Cham Bumo Gyeong: Episode 32

Cham Bumo Gyeong
Book 2: The Birth of True Parents
Chapter 1: True Father’s Birth
Section 2: True Father’s Lineage
Section 2: True Father’s Lineage, Paragraph 8

Section 2. True Father’s Lineage

Ancestral traditions

The founding ancestor of the Nampyeong Moon clan, Moon Da-seong was given the title Duke Museong. He was born in February of 472 CE at a place whose present-day address is in Punglim village, in the Nampyeong township of the city of Naju, in South Jeolla Province. It is said that he was placed in a rock cradle on top of a huge rock in the Jangjayeon neighborhood. In that rock cradle the Chinese character moon (文) was inscribed in red. We read in the genealogy of the Nampyeong Moon clan that King Jabi of the Silla dynasty was told in a dream, “A special child has been born in this nation; go and find this child.” His people searched for the child and found him crying on that rock. This, according to the records, is the origin of the family name Moon. Moon Da-seong rose to become a high government official and also was given the responsibility to pick young men of good and strong appearance and made them leaders of the Hwarang (elite youth corps). He taught them to practice filial piety, loyalty and righteousness. True Father said, “Members of the Nampyeong Moon clan uphold a tradition of being conscientious, loyal, uncompromising with unrighteousness, and fiercely stubborn.”

1 The people of the world must be wondering about the connections in my bloodline. My bloodline is connected with the foundation of sacrifices made by all the ancestors of Korea over many generations.

To be a sacrifice is to offer yourself for others. A living seed grows well if planted in rotting soil. Historically, if a nation has suffered great hardships and pain, its people will welcome living seeds and grow them well. A region that endures such hardships can produce a great saint. That is where a righteous person, a righteous leader, a righteous nation, and the teaching of righteousness are bound to emerge.

2 I am from the Nampyeong Moon clan. Nampyeong (南平) literally means a flat land in the south. According to Oriental concept, south represents the ideal. Hence, Nampyeong means a natural, open land, a flat land where all is in balance, a southern country waiting for the people to gather.

The character moon (文) means a piece of writing. When you write the character moon (文) you place a dot on top of the character wu (又) which means “again.” Then you end up with this character, moon (文), which looks like an offering table for the ancestors with food placed on top. This signifies that the Moons must take on the responsibility of the chief priest. They must become masters of religious rites, jeju (祭主). By repeatedly making offerings to God, they must become the masters of religious rites to dissolve God’s deep sorrow. That is what I think my name means, and that is how I live.

3 If you have among your ancestors a national patriot, a saint, or a divine son or daughter who rendered distinguished service, you must attend that person as the ancestor of your ancestors.

During the Goryeo Dynasty, one ancestor in my bloodline was Moon Geuk-gyeom. He died while traveling back and forth trying to bring reconciliation between military officers and civil officials. The tradition he established served as a bridge which enabled the Goryeo dynasty to last for 500 years. Also, I am the 23rd-generation descendant of Moon Ik-jeom, who risked his life to smuggle cotton seeds into Korea from China for the poor to make clothing.

4 My family began residing in Jeongju when my great-grandfather moved there. We had a family motto, “Let us cherish the entire land of Korea and look forward to having visitors from all parts of the land. Whenever they find their way to our home, let us attend them with all our heart. If a guest happens to stop by our home, we will attend him with our utmost sincerity. Then blessings from all parts of Korea will come to our clan.”

That is why I am telling you: do not be inconsiderate to anyone who visits you. You do not know what lineage each visitor or guest is from. If you offer visitors your most sincere hospitality before sending them on their way, you will bring blessings to your descendants. Since those blessings come from the entire land of Korea, the blessings that come on the foundation set by your sincerity can be conveyed back to the land of Korea. Then, when you expand this foundation to the world beyond Korea, you will be showered with blessings that you can share with the world. This is how you should think.

5 One thing I am thankful to my mother and father for is that, based on our family motto, they taught me to never send anyone who came to our home away without feeding them first. They taught me never to give anyone a cold reception, not even a beggar.

That is what my grandfather had practiced as our family tradition. Even if we were in the middle of our meal, if a beggar came to our house asking for food, my grandmother or my mother would immediately leave the room to serve him food. Especially in the winter, if she did not prepare it fast enough my grandfather would take his own meal on his portable table and set it in front of the beggar. Thinking of the beggar hungry in the cold, he just could not continue eating. He would give the beggar his own food, and he did not mind if he had none for himself. Based on this family tradition, I have been doing the same for the people of the world.

People from all over Korea, from the Honam region to the Yongnam region, traveled to China through the North. On their way they would look for the main state road, which ran close to our house. If those travelers happened to come to our neighborhood and wanted somewhere to stay overnight, our neighbors would tell them, “If you go over there, you will find the Moon’s residence. You can sleep there.” That is why in all four seasons of the year the guest room at my house was never empty. My mother had to cook for them, and I know it caused her to suffer greatly her whole life. I tell you, a household that has fed the people of the eight provinces of Korea will never go to ruin. Such a home would see the birth of a descendant who would be welcomed throughout the provinces of Korea.

6 There were always many people visiting my house. One night when I was about eight years old, I awoke from sleep to find a group of strangers in the guest room and my family giving them a feast. I asked what the gathering was for, and I was told in a whisper, “Independence fighters have come.” Back then I often heard stories about those people—that they slept in tents, walked on rooftops, and could leap over a wall with just one hand. My mother served them a midnight meal of noodle soup. She caught a chicken and made noodle soup with it; it would feed more people and it was faster than cooking rice. My family motto was to feed hungry visitors, even if it meant that there was no food left for my family and we would go hungry. Such was the education I received.

7 Our family motto urged us to uphold the historical tradition of patriots and loyal subjects. One unusual thing about the members of my family was that when anyone smoked or drank alcohol they would break out in hives or a rash. For this reason they could not drink or smoke cigarettes. Another exemplary thing about my family tradition was that no one had concubines. My grandfather practiced the highest possible life of faith based on Confucian teachings. My great-uncle was a Christian minister and could understand all the books of prophecies. My mother and others in my family had a gift that they could know the future if they prayed about it.

True Father’s family

The Nampyeong Moon clan, which originated from Jeolla Province, began putting down roots in the regions of Pyeongan Province and Hamgyeong Province from the time of Moon Jung-sil who was known by the title Duke Uian. He was the third of the five sons of Duke Chungseon (Moon Ik-jeom). Moon Dal, Duke Uian’s fifth-generation descendant, was the first to settle in what is now the city of Jeongju. True Father’s great-great-grandfather Moon Seong-hak was the 19th-generation descendant of Duke Uian; he had three sons: Jeong-ho, Jeong-gi, and Jeong-heul. The youngest, Moon Jeong-heul, was True Fathers great-grandfather. He was the first to reside in the village of Sangsa-ri.

Moon Jeong-heul had three sons: Chi-guk, Shin-guk and Yun-guk. The eldest, Moon Chi-guk, was True Fathers grandfather. He said about Father, “He will become a great man in the future; support him in whatever he wants to do.’

Moon Chi-guk had three sons: Gyeong-yu (who lived from the 11th day of the 7th lunar month of 

1893 to the 11th day of the 10th lunar month of 1954), Gyeong-bok and Gyeong-gu, and also two daughters. Gyeong-yu, who was posthumously given the title Chungbunim, was True Father’s father. He married True Father’s mother, Kim Gyeong-gye (who lived from the 15th day of the 10th lunar month of 1888 to the 7th day of the 1st lunar month of 1968), who was posthumously given the title Chungmonim. She came from the Yeonan Kim clan, and her birth name was Kim Ju-gwan.

Chungmonim was from a prominent family in Jeongju. She was born as the first daughter of her father Kim Baek-hong. Her mother, who was from the Indong Jang clan bore him five children, three sons and two daughters. Her father supported independence activities and contributed to building the Osan School in Jeongju, which produced many patriots for the independence struggle.

Her family, surnamed Kim, was from a Kim clan that produced many prominent people during the Joseon dynasty who passed the national examinations to become government officials. Her family brought her up well, with purity and dignity. She was tall, and her personality was active and passionate. She lived such a sacrificial life for True Father, thus laying the foundation of perfect mother-son cooperation for his path as the Lord at the Second Advent.

8 My family was blessed by God during my great-grandfather’s time but they paid indemnity during my grandfather’s time. It is an absolute principle that after receiving blessings indemnity follows. Consider the history of Israel: after having received a blessing, indemnity followed without fail. If you receive ten blessings, then you must pay indemnity equal to that amount. For this reason, my family went through considerable turmoil before God called me. The family fortune was gone, and family members lost their lives. Not only that, people who were close to me also faced many troubles. Thus it was that once my family was given a special blessing from God, God left our family in the hands of Satan until we hit the lowest point. During that time Satan attacked my family and we had to suffer a course of indemnity through three generations.