Cheon Seong Gyeong: Episode 343
Cheon Seong Gyeong Book 11: Ceremonies and Holy Days
Chapter 2: Church Services
Section 3: The Practice of Hoondokhae, 07-16
(7) The Chinese character hoon (訓) consists of two characters joined together: "words" (言) and "stream" (川). The stream is water. Water flows. Water lives only when it flows. As the character hoon symbolizes the Word as water, the words need to constantly flow in order to remain alive. When water is still, it stagnates. As water flows from higher to lower ground, the words need to be passed along over and over. To be clear, water has to flow; water that does not flow becomes murky. Pure spirits dwell in clear water. Hoondokhae is like water. If you trap water, it will turn foul. The character dok (讀) combines the characters for "words" (言) and "sell" (賣). Accordingly, you should give or "sell" the words as if you were a salesperson. This meaning lies within the word hoondok.
(8) When you share my words with others, you become their ancestor. Convey my words to people who are enslaved to the fallen world and to the spirits who have fallen into hell. Then this will happen. If you do not know my words well, buy a collection of my speeches, and share it with them. The more you share the words, the greater wealth you will accumulate. By conveying the words to people, you become their eternal ancestor. Your heavenly fortune, position, and rank in heaven will be determined according to how often you shared the words and how much effort you made to re-create people into citizens of the heavenly kingdom. That is why I am teaching you this incredible truth. The words of hoondokhae are the words I have spoken, but they are not my own words; they are the words of heaven and earth.
(9) It may seem as if I speak at random, but in fact, my words fully explain the Principle. Before long, I will have to go to the spirit world. That is why I am now reviewing the content of the words I spoke with all my heart and devotion over the course of the past fifty years, to evaluate how they will impact the world after I pass. I am the champion of hoondokhae. from whom did its words originate? They originated from God. Since I know this truth, I cannot take hoondokhae lightly.
How to do hoondokhae
(10) Prepare in advance the hoondokhae content relevant to each of the 365 days in a year. A unified hoondokhae program must be implemented throughout the whole world. You should be able to say, "The hoondokhae reading for today is ..." Whether eating or occupied with work, whenever you have the opportunity, you should discuss and converse on the content for that day.
(11) From this time forward, hoondokhae should be the ultimate form of education. You must read the content again and again. Mark the words by numbering them as you read, so the next time around, you can read important parts that previously took you one hour in just thirty minutes. This can be done easily. This is how you should educate people to cultivate their spirituality through hoondokhae. The books I leave behind are your teacher. I am telling you to study them, not just read them.
(12) Do hoondokhae during your lunch break or whenever you have spare time. You should read first and then have the group read out loud in unison, keeping the same pace. Train yourself by reading at home. Then you can keep the same pace at church when you lead the group to read together in unison. Husband and wife, as a rule, do it together at home. If the husband attends hoondokhae service at church, he should tell his wife which part he read that day. Then she should read that same part so they can keep on the same page.
(13) How can you get the maximum benefit from doing hoondokhae? After passing out the hoondokhae books, begin by having one person read aloud. Then have the reader call on someone else to read, and so on. Train them to do it this way. If ten people gather to do hoondokhae, make sure that one-third of them asks questions on the parts they are interested in. If there is not enough time, allow just a few people to ask questions and then discuss each one. This system of learning is more effective than a lecture. If you read a hoondokhae book this way three times, you will clearly understand its content.
(14) When doing hoondokhae, it is better that the participants take turns reading a portion of the book rather than just one person reading it to the group. Decide up to what point each person in the group will read, and then designate the next person to continue. While reading the book, each reader should be moved by his or her own voice. If readers cannot feel moved by themselves, they need more practice. Therefore, anyone who may be designated to read should practice reading the book at least ten times before reading in public. I do the same thing. When I have a speaking tour, although I know the content of the text I wrote, I still make the effort to saturate the words with a prayerful heart.
(15) From now on, whenever you do hoondokhae, do it in a group and share the reading aloud among multiple readers. One person should read one section and then designate another person to read the next section by calling out his or her name. Establish the tradition of calling each person to read next by name. You can address the important points or questions the group wants to raise. You can set the standard, saying, "In today's hoondokhae, the content to be studied is this, and we must absolutely maintain such-and-such as our principle."
(16) I have lived according to the Will, trying to build the kingdom of heaven on earth and in heaven by fulfilling the dutiful way of loyalty and filial piety and the dutiful way of saints and divine sons and daughters. This has brought me into a precious relationship with God. In order that you do not fall short of that standard, each of you must establish and uphold it within your family. Only by doing so will you return to the garden of Eden, where God will allow you to be in the realm of His direct dominion. Only this standard will spread out in thousands, even tens of thousands of branches, and remain forever. In order to bequeath the tradition of the True Parents, I started this tradition of hoondokhae. Until I did so, you did not know anything about the True Parents' situation.
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