God’s Will and the Ocean: Episode 86

God’s Will and the Ocean
True Father Speaks on: “The Heart and Spirit of Fishing,” page 281-285
July 3, 1986, Morning Garden

Father's Heart for Fishing

Okay then, let's return to my story. Sometimes, when you are speaking, you have to clean out the room before you set the table. Isn't that true? That's the meaning of leadership. Now I am sure that you have the kind of spirit that says, "No matter how much the storm comes, I will go out." Do you have that spirit? Good. That's the difference. Now you feel confident and I feel happy to talk to you as well.

You've been given responsibility for these new and clean boats. After seventy days of tuna fishing you must be able to return these boats just as clean. This is how you not only love your boats, but you also love the country. Once you are out in the ocean, which is more important, your body or your boat? No, no, no! Your body is more important! Okay, you insist that the boat is more important. This time, I will agree with you because it is true when you go out on the water. On the water, your boat is how you survive.

Therefore, you must love your boat more than you love your body. No matter how famous you might be, no matter how many people are on the boat, the boat is of more value than they are when you are on the water. Without the boat, you cannot exist. Think about the people who clean their hands when they have grease on them, but don't bother to clean the boat when it has some dirt on the side. That is not the spirit that I have been talking about today.

If we have such an attitude out on the ocean, the boat will hate you and even the ocean will hate you. However, if you love the boat with all your heart, even the ocean will embrace you. Only when the boat returns love to you and the ocean embraces you can you stand and be truly happy. How wonderful it is if you can ask your boat, "Are you proud to be with me?" and your boat replies, "Yes, that's true." If you feel that from your boat, if you feel that from the ocean, how wonderful it is.

Furthermore, you have to love and take care of the equipment on the boat. The engine and the boat are protecting your life. Your lines and hooks, you must love more than your own clothes. When you love someone or something, you never hurt them. And it comes back in the same way. If you love your boat and all the things on that boat, they will not hurt you. They will even protect you.

This is the kind of attitude you must have. If you have such an attitude, there will be no accidents. On the boat, the most important thing is the engine. Without the engine you cannot move, so it is like the heart of the boat. No matter how good your boat may be, if there is a storm and your engine is not operating properly, you will not be able to move. Also, you must learn how to steer the boat correctly. You shouldn't make sudden movements which are dangerous. Don't play on the boats. In the first nine years of fishing, I never went down to the bottom deck and slept. After that period of time, I had a terrible headache one day and had to take a rest. The owner or master of the boat must keep a high spirit and take care of the boat. That is the spirit we must have.

I have seen so many members who just go to sleep all day. They lean over the side of the boat and show their backside to me. It's quite a view. Well, do you know how old I am now? I am almost sixty-seven years old. At my age some men depend on their canes. However, here I am at this age standing straight and I am the one who has to push you, you young American people. I look at you now and see your spirit. Tonight, you have the spirit of a general who wants to take over the entire world. I really wonder how long you will keep that spirit. Forever? I've heard that before! At least for the tuna season? Who said that? That's a good answer. It is the first step.

Please remember the main point. Love your boat. In Gloucester, we have people who have been tuna fishing seriously for many, many years. They are studying my method and trying to copy it. I came up with the system myself. One aspect of it is that you don't ever have to cut any of the lines. You can untie and re-tie the lines. One tuna line costs about $1,500. Whatever you do, don't lose the line by having to cut it. I have used a line for more than five years without ever losing or cutting it. If you lose a line, even if you catch a tuna, already one fourth of the price is gone.

My method is very organized and economical, therefore, it's superior to any other. The training session you have just gone through is not adopted from somewhere else; it is from my tradition. The original training session is from my heart. You must understand what kind of difficulty and agony others went through until I could come up with this method. With this method and training, you can go out and on your first day on the ocean, you can hook a fish and bring it up. There is a fisherman out there who has tried for three years to catch a tuna and in those years he only caught one. That is how hard it is to catch them, but if you use this method that you have learned, as soon as you go out, you can catch a tuna.

New Hope has a record of thirty-five fish in one season. I am giving you the direction for each boat. You should each catch at least five fish this season. You might think, "Why should I have to catch five fish? I don't like that." You are big and strong American men and you are thinking to yourselves, "Father, you just said that New Hope caught thirty-five fish and I just have to catch only five." You may want to catch more, but I am saying to you that it will take hard prayer and work to reach the goal of five fish. You may have to overcome many obstacles and difficulties on the boat. You may feel so discouraged that you will even want to cry on the boat. There may be times when you don't catch a tuna for so long that you will return to the land almost in tears thinking, "Oh, God doesn't love me." It takes that kind of effort, heart and desire. Even when you are tired, when you are ready to drop over, you will see the tuna going by your boat, not biting. Then, you have to wake up and shout with full force, "Hey, you have to come back here and take this line!" You have to have that kind of spirit.

Even in your dreams, or your nightmares, you have to see this happening and make the same effort. Suppose you go into the mountain and try to catch a tiger. How dangerous and difficult that task would be. Catching a tuna is much the same. When you catch a 1,000 pound tuna we are talking about something worth $7,000 or maybe even $10,000. Can you catch a bull or an ox which is worth that kind of money? There is no comparison.

We are going after that kind of treasure. The reality is such that if you catch one tuna like that, you and your family, even three families, could at least eat for one year without using any other source of money. How precious one fish is. If you just go out and sit on the boat, swaying back and forth and say, "Tuna, come to me," you are simply a thief or robber from the other fishermen. You've got to be serious.

I have keen spiritual senses. Sometimes, I know that within five minutes the tuna will come and strike. And many times, at that exact moment, the tuna does indeed take the line. I have experienced being extremely tired, but when the tuna strikes I am suddenly refreshed—fresh like a cucumber! Think about the excitement of that moment. Sometimes a battle is going on, sometimes it lasts for more than an hour, but I am working and sweating so hard that it seems like just one or two minutes. One time, I was waiting with such anticipation all day long. I couldn't think of anything at all because I knew the tuna was coming. I waited and waited so anxiously that I didn't even think of going to the bathroom. Then, just as I thought of doing that, the tuna struck the line. There was so much excitement at that moment that I completely forgot about going to the bathroom; the fight was the only thing on my mind. Only after the fight did I realize that my pants were wet. However, because we had caught the tuna, I didn't even mind that. That's the first time I've ever shared this experience. Now, can you imagine the kind of excitement that I felt? You should also have a significant memory such as this one for yourself. Don't just wait for the tuna. You have to spiritually call the tuna to you. They have to feel your anxious heart.

Therefore, the number one rule on the boat is no fighting, no shouting. If you have to give a direction on the boat, give it firmly, but calmly. Many people don't like to chum. Those of you with experience know about this. The smell is bad and it looks so bad that no one can describe it. You just try to pass the job around, don't you? However, when you cut the chum, you have to have my heart. Just say to the others, "It's okay, you rest. I will take care of this job." When you start your boat, don't just push the gears and take off. First, look around and make sure everything is in order. When you are coming back, don't just pack up and leave. Really be thankful for the day.