Sun Myung Moon
February 24, 2002
True Father's Speech at the Opening Ceremony of IIFWP Assembly 2002
Founders Address
WCSF 2002
Respected Chairman, current and former heads of state, and honored guests.
I would like to thank you for participating in the World Culture and Sports Festival 2002 in this second year of the new millennium of hope, and making this event such a great success.
Humanity is living in an age in which change is taking place at a faster pace than ever before. The world is feeling the need for dialogue among religions, harmony among the races, and understanding across cultures. I believe that is why the theme to the WCSF 2002 is Toward a World of a Culture of Peace of a New Dimension. So as the founder of this conference, I would like to take this opportunity to share a part of the philosophy of peace that I have believed, practiced, and taught through my life.
Respected guests,
What do you think is the fundamental root of peace, which we so earnestly hope for and have shouted for continuously? Where do we need to go, what do we need to do in order to achieve peace, and what is the obstacle that stands in humanity's path to peace? Is there any hope that we can bring about peace in this confused world where individualism and selfishness are so extremely rampant?
In order to know the fundamental root of peace, we must examine Gods ideal of creation. We cannot bring about peace without knowing God and the spirit world. The creation of heaven and earth is nothing other than the manifestation of Gods true love, and human beings who were created as the masters of that world were to establish Gods ideal of creation that is, the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth that is the world of Gods original ideal of creation and then go to the spirit world and establish the Kingdom of Heaven of eternal peace. Unless we establish the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth, which is a world of peace, we cannot expect to live in such a world in the spirit world. Kingdom of Heaven here refers to a place where the creation and humankind live for each another and where all human beings live for one another in harmonious unity.
With the fall committed by the human ancestors, however, Gods ideal of creation was cruelly destroyed, and it still has not been completed. Human beings fell into such ignorance that we did not even know that the relationship between God and humanity was that of parent and child. Please look at the world of today, which came about as a result of the Fall. Deception and divorce decimate families, which should be overflowing with melodies of happiness and peace. Children, who should cherishing their dreams of the future and cultivating their limitless potentials under the warm glow of their parents love, are running out into the streets out of a sense of failure and disappointment, becoming slaves to liquor and drugs, and even throwing their bodies away to free sex. This is the absurd reality that we are witnessing. What do we see when we look at the national leaders, who should be responsible for their citizens and guide their nations in the direction of good? Many are more interested in the preservation of their own power than in the future of the nation or the happiness of their citizens. Between nations, too, isn't it our reality today that there is disharmony and struggle where their should be understanding and peace and that war is rampant? The path to the peace for humankind is blocked.
That is why God has had no choice except to carry out His providence of salvation, by which He establishes the ideal of true love and peace that He originally planned. Gods providence of salvation is a providence to recover the original condition. That is, it is a providence of restoration. For the purpose of this providence of restoration, God has established in the course of history religions in each age, tradition, and culture as a way to expand the domain of good.
Early in my life, I received Heavens call for the sake of human salvation. Throughout my life after that time, I overcame persecution and suffering and arrived at the point on January 13, 2001, where I could offer to Heaven the Coronation Ceremony of Gods Kingship. I liberated the heart of God and returned his kingship to God, who had been waiting for this moment for thousands of years following the human fall. On the foundation of this event, the world has entered an age in which the spirit world and physical world can become one and communicate freely with each other. The spirit world is breathing in harmony with people in the physical world. Jesus twelve disciples, and even the four great saints, have sent messages testifying to me as the True Parents of humankind and the Messiah. In this way, the barriers that had divided the two worlds have been completely torn down. I declare before you that we are approaching the age when no one will be able to live except by following the way of Heaven.
Humanity now must establish true families in which they attend God as our first generation Father, stand in the position of perfected Adam and Eve in order to establish the realm of the second generation and become husband and wife, and then procreate so as to perfect that realm of the third generation. It is only by following this path that we can create a world free from sin and filled with freedom, peace, and happiness, and insure that Gods direct lineage will thrive on the Earth generation after generation for all eternity. In this way, when we come to know God and spirit world with certainty, we see the path to bring about peace.
What does peace mean? In human relations, peace means that subject and object become one with each other and form the horizontal. It refers to the state of the total mean, where there is not even the slightest disturbance. In Chinese characters, the word for peace consists of two characters: one meaning flat, or horizontal and another meaning harmony or reconciliation. Thus, peace is not a solitary peace formed by just one person. No one, no matter how hard they may try, can be happy by himself or herself. True peace only comes when there is harmony in all the relationships of upper and lower, left and right, and front and back, there is no leaning to one side or the other, and all relationships are in harmony. The world of peace is a world in which axes are established in the vertical, front to back, and horizontal directions and where all things are in absolute resonance with each other. When the seven colors of the rainbow are combined, they form the color white, which symbolizes harmony and peace. In the same way, peace is a pure white color within which all conditions and circumstances are fused and harmonize in one place. When all directions form a complete harmony at a single point, then the two-dimensional plane is automatically transcended, the third dimension is taken on and an eternal nature is acquired. This is how the permanent peace of humanity can be established.
Peace does not exist in isolation, but has its root in true love. In the same way that free and happiness have their roots in true love, so also true peace cannot be accomplished unless we first bring about true love. Then, what kind of love is true love? It is a love that gives and then forgets that it has given that is, a love that gives unconditionally. It is sacrificial love. In the same way that parents attached no conditions to the love by which they give birth to, raise, and provide for a child, so also true love is a love that gives unconditionally. It is a love that even forgiving and giving to an enemy. It is a love that gives, and then keeps on giving. Because it gives without condition, true love does not even remember the fact that it has already given. It is a love of unlimited giving. This was the kind of love that God bestowed on human beings at the time He created us. That is why the origin of true love lies in God. When peace is established on the basis of this true love, then that peace will become true peace, and it will even bring with it freedom and happiness.
What, then, are the conditions that we must have in order to accomplish true peace? First, please consider the relationship between your mind and body. The principle of Heaven is for the physical body, in the position of the object, to follow the direction of the mind, in the position of the subject, one hundred percent of the time. No matter the time, place, or circumstance, the body must stand before the mind as an absolute object, and move or rest in oneness with the mind. This is the way of heavenly law. The person whose mind and body have become completely one in this way is a perfected human being. It is just such true persons that God has earnestly desired since the beginning. Such true persons are able to attend God as their substantial Father, and share with God all the emotions.
Yet, we do not need to examine our lives very deeply at all to feel how distant we are from fulfilling the image of such true human beings. We realize that our condition is such that we feel great shame to hear ourselves referred to as the sons or daughters of God. There are many times when the mind is in the right place, but the body does not follow, or when we have allowed ourselves to become slaves to our physical bodies even though it goes against the conscious and eventually commit an unintended mistake.
No matter what it takes, we must unite our mind and body, become the substantiation of true love, and then pull ourselves up to the stage of perfection. Each of us must become a true person who can shout out, God, my Father, without the slightest shame or the smallest shadow. If we do that, we will become eternally luminous bodies sending out the light of the truth and love our Father in Heaven. When we have completed our lives on Earth, we will live eternally in the spirit world as the sons and daughters of Heaven who have become Gods direct children.
Second, as members of a community such as a society or a nation, we must practice a life lived for the sake others, and through this, we must respect each others human rights. Under no circumstance should we commit the mistake of violating the human rights of another person. People of all races are born with equal value. As far as race is concerned, God is colorblind. Racial discrimination, religious struggle, and selfish nationalism give rise to situations resulting in the violation of human rights. The age when people could be ruled by force has passed. The Twenty-first Century is an age when people live together, transcending races, nations, and religions. This means that the age of ruling through true love has begun. Respected world leaders, Jesus also said, For the Son of man also came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many. Jesus made clear that the path to bringing about a world of peace lies in practicing a life lived for the sake of others, which is the Heavenly way. I have stated that the root of peace is in true love. For this reason, we must all believe in God, who is the origin and master of true love, and follow the correct path of following the Heavenly law. Heavenly fortune will be with the person who does this, and such a person will be able to accomplish anything. I sincerely ask that each one of you accomplish the perfection character by means of mind-body unity, practice a life lived for the sake of others, and secure a base for peace within your mind.
When we forgive even our enemies and live our lives for their sake, we become able to build a culture of peace on every level from the individual to the world. This is the reason that last year I declared to all of Heaven and Earth the beginning of Chunilguk (Nation of Cosmic Unity). Chunilguk signifies a world in which two people live as one. On the lowest level, the mind and body of an individual become one to form a perfected person. On a higher level, a husband and wife become one and parents and children become one so that the family is in unity across three generations. Then all humankind can build a world where all people are under God as brothers and sisters and share in each others emotions. So that Chunilguk may settle in the world, I have already sent out more than ten thousand Ambassadors of Peace across the world. In this context, I spoke at the United Nations that all national borders must be abolished. I also called for the United Nations to create a body with final decision making authority that transcends nations, races, and religions, so that renowned spiritual leaders from around the world could lead the way in building a world of peace.
Third, we must establish families where the flowers of true love blossom in full glory. Building a family takes more than one person. When a man and a woman who are perfected in true love enter into a husband-wife relationship, and bear and raise children, then this family becomes a true family. Peace will automatically be with this family, and it will overflow with happiness. The children should maintain their sexual purity until they meet the mate with whom their parents match them. After marriage, they must maintain their fidelity to their spouse in the same way as their parents. This will extend the true family to the second generation. If the true lineage that is composed of true families extends to the third generation, then God will settle in this family, and the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth that has been humanity's long-held earnest desire will be accomplished.
The expanded version of such a true family is the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth and in Heaven. This is a world of interdependence, mutual prosperity, universally shared values, and mutual love. This will be a world of peace in which we become brothers and sisters to each other, live together, prosper together, and establish a righteous world where we all live for the sake of others. This is the reason that the family is so important. The family is the most precious gift that God has given to humankind. The family is the basic unit for peace and happiness among humanity and the basic unit for building the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth. Even if a particular individual reaches perfection, this will end in just one generation unless he or she forms a family and has children to whom he can pass on his true lineage. Seen from the perspective of Gods purpose of creation, the trend toward homosexuality growing like poison mushrooms all over the world today can only be described a phenomenon that contains the seeds of humanity's destruction. I hope that you will never forget this fact, because as leaders, it is your responsibility to enlighten humanity and be responsible for the world. If you believe the truth given by Heaven and receive this, then what have you to fear? Please stand in the forefront of the effort to rid the world of such illnesses as free sex and homosexuality that work to destroy Heavens true lineage and threaten not only peace among humanity but even humanity's very existence. I ask you to take on the role of pioneers working to spread the culture of peace in this world bound up in struggle and hatred.
Fourth, as leaders of societies and nations, we must forbid any behavior involving the misappropriation or embezzlement of public funds under any circumstances. Not only must we refrain from making personal use of public property or public funds but also root out all behaviors that destroys the environment that makes our lives possible and gives us enjoyment. Embezzling public funds and passing these on to ones child is an act more horrible than feeding the child poison. The environmental destruction that I refer to here does not just include the destruction of the natural environment and the resulting pollution and exhaustion of resources. It also includes the destruction of the social environment that makes it possible for us to live together. Before God created human beings, he created the environment, and His desire is for us to manage the environment in accordance with His will and have fun in our lives in harmony with the environment. We must become true persons who feel grateful to Heaven every time we see even a single blade of grass or a single cloud in the sky, and place ourselves in the forefront of the effort to eradicate all pollution. We must establish the world of Gods original ideal, and live before that ideal with humble hearts. We must live with a heart of gratitude not only toward our parents who gave birth to us but also to everyone around us. We should always be grateful for the fact that we are alive.
I hope that during the period of this conference you will have forthright discussions and studies that contribute to the advancement of human peace.
Thank you.