Cheon Seong Gyeong: Episode 107

Cheon Seong Gyeong Book 4: True Person
Chapter 4: The Life Course of True Men and Women
Section 1: The Way of Our Original Nature, 01-13

 

CHAPTER 4 The Life Course of True Men and Women

Section 1.  The Way of Our Original Nature

1 Why were we brought into this world? Why do we have to live? Where are we heading? We should not think that we were born by our own will. We were born into this world, yet we do not know the motivation and purpose behind our birth. We were born, but it was not because we chose to be born. We are living, but it is not because we decided to live. We will die, but it is not because we decide to die. Then what is there to be proud of? Since we cannot choose to be born, we cannot have exactly what we want in our life; and since we cannot avoid the path of death, we are pitiful beings with not much to be proud of.  Since we were born, we are destined to live; and after living, we are destined to die.

Preparation to fulfill our purpose of life

2 People in this world often ask, "What is life?" This question relates to our view of life, of the nation, the world, the universe, and finally, of God. How do we decide on our views of all these issues? What should be the basis for all these views, and how do we put them in order and connect them together? There is no better view of life than that based on the principle of living for the sake of others. Through it, you can find happiness by living for all humanity, for the whole world, for your nation, your society, your family, spouse, and children.

3 When you start off in a wrong direction, you will end up in a totally unexpected place. Hence, when a ship sets out on the vast ocean, the captain should chart its course and follow the compass from the moment it first sets sail from port. Yet fallen human beings do not even know their port of departure. They have no compass and no sense of direction or knowledge of their final destination. They have been wandering about, zigzagging here and there according to their desires. However hard they try, they end their life without having overcome their human limitations.

4  You should not live your life without knowing what you are going to do. By the time you are in your twenties, you should have a clear view of what you are going to do with your life. Then you have to struggle to achieve that objective if you are to become a historical figure who leaves behind a legacy. You need to muster the courage to fight to attain victory, no matter what difficulties you encounter in trying to accomplish your goal. You should not try to avoid difficulties, but rather have the guts to digest them.

5  The most important period in your life is from age eighteen to twenty-four. You should set the goal for your life by the time you are twenty-four. If you have self-discipline and offer sincere devotion, you will come to understand what it is. If you were born into the Unification Church and have led a proper life of faith, you already know what to do. On the other hand, those who live self-centered lives and take into account only their own interests have no idea. If you do not have any idea about your own direction, it is a serious problem. You need to discuss with God regarding this important matter of your life. Also, you need to adapt well to your environment.

6  When I was sixteen years old I was already very serious about life. When I was planning to go somewhere, if I felt uneasy about it I did not go. If I went anyway, there would be some kind of accident. It is the same today. That is why I am still alive, even though I have many enemies in this world. The more important one becomes, the more difficulties one encounters. In order to be able to overcome these challenges, it is crucial that you are able to make right decisions about where to go and whether to go there. If someone comes and reports to me, "Father, we are in trouble; there is a problem," I already know what happened. If you cannot sense things like this, you will never become a great leader. You should not look at things two-dimensionally; you need to consider them from all angles. If you adopt a multidimensional way of thinking, an infinity of two-dimensional situations will be included. Because I have such a quality in me, if a person whose conscience is not upright comes to me, no matter how successful he or she is, I always have the upper hand. No explanation is needed. Of course, you need to have knowledge, but more than that, you need to develop your spiritual awareness, because the future world is one of spiritual principles.

7 When you are calm, there is a place deep within your heart where your mind can be at ease. Your mind should be able to go to that place where it can rest. After you rest there and reawaken, your senses become very sharp. Then, if you seize that moment and focus yourself on that tranquil mind, excluding all other thoughts, you will be able to connect to everything. This is why you need prayer and self-cultivation. You must offer devotion all the time. Devotion is not something you offer once and then expect results.  Through continual devotion, you must find that state of tranquility and peace in your heart. Then you will understand everything you have to do. Having found your direction, you must follow through. You have to focus on that one direction, with your focus as sharp as the point of an arrow. Finding your direction is not difficult, but there are many things you must do beforehand to prepare. You must find the source of strength within yourself to move forward every day. Moreover, you cannot do these things all by yourself.

8 By the time you reach eighteen years of age, you know what kind of person you are.  However, you cannot succeed with your own power alone.  This makes you prone to impatience.  So you need the help of your friends, teachers, and God.  When I need greater power than what I have in order to do something on the world level, I become serious about the question of where I can find that power.  If I were not able to find extra power, I would have to retreat, but that is not an option.  That is why we need to pray, and why we need God.  That is why we need the world of heart.  The world of love is unlimited; it doesn't matter how much you draw upon it.  The material world ends at some point, as does the world of knowledge.  The world of power can be destroyed in a second.  But the world of heart is endless.  Hence you need to act based on the world of heart.  When you go to the center of the world of heart, you will move up and down on its central axis.  You should go to the very core of the mind and heart.  That is where infinite power is generated.  If you make a ninety-degree angle with God, you can maintain infinite power based on that perpendicular.  Hence you need to cultivate yourself.  You need to offer devotion and experience the spirit world deeply through all aspects of your life on earth.

9  The teacher closest to you is none other than your original mind.  Your mind is more precious than your closest friend. It is more precious than even your mother and father. You need to consult your original mind. That is where God dwells. You need to reach the state where you can hear the voice of that mind. What Buddha meant by the words, "In heaven and on earth, I alone am the honored one," is that when you look into your heart, you will know that God dwells inside you. Then there is nothing you cannot do. So please make your mind clear and bright. Your original mind is superior to any teacher. It is your eternal lord. Therefore, do not be self-centered. Cultivate a mind devoted to the common good, a mind that takes a public position.

Our purpose to become the sons and daughters of God

10 Human beings are meant to be the princes and princesses of the universe. We should come to the point where we are able to say, "God is my Father, and what God owns—heaven and earth—is also mine.” We should not rest until we possess all that belongs to God. To do this, we need to resonate with God's heart. Then, motivated by God's heart, we can embrace everything in the universe, and Satan cannot claim us. Then, finally, heavenly fortune can move for us, the blessings of heaven and earth can dwell with us, and the garden of Eden can open to us. God, human beings, and all things of creation will join in harmony to make paradise on earth.  However, this is impossible without heart.

11 Human beings are called to become true sons and daughters of God. God exists as our subject partner and we are meant to be His object partners. Despite the Fall, our original nature and character still remain in us, and we cannot but long for the ideal realm of the original subject partner. This longing is stronger than even our conscience, and it drives us day and night toward that relationship with God. It is the power behind our conscience. Even after the Fall it still pushes us in that direction.

12 A magnet's plus pole and another magnet's minus pole attract each other. Even if paper or some other insulating material is placed between them, they continue to attract each other despite the obstruction. The thicker the insulating material is, the weaker the attraction between them. If the insulation becomes too thick, the magnets' attraction appears to be lost, yet their poles still radiate the same attractive forces. In the same way, because of the Fall, there is a thick obstruction between God and human beings. Yet while it appears that the Fall completely blocked the relationship between them, the conscience always exerts an attractive force toward God. When a layer of the obstacle is laid aside, the attraction becomes stronger. As the layers of obstruction are removed one by one, the magnetic attraction becomes stronger and stronger. When all the obstruction is removed, their communication becomes perfect. At that point, people will know everything that God knows, even without being instructed.

13  What is it that caused the first human ancestors to fall in the garden of Eden? It was self-centeredness. This is why the ones who should have become God's son and daughter could not fulfill their destiny, and Satan invaded them. Everything was lost because of this. Nonetheless, those who can overcome Satan's invasion can become God's sons and daughters. To do this, you need to develop the awareness within yourself, stronger than that of Adam and Eve, that the absolute God is your Father. That Father is the center of the kingdom of heaven and the center of the earthly world. You have to become one with that Father. By doing so, you become one with the absolute center; you become one with the absolute ruler of heaven and earth. The question is how to gain this awareness. Until you realize there is absolute value to becoming one with God, there is no way to resolve the problem of self-centeredness. You must have the awareness, "How precious the relationship I have with my Father is! My Father is the ruler of the world! I cannot exchange my Father even for the whole world; I cannot exchange Him for the entire universe. Without a doubt, I am His child!" By this, you stand in a position higher than that of Adam and Eve before the Fall.