The men face such situations and deal with it naturally without panic. They have to have guts to deal with it. And when a sister goes to the ocean, there's not such a thing to be polite and always look nice; she's got to be like a man and survive and deal with the ocean. She's got to expose her hips sometimes. But she doesn't even mind; she just thinks, "Well, my hip is somehow exposed, but I know all the brothers will close their eyes, so I don't even have to shield myself too much."
She needs that kind of guts! And when the man is doing his "business" he knows that all the sisters will close their eyes. No problem. That's the way it goes. And if an, body doesn't close their eyes, well, they suffer the consequences.
Ocean training is like a crude, raw level; therefore, it will show the basic human nature. It exposes everything: you cannot hide on the ocean, so when you go out, you have to expose yourself. You can learn about yourself, about others and how to harmonize with others.
Another point: when you live on the land, you don't worry about record breaking or setting new records, but anyone who goes on the ocean always thinks about setting a record and breaking the record. These people are always goal-oriented.
In this land life, it's so complicated, so sophisticated, it's virtually impossible to try to stand up or find a place to make a stand. But when you go to the ocean you have a chance. Everybody is at the starting point. You go down to the zero point and start from there to rise up and win all over again. When you men and women go out to the ocean, try to be the champion, set a new record. That kind of goal-oriented life, I like very much.