Cham Bumo Gyeong: Episode 387

Cham Bumo Gyeong
Book 13: The Completion of Restoration and the Settlement of Cheon Il Guk
Chapter 3: True Parents' Philosophy of Life and Their Public Life
Section 1: True Parents' Philosophy of Life, Paragraph 09-19

9  Whenever Mother has things that she likes, she gives them away to family members. So when she has to go out, she often has no appropriate attire to wear because she gave away all her best clothes. She thinks that she should not be the only one to enjoy the things that she likes the most. There are three points about Mother for which I am grateful to God: First, she is insightful. Second, she is absolutely obedient for the sake of the Will. Third, she does not think that her things belong to her but belong to the world. So without hesitation she wants to give them to others. In this respect, God does not need to be concerned. On the contrary, she is too giving, so much so that I become concerned.

The fact that Mother was born with such a nature is an indication that she was destined to become True Mother. When I think about it, I am grateful that God sent such as blessing as her to my family, not only because she gave birth to so many children but also because of her many good qualities. So I am saying that you should not think of yourself first.

10  To this day, I have not been indebted to anyone. Even when it comes to investing devotion, for instance in prayer, I am in no one's debt. My philosophy is that I will not be indebted to others. I do not intend to live a comfortable life either. I am very careful about this, more than anyone. For the sake of the Will, I invest more than any member in the church, both in the quantity and quality of devotion. Because of that, I am not indebted to you.

11  The person who incurs debt while going the path of the Will is gouging out our Heavenly Parent's flesh and chipping away His bones. I try not to be indebted before heaven. Whatever I do, I always try to be at the place where God would appear to me and say, “My goodness, please take a little rest!” I know that God, my Father, has not been able to rest. Yet seeing that I keep on pushing myself without resting, He weeps silently to Himself over me. Attending Him with this heart is my philosophy of life and guiding principle.

I am not doing this because anyone taught me. I live this way simply because I have a father-son relationship with God. I pour everything into my relationship with Him. Therefore, He too truly appreciates our relationship from the bottom of His heart, saying to me, “I love you so much. I know you are so busy for the Will, but I wish we could spend time only for each other.” Because I live for this relationship, I receive heaven's protection. That is why I have not perished. Still, I do not say I am great. The more I know about Him, the more I must keep humbling myself.

12  If you want to become a central figure, you must pay back any debts you have incurred. In addition, the central figure must bear the responsibility. That is why, even though I cannot take care of each of you, when I run into any of you on the street while you are doing missionary work, I take out my wallet and give you all the money in it. I give not sparing even one penny. I view that recipient not merely as an individual. Since I cannot give to every member of the Unification Church, I give everything I have to that one person, considering him or her as the representative of all members of the church. I want those who strive to help me while I am going the path of devotion for God to receive at least as much blessing as I do. This is my philosophy. Whoever lives like this will not perish.

I have lived my whole life that way for the sake of the Will. When I was a student, whenever my parents sent me money, I gave it away to people less fortunate than me, and then I walked. At that time, the streetcar fare was five jeon. Whenever I would go from the Hwashin Department Store in downtown Seoul to the south side of the Han River near the Noryangjin fish market, I always gave my fare to beggars on the street and walked instead of taking the streetcar.

I cannot forget the life I used to live with tears flowing from my eyes, touched by the bitter grief of those miserable people. I would pray, “Father, now I cannot give much to these people who are living homeless on the street, but in the future may this country be blessed with liberation and prosperity for everyone. Please enable it to become a nation that all humankind will honor and respect, a nation that dwells in the midst of Your heart.”

13  I do not ever forget anyone who treated me with sympathy for God's sake, and I do my very best to repay that person by giving the maximum return. I know that I made you suffer on the path of following the Will, but I am not irresponsible. If I drove you on a path to suffer, I will bear the responsibility. If I cannot bear it on earth, I will bear it after I go to the spirit world. Hence, those who go forward having made an oath to follow me are blessed.

I am a person who absolutely does not know how to betray others. I am also a person who cannot live if I incur even a small debt. Such is my nature. God is like that. God is a being who cannot endure incurring a debt. If someone gives Him ten, He will give back hundreds or thousands. You too must have that kind of trait.

The family life of true owners

True Father often compared his solitary and difficult life to the Dokdo Islands that are mentioned in the lyrics of the song Hollo Arirang. The Dokdo Islands, also called the Liancourt Rocks, are isolated islands in the East Sea. They greet the morning sun while being pounded by the sea's rough waves. Like those islands, True Parents have been fighting and winning victory all by themselves. Whether searching for the Principle or pioneering each course in the providence of restoration, they have been advancing step by step as if each was the critical battle that could be their last.

True Fathers love for all creation was unbounded. This is because he understood the creation's sorrow and bitter grief at not meeting its true owners. He resonated with the creation and felt joy when giving and receiving its untainted and essential love and beauty.

True Parents understand that God's ideal of creation is realized on the foundation of the family, so the family is more important to them than anything. Hence, True Parents always held hands everywhere they went. They were together whether in private or at public events. Although the continual demands of public life meant that they had little time to be with their children, they nevertheless prayed for them every day.

14  Even at digging in a mine I am a champion. I know how to set the buttresses in place inside a mine. I thought to myself: suppose I am hounded and end up in prison, and as a prisoner I am put to work as a coal miner. I must be able to gain experiences from all I go through that will enable me to turn the world around and complete the Will before I die. With such a mindset, I learned how to do many things, even how to make charcoal out of wood. I am a jack-of-all-trades, and I can be successful at anything.

Even if I am carried by helicopter and parachuted into an uninhabited gorge, I will not die of starvation. Where wild animals dwell, there is plenty to eat. I know which mushrooms are poisonous and which plants are edible. If there is water I can fish, because I know how to make a hook, line and rod to fish with. A person needs to catch only three fish a day to live. Because I've trained myself in this way, I can survive in any situation. So I have no fear whatsoever about survival. That is why my philosophy of life is that Unificationists should experience all kinds of harsh situations before they are 30 years old.

15  With the sky as my blanket, no matter where I go I can live happily. I have many friends. All things are God's creations; I can live with them and make them my friends, so I am not lonely. Hence, I can live happily anywhere, and wherever I go I can live on my own. That is why I could become the ancestor of happiness and the ancestor of lineage. That is why I can tell you to inherit my lineage and follow my way of life. If you do not, you cannot go to the kingdom of heaven. Since this conclusion is based on my own experimentation and personal experiences, I believe it is correct.

16  I went empty-handed to South America. Everyone told me not to go. There are many people who love me in the United States. Many of them warned me not to go, thinking that if I went I would give up and return. Even some scholars spoke to me like that. So I knew that I might perish, but I went anyway. Did I perish or prosper? If you go determined to do the mission even if you perish, you will not perish. The individual who owns that universal thought and applies it as a personal philosophy of life is a wise person.

This has been my philosophy of life. I never entertain the thought that I will fail. When I throw myself into projects that others say will not work, within three years I make them successful. I tell you, the people who think that things will not work have not actually done them. That is why I can go to a fishing spot and set a world record; it is why when I try a sport I can become a champion.

17  At home when I enter my room, I take off my socks. If it is not a special day, I do not put on a tie. It is to save money to help people around the world who are dying of hunger.

When the air is clear, after I wear a shirt for a day the collar does not become dirty. So I do not want a shirt that I have worn for only one day to be washed. Nonetheless, after I take it off someone takes it away and washes it. So I hide the shirt after I take it off so that no one does that. If they put it in the hamper to be washed, I take it out and wear it again. You need to live such a life. I am always thinking of how to save and conserve, and with the money I save, to help those who are dying of starvation.

18  Today I came to speak at this public gathering wearing a white shirt and a tie, but the tie is nylon and was inexpensive. I live like this. I bought this jacket for $13 and these pants for $7. All together that is $20. Even the belt that I am wearing is an inexpensive one, but it is stronger than an alligator-skin belt. You might not have imagined even in a dream that I wear inexpensive clothes like these. I am telling you this because I know that you want to know about my personal life. I live a simple life. With regard to myself, I am a miser.

19  I have no possessions whatsoever to my name. Whatever I have I use as resources for the church. There is no miser comparable to me. You will not be able to find anyone as ruthlessly stingy toward himself as I am. Today, because I told you to come, I am wearing a suit, but I am not wearing a tie. How much am I saving by wearing simply a jacket and not a tie? The jacket and pants together cost $50. I go around dressed like that. I do not mind going anywhere like that. Why? As the person who carries the name of True Parents, I will not live in debt.

I am living day and night transcending time. On rainy days, Unification Church missionaries must be looking at the water running off the eaves of the houses and shedding tears. They may not have decent food to eat. They pass sleepless nights while praying for me to have a long life. How, then, can I live a comfortable life, eating three meals a day and sleeping soundly with my limbs stretched out?

You need to understand that having the enormous responsibility of True Parents, we cannot escape the feeling that we could not do enough to care for them, so inevitably we feel like sinners before them. Thinking like that is precious. So you also need to have such a mindset, and invest yourself to save your relatives. Invest for them and then forget about what you have given. If you do that, you will without fail become the central person in your tribe. The central person is the one who takes responsibility for others.