Cheon Seong Gyeong: Episode 240

Cheon Seong Gyeong Book 8: Life of Faith and Training
Chapter 2: Training the Mind and Body
Section 5: Training the Body, 10
Section 6: Life with the Goal of Mind-Body Unity, 02

(10)  Jesus fasted in order to achieve dominion over his body. Examining every religion, we will see that not one of them is devoid of believers practicing penance. The higher the religion, the more it emphasizes such practices. Perfection begins with total denial of this world. The true religion advances by denying everything. It differs from the secular worlds way of thinking. True religion does not begin by affirming what is of the world. It begins by denying what is of the world. We can begin to affirm certain aspects of the world only on the foundation of denying everything and establishing a realm of dominion over the self. At that point, we are transformed into beings of value, re-created in heart, and we become good people.

(11)  What has religion been teaching? It has been teaching us to save the soul and conquer the body. This is why religions exhort us to sacrifice in the service of others. Religions also teach us, as we sacrifice to serve others, to go the way of penance, to fast, to inflict pain on the body. Unless we walk this path, we cannot enter heaven. This is the Principle.

(12)  Religion is about self-denial. Accordingly, we have to deny everything. Whether it is food, sleep or other things we like, we deny it all. We overcome sexual urges, appetite and sleep. Religions teach us to divest ourselves of cravings for food, sleep and other bodily attachments. Human beings are conditioned biologically to eat and sleep to stay alive. These are things we are meant to enjoy. Nonetheless, we have to subjugate them, because they have led the body on the path of death.

(13)  Religion does not begin with approval or affirmation; it begins with denial. We live in an evil world, and if we support evil, we become evil. We each need to begin by judging ourselves. Each of us needs to deny him or herself. Self-denial does not mean targeting the evil society. Even though we need to reform this evil society, we need to begin with self-abnegation. The mind and body are fighting each other and we need to chastise the body into submission. But what does it mean to chastise and subjugate the body? It means to do what is righteous. When asked, what sets the criteria by which we subjugate the body, we should reply that it is our conscience. Therefore, we have to deny our sexual urges, appetite for food and other instinctive bodily cravings. We, thus, need to pray and fast, as well as offer vigils.

(14)  The various religions established value systems. Why have they collapsed? It is because the religions forsook their original missions, and this resulted in constant disputes and divisions. Thus, they lost their power to guide real life. The established religions do not teach clearly about life and the universe. They cannot clearly distinguish between good and evil or righteousness and unrighteousness. In particular, they cannot answer clearly regarding the nature of God and His existence. As the ability of religion to guide people faded, material possessions turned from a means to an end in life. Chasing pleasure became the norm. Sensual desires and material cravings dehumanize the world. In such tainted soil, it is impossible for love, service, righteousness, holiness and other traditional values to flourish.

(15)  Where is ascension to heaven or descent into hell determined? It is determined within each of us. The person who feels pangs of conscience together with stimulation coming from the five bodily senses is in hell. The person who leads a life that brings delight to the mind is in heaven. Therefore, it is wise to cast away ones worldly ambitions and evil mind, and to observe the heavenly laws centered on the conscience.

The path that accumulates good deeds

(16)  You should not be arrogant and boast of yourself. Before your personal achievements, you should list your family's achievements. But before advertising your family's accomplishments, you need to invest in achieving results in the tribe. Likewise, before boasting about its successes, the tribe has to invest itself for the sake of the people. But Korean members cannot be proud, even if they were to bestow the Blessing upon everyone within the entire length and breadth of the peninsula. This is to say, we have to begin with the individual and ascend eight stages up to God, centering on the world. Only when God finally recognizes your achievements, can you be proud of yourselves.

(17)  Follow the lead of True Parents. True Parents are the first to enter the kingdom of heaven, and they lay the foundation for others to come and reside there. On this foundation, you live in the kingdom of heaven by virtue of the accomplishments you accumulate on earth. In the spirit world, we determine the level at which we live, and our position, by a statistical evaluation of our earthly achievements. This is done scientifically, not according to what you say you believe or say you have done.

(18)  Individuals, while fulfilling their duty to their family, would also like to be able to live for their people and their nation. God is also like that. However, our lot is to choose between these. Fallen human beings' sphere of destiny is that of striving to achieve the greater good. Even God strives to pursue the fruit of goodness for the people and nation, because it is greater than the fruit of goodness for the family. Likewise, one who strives to be a person of character does not restrict him or herself to the family or the tribe. That person will strive to transcend their people and demonstrate virtue and character on the world level. We cannot deny that we each aspire to become a central person who contributes to the greater good.

(19)  Those who display devotion to the world, demonstrate loyalty to God, and fulfill their responsibility to Him can stand as honorable people before the nation, before their people, before their parents, indeed, before everyone. Such people feel confident when standing before a mirror. They are able to sing their own praise with a clear conscience. "I have done my very best; there is nothing more I could have done. I have gone the path of death and am unable to do any more on this earth. I have invested all my energy and devoted myself completely. If there is one thing I have not accomplished, it is that I have not guided this people, this nation and this world to be as close to God, as I am. If this failure constitutes a sin, then I am a sinner. Nevertheless, I did my very best." Any person capable of saying this will certainly leave a historic legacy on earth.

Section 6.  Life with the Goal of Mind-Body Unity

(1)  We have to fix our gaze on heaven. Had human beings not fallen, had everything been right in the fundamentals, we could have lived with our gaze trained below ninety degrees. Nonetheless, due to the Fall, we have to fix our eyes on heaven. It is not suitable for people of faith to look below ninety degrees; we need to gaze at heaven. Therefore, those who stare at the ground while walking are bound to decline. Similarly, those who move with a self-centered mind will decline. We need to correct everything, beginning with our way of life, our body, our mind, and our heart. Then where should we set our heart? It is not to be set inside the course of history. Instead, we should place it in the heart of Adam and Eve before the Fall. Through that heart and along with Heaven, we have to digest all the feelings we experience in our current life and in the trends of our time, and resolve everything together with Heaven. Sons and daughters who are able to do this must emerge on this earth.

(2)  Love is essential for the unity of mind and body. When parents come to love their children, they willingly endure hunger, hard work, ragged garments and going places they don't want to go. While walking the path of such love, the mind and the body take the same unifying direction. It is the only way to unity, the only means to unity. If you take this as the standard for daily life and for your entire life, you will not perish. This I guarantee.