Cham Bumo Gyeong: Episode 281

Cham Bumo Gyeong
Book 10: Preparing the Ideal Environment Centering on the Providence of the Ocean and Latin America
Chapter 2: The Ocean Providence and Development of Marine Resources
Section 3: The Spirituality of Fishing, Paragraph 05-16

5   You can hear all sorts of sounds on land—the sound of the wind blowing, the sound of tree branches swaying, the sound of people, and the sound of mice running around. But the only thing you hear at sea is the sound of water. Even though it is a sound, there is a sameness about it so it does not bother you. When you go out some distance, you no longer hear the sound of flies buzzing. You no longer hear human sounds. There is no better place to practice spiritual discipline. Spiritual discipline is the practice of meditation and self-discipline. Through spiritual discipline we can enter a state of harmony in the world of the mind. That is why I do not stay at home, but go out to sea where the wind blows on a small boat called the One Hope. It is not comfortable being on that boat. However, it helps me find the center of my inner mind.

6   People tend to think about going out fishing on a boat when the weather is clear and they feel good. That is what ordinary people do. But in order to become a special person, you need to fish amid sudden downpours and lightning storms. Unless you fish in the driving rain and study how the torrent changes the water and affects the fish, you will not know how changes in the natural environment affect your fishing.

7   I built the boat named Cheon Seung Ho, "heavens victory," in Korea in 1963. I went to America to carry on that tradition and built a boat called the One Hope. It is not "two hope," it is "one hope." With absolute hope, absolute love, and absolute oneness, I am journeying on the one and only way. It is a journey based on a realm where there is unity among the elements of the trinity—the Principle that I take pride in having discovered, God's purpose and Will, and the direction that I take. I have been on boats for several decades. Invariably, I used to go out on the boat from 5:00 o'clock in the morning and stay on the water until sunset or later. After coming to Yeosu, sometimes I went out at noon, but then I saw that all of you went out at that time as well. It is okay to do that this time, but remember that in your life you need to inherit and carry on my tradition. It is a tradition of going out to sea at 5:00 in the morning and offering conditions of devotion even when there are no fish.

8   When I was fishing in Alaska, the Coast Guard saw our boats going out in the early morning as if we were engaged in training exercises. They came to my boat and expressed their admiration and praise, saying, "How could you be so serious about fishing?" At sea, I am the best fisherman. If I were asked to catch whales right now, I am sure I could catch a few whales in a single day. I have already caught practically every kind of fish, including giant Bluefin tuna. I have been to the Pacific Ocean, the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. There is hardly any type of fish I have not caught. This is why I can clearly observe the affairs of the world

9   Many people think I am a man of mystery. It is true that I am good at talking about mysterious things. Yet more than that, I do things that are mysterious. When I go out to the ocean on a boat, I am the king of fishermen. Other fishermen may think, "He's the founder of the Unification Church. What does he know?" But when they see me take charge out there, people who have been fishing for 10 or 20 years marvel at me. If I go to a farm, I am also an excellent farmer. Scholars tend to think of themselves as having a certain aura, but when they meet me, they recognize that I am far beyond their level. What makes me such a person? It is true love.

10   Fishermen regard fighting with a fish as the greatest fight of all. If a sharpshooter goes shooting with that mindset, his or her shots will be on target every time. Actually, we truly need this kind of mind-set. Fishing has many good aspects. It feels wonderful to spend time at night gazing at the changing phenomena of nature, the waves and clouds that are ever-changing. You need to spend that kind of time. Yet as much as the clouds and waves change, your mind also changes from joy one moment to disappointment the next. While fishing, when you catch a fish you exclaim, "Yes! I got it!" You especially appreciate the first fish you catch. That is because before you catch any you are so serious, thinking, "I am going to catch a fish with my own hands. Let's see what fish I will be catching." The value that you place on your object, the fish, varies depending on your subjective idea and viewpoint. Whether fishing pulls you down into a bottomless pit or lifts you up to the sky depends on you. Your feelings can change dramatically.

11   You should not remain ignorant of the ocean. The halibut at the bottom of the sea acts as if it were a king. It feeds while it lies on the seabed. Living on the ocean floor with its eyes protruding like antennae, it looks like a moss-covered rock. While it keeps itself still, small fish follow its scent and gather around it. Then the halibut's body twitches and it swallows the fish. It feeds while lying on its belly. When it bites the hook and we start reeling it up, at first it strives to remain unmoved as if it were saying, "Who in this world dares to touch me?" But before long it says, "Oh my, I'm in trouble!" It is as if it were struck by lightning. That is what it is like catching halibut. In Kodiak, people rarely catch halibut weighing more than 80 pounds, but I caught several that weighed 200 and even 300 pounds.

12   I like salmon. Why do I like them? Salmon are brave fish. These fish travel through all of the five oceans. They are also tasty. Other fish you need to cook and add some seasoning to, but you can eat salmon as it is, even raw. There is no other fish that is that tasty. I have another reason for appreciating salmon; it is the quality of their sacrificial love. Four to six years after they are born, they return to their birthplace. How do they know their way back? As if they had promised each other long before when they were young, the salmon of both sexes meet each other and consummate their love within a two-week period. It is as if Adam and Eve engaged in lovemaking after returning to the original Garden of Eden that they had left 6,000 years ago. And that is not all. Those salmon then die for their young. As soon as they have mated, they die. Indeed, even in nature, love is greater than life. This is the path that Unificationists must follow in the providence of restoration. After all, Unificationists are the tribe of true love.

13   When I went out to the ocean during tuna fishing season, I could not avoid my competitors. There were as many as 500 boats gathered on the water. I wanted to fish alone, but I hardly had such a chance. One day, when storm warnings went up, I went out to the ocean alone. Everyone advised me not to go, but still I went out. My destination was far off, more than two hours from port. Normally I would leave port at 1:00 a.m., which I had to do in order to arrive by 4:00 o'clock. Yet on this day I departed at midnight. I knew that if a storm blew in, it would take twice as long to get there. I have faced many other similar incidents in my life.

The experience of wild nature is priceless; you cannot purchase it for millions of dollars. Because of the weather, there was not a single boat on the ocean that day. As soon as I cast my fishing line, many fish rushed over to bite it. Usually, only a dozen or so fish bite on the countless fishing lines that are cast from the boats. But because mine was the only line that day, the hungry fish came rushing to my bait. The moment I cast my line, immediately a fish took the bait. I thought, "If a storm is going to come, bring it on! Am I a man who worries about storms?" I just fished and fished, drenched in sweat.

14   People may think they can catch fish just by casting a line, but they are totally mistaken. For one thing, different fish live in different water temperatures. Fish of different sizes live in different places depending on the temperature. During the summertime the water is warmer near the surface, so you see small fish near the surface. Fish migrate depending on the temperature of the ocean water. They dislike moving vertically and always try to move laterally. If you want to fish, you need to know about these things. If you want to catch salmon, you have to know where to fish for them. Therefore, you need to become a professional about fishing. If you want to become a professional, you need to study. If you cannot become a professional, you cannot be good at catching fish. I fish according to the water temperature. I know the places where the water is at certain temperatures and what kinds of fish live there.

15   When people like us go out to fish, we already know where the fish are. Fish look for food in the morning and evening. During our lunchtime they swim about for fun because they have already eaten their breakfast. We go to places where the depth of the water is not uniform, where one place is deep while another place nearby is shallow. Fish take refuge in deep places to hide. When they are enjoying themselves in shallow water, they prefer a place with a flat bottom. I am talking about the morning hours. In the late afternoon, the fish again have to look for food. I know where to look for different kinds of fish, depending on the depth of the water.

16   When you fish, you need to know how far your hook has sunk below the surface of the water. One foot above the seabed is a good area where fish go for the bait. That is where they feed and live, and they do not go much above two feet from the bottom. If you cast your line at this depth, you can catch fish all the time. If you feel a little tug on your line, you need to immediately pull it up. It is a technique that you need to learn. The tuna is a type of fish that lives freely in the ocean, as if it were the king of the world. It does not fall for a small bit of bait. You have to find a way to make it go for your bait. For this, you need to study.