Sun Myung Moon
July 3, 1986
Excerpts
God’s Will and the Ocean
The Heart and Spirit of Fishing
Morning Garden
My goal is to develop once again the ocean cities in America so that fish and fish products can be exported to feed people all over the world. Some of you may be wondering why you have been called to Gloucester, such a small and insignificant town. You must inherit my spirit which overcomes persecution and difficult situations, because I have a vision of how to save the world and even provide food for the entire world.
The boats you are riding on were designed by me and built by the members. After nine years of experience, I developed the Good Go boat. When I first started building these boats, no one had any expertise. Mr. Kamiyama was at a total loss when he first heard my plan for the boats. He looked completely shocked and said, "What, we are going to build fishing boats?" He truly hoped that I wouldn't tell him to build those boats, but I said, "Build 150 boats in the first year."
Think about it. With so much money invested in such an expensive boat, each one was given to completely inexperienced members who didn't know anything about its value. With these boats, they were trained how to fish for tuna. With each boat that we produced, there was a tremendous amount of tears and sweat and prayer involved. You may not be able to see that, but that kind of spirit is built into each boat. If you truly understand this, you must shed tears when you ride on that boat. When I took my first ride on a Good Go, did I cry or did I just laugh without much serious thought? What do you think? Therefore, you must pray to have the proper attitude and inherit the spiritual and international connection to these boats. Each country around the world sent their members to help build these boats, and they put their tears and sweat into these boats. No one understood anything. We started virtually from scratch. No one knew what kind of material to buy or how to begin the first step. I know the value of each boat will be worth more than 100 thousand or a million dollars in the future. Why?
Because people will say, "This is a boat built by Reverend Moon." For this reason, I instructed the members to buy the best quality of materials that they could find; they had to build the boat with the highest standards, not just so-so.
I know that in the future sometime, in each of the fifty states, even if they have to sell their capitol building in order to buy one of these boats, they will do that. But now, some Unification members feel like they don't even want to look at those boats, that they want to run away from their boat. I see that kind of thing. My goal and desire and hope is built into this boat, but the young American members don't understand this and sometimes, they try to run away from this boat.
If you read the speech from when I began Ocean Church, you will see how serious and how important that message was. However, even after I gave that kind of explanation, many of them since that time went away from this Ocean Church activity. It's a shame, but I cannot give up. Even though I wanted to give this to American young people, they didn't catch their opportunity, so I had to bring young Japanese members to do the job. In order for you to find the most valuable and precious treasure, you have to go the most difficult path. That's true.
American members who are here this summer, did you come voluntarily or did you come because you were sent? Do you really want to be here? I don't believe you, yet. You will have to show me. I have watched so many American members leave and run away from this Ocean Church activity, even though there might have been good reason for some to go. I stood by and just watched their coming and going. In the meantime, I never changed my goal and my spirit for this Ocean Church endeavor. Why? Simply because I know the value of it.
If you American young men go out fishing, who will point a finger at you? No one. However, everyone pointed at me because I was a Korean man. You must understand that with everything you go through, every difficult situation and every persecution, I have already gone through this course before you. Do you understand? I never retreat, but always move forward. People might have said this year, "Well, Reverend Moon was in Danbury prison last year and now he is out. His movement must have declined a little since he was there. Well, they had twenty or so boats last year, so maybe this year we will see only ten or so boats." Instead I went right ahead and ordered seventy boats to go out this year! Do you have the same spirit?
I think you are just like any other young American out there. You are the same type. You are shouting "No!", but I think you are the same type. What do you think? Is this true or not? I cannot trust you. You have to show me! When you bring result, then I can see you are different. From now, we are going the difficult way. Can you do it? Raise your hands. Can you do it? Those Japanese members who didn't understand my talk missed the chance to raise your hands. Please do not forget that the boats you are riding in are the best of the best fishing boats in the world and they are made by Reverend Moon. We built this boat, Moonie spirit built this boat. Not because we wanted to make money, but because we wanted to make the spirit of America alive again.
Until this city of Gloucester itself disappears, we will come here every year. We will take care of this town; we will take care of this ocean. We have about 200 people here tonight. Everyone has a similar situation don't they? You have two hands and two eyes and all your limbs intact. I may indeed have the same features as you, but when it comes to the ability to lead people, to having a fighting spirit, to being able to go on, I have more ability than all 200 of you together. The difference is in my determination and dedication, in my spirit.
They will welcome you. From now on, people will begin to see our motivation more clearly. We will win every fight. We have that foundation. First, you must save your nation. Second, you have to secure the future of the ocean. There used to be at least forty large fishing vessels working out of Gloucester. Now, there are only a few. There is no hope in this country for the ocean. We are bringing hope to this nation.
You cannot complain about anything. You are inheriting everything. The ocean has a great and wonderful future. I know it. You believe it. Who is that future for? For who? For us? For America. You came here, not because of your leader, but because God was calling you. You are here because of God's calling. You have to know how special it is to be here. Don't complain about being here.
Tuna Fishing and the Way of Life
July 5, 1984 -- Morning Garden
Basically, this tuna fishing is not just to go out and get the tuna and make some money. That is not the central point at all. This is good basic training for the rest of your life. If you apply the principles you learn faithfully, you can make a success out of your life. Do you understand? Like anything else you do in your life, you have to put a lot of time in. Study everything, discuss it with others and read it again, then put in concentrated effort.
Actually, I didn't have the time to come here, but I felt so much that I wanted to give you a good start, so I came yesterday and went fishing at four o'clock in the morning. Today I am here with you. Tomorrow I may go out too, but that will be the last day. I cannot stay with you all summer, so please, do your best. The last ten years, I devoted every single day of the season out on the ocean. Rain or shine, I went out. Literally, rain or shine. There were storm warnings and still I went out. One time there was a storm coming and everyone could see it clearly, but in the middle of the night I said, "Let's go." The captain obeyed and we went out. I've gone out in the midst of a frenzied ocean and endured it. And then, in the morning I came back in, having won over that.
While I was in the boat waiting for the tuna to come, I thought over and over again of the providence in America and planned what to do. I thought about the problem of world hunger and planned what to do step by step. I didn't just think one or two years ahead, not like that. Instead, I thought about hundreds of years to come and what to do to prepare for that. I thought about how to farm the tuna and how it could be nurtured and used for millions of pounds of nutritional food in the future. I thought like that all the time. There is nothing that I didn't think of in the long hours while I was waiting for the tuna to come.
Every morning I went out, no matter how early. I was always full of hope and expectation for that day. I came back when the sun was setting, returning with elation that I had done my very best for that day and wondering what the next day had in store for me. I expect you to take pride and to go the same path that I have gone. You are now privileged to tread the very same path that I have walked these past ten years.
Ocean Church and America
August 28, 1982 -- Provincetown
The One Hope boats have to go everywhere so that people will see them and come to respect what we are doing. It's a dream, and I am holding onto that dream in my mind. That means that it is in an invisible form, but it will become visible. We will see it in the future. We will see it soon. A man who believes can do anything. A man who acts can achieve anything. "Believing man and Doing man." That is how I am and that is how I envision you to become. Actually, it isn't a dream. It is what I know.
Why We Have Ocean Training
July 2, 1984 -- Morning Garden
If you experience how difficult it is to go out on a boat every day, think about my experience on the New Hope for the past ten years. Never once during any of those ten seasons, did I lay down and sleep on the boat. I put my entire will power and whole heart into this training. Every moment while I was on the boat, during the long tedious wait for the tuna, I was always praying to commit myself even more for the sake of God and mankind. That is what I want you to inherit here.
Don't let things bother you while you are out on the water. No matter how someone might agitate you, just ignore him. Think to yourself that it's some neighbor's dog barking at you.
The spiritual world is like the dark horse in a race. It may be the most unlikely thing, but it happens. Maybe you pick up an old line that someone else threw away. They caught lots of tuna on that line, but finally they made a new one. And you have all new lines, but you put that old one on. Then suddenly you catch a tuna. How can you explain that? It has happened. That's why I am telling you these things. You have to love your equipment, your hooks and lines. You have to cherish the ones that catch, even bring them to your bed because you never want them out of your sight. That kind of feeling, that kind of love is okay. This love is connected everywhere and it connects in an invisible way, in a most unlikely way.
The Japanese members come around to me and say, "The New Hope is becoming an old boat, it's more than thirteen years old now, Father, let's change it." I don't want to hurt their feelings, so I say something like, "Oh, you think so?" Actually, I am wondering, "What are you talking about?" Already, if we were to write the history of how we began this training program, 99% of it would center on the New Hope. Even if we got a brand new boat, even if someone donated it to us, we would never write as much about it.
It is like a marriage. If you are married for ten years and your wife gets old, do you try to get rid of her and get a new one? How would the New Hope feel if that happened? Would it be happy or sad? It would cry out! Instead, I am thinking of when I give all these things to the next generation I will change the boat and give the new one to them. At that time, I will retire the New Hope and put her in a special museum. The New Hope will understand because this is normal. The boat knows it cannot live forever and it will agree to a replacement at that time. I truly feel that way. I have that kind of sensitivity to the New Hope. This says something to all of us. How are we different from the rest of the world? Through our heart. We are making a heartistic world which is quite different from what most other people are doing. If we are going to ride on the New Hope and on the One Hope boats, we must really love them.
We have to bear in mind then, that Moonie boats are to be loved with one's whole heart. Actually, I wondered if you needed me to come and talk to you this year. Then I thought about the New Hope and said, "I've been coming to the New Hope every year and it will miss me." I couldn't tolerate the thought of that. The New Hope has recently been fishing in Montauk and I have been there fishing on it. I asked for it to come back to Gloucester, however, it has just been sitting here for several days, so I couldn't help but thinking of coming to Gloucester and visiting it. I wanted to talk to the boat and tell it, "I fished with you all last summer, every day, but this summer I can't fish as much with you. I hope you can understand." I know that the New Hope will understand if I am not around so much. I am telling you these things because I want to urge you this year, not to let your loved one, your boat lose its spirit. Don't let it be damaged. Just as you would protect your own body, take care of your boat with all your heart.
The Heart and Spirit of Fishing
July 3, 1986 -- Morning Garden
Therefore, whatever we tackle, whether it is Ocean Church or an ocean business, it is not out of a sense of duty. No! Whatever you are doing you must understand is yours. You must be able to look at what you are doing and proudly say, "That's mine." Look at the One Hope boat. Who made that boat? I initiated it and Mr. Kamiyama organized it, but whose boat is it? It is yours.
Although Ocean Church owns the boats, you cannot think that someone else will take responsibility. You have to know that when you take a boat out, it is truly your responsibility. And the fishing gear, who designed it? I did. However, when you take that equipment and use it, to whom does it belong? To you. This way you have direct attachment and responsibility.
What is the center of our moving forward? Only true love. With true love, your accomplishments will go on for eternity. With true love, what you accomplish will never disappear, never go away, but will remain for eternity. What about the contents of your mind? If you think, "I am too far away from the standard," then this is the time to think again.