Speeches of Hyo Jin Moon 2006-2008
Delivered Sunday at Belvedere Estate in Tarrytown, New York
Hyo Jin Moon Speaks on Tradition, Page 194

Some episodes may contain explicit language. Listener discretion is advised.

Tradition

November 5, 2006

How are you doing? Today's topic is, "Tradition." We talk about tradition. We all have it, right? Regardless of who you are, we all have it. We inherited something from somewhere. We belonged to something prior to coming here. Everybody has tradition. To people in general, tradition is important because it deals with survivability. Time ticks forward in the timeline of history. In order to be something, in order to have something, in order to hold on to something, secure something, you need to have tradition.

The value of tradition is about that—it is about securing something. It's about prolonging something, defining something, setting some kind of standard that will define you beyond your existence. That's what tradition is. That's why it's important to a lot of people.

Even nationalism goes to tradition to promote itself, to encourage that kind of fervor. You can galvanize and excite people—you can get stimulated because you think you're part of something great, now you live not just based on survival, but something big and enduring.

Just like everybody else in a free democratic society, you want to be something special. What you pursue has to have that kind of essence in the end. That defined essence, if that is true, it should stand the test of time. It should go on and on and on as long as we procreate, as long as we survive on this planet. That's why people think tradition is important—because there is a sense of joy in knowing, right? Yes, when you define joy, it always has to define a certain understanding, a clear understanding, the more clear the better, then the depth of joy will become greater.

How can we position ourselves or present ourselves to the world in terms of a tradition we want to be part of? That's the question everybody asks. If they think they belong to something then that's what we're competing with. Everybody out there who believes in God or who believes in a higher power wants to perpetuate themselves. It might not be a monotheistic value—it might be polytheistic. But still they have their own tradition that they want to present to the world and compete. It's a never ending struggle. Why? Because I think there's only one God, at least that’s what I have chosen to believe for the rest of my life. That's the challenge. That's where you start. You have to ask yourself—How do I fit into this tradition? In what way can I be the best that I can be to represent the tradition?

How many people here clearly can say that I know my absolute true value? I know what gives me absolute joy till the day that I die? Why—because joy comes from knowing. Divine joy comes from knowing the divine truth and it starts from you. Do I really understand my divine truth about myself? How do I fit in, if I do? What can I do in knowing who I am? The divine truth, how does it configure into the greater picture of creating an ideal world? Everybody, idiosyncratic as they may be, has something that is divine, that is unique to you. You must find that and you must somehow figure out how you can fit it into the greater picture. Achieving that is very difficult. It is easily said, but doing that is very difficult. Why? Because if you're just based on the concept of order, even in a free society like America, you have to play the game by the rules. I guess it's kind of healthy to a point.

Remember, America allows religious freedom. At the same time, it separates religion and the state. The state is pretty much secular. Why—just to be fair. That's the basic premise, the basic fundamental argument because historically speaking, religion hasn't been that much of a model institution. The cliché people say is, "Absolute power corrupts absolutely." Because of that, because of the disdain the Founding Fathers of America had towards the British rule by monarchy, they decided on this American system of government.

 This is what is so attractive to the world—more and more people starting to empower themselves, and with their empowerment, make something, make positions on their own, making their own definition of things, defining themselves on their own, on the world stage.

It's becoming more and more easy. One thing about today's world that is different is that in the past, it was very difficult to understand the omnipresence of God. In today's world, ubiquity, a lesser word of omnipresence, is doable. The internet—you can literally transcend time and space. It doesn't matter who you are. If you have something to say, you literally can use technology as we know it—you can be in one place and all around the world at the same time. That's the difference. That's why it's not going to be that easy to force upon people just by saying that this is the right way, that this is the right tradition. You really have to literally go by the principle. You can't just have it by faith—you have to have substance. You really need more substance than ever.

 If things are complete in terms of restoration conditional-wise—if that era is over—the new era is not going to be automatic. By nature it's going to be more substantial in terms of delivering the ideal. You really have to be careful what you promise. If you don't deliver it, you can't stop people from talking to each other on a global scale at light speed.

When you deal with tradition, what is the essence? What is the essence that brings things into focus toward what is good in us? You have to know your game in any competition. We have to compete with what we know centering on God. If you're in science class, get those facts correctly, not history facts, right? You have to know what class you belong to. You have to clarify your category. You have to clearly define what you're doing and what kind of class that you're dealing with as a people. Otherwise it's nonsense. It won't work! Why? It's obvious. 

If you walk down a New York City street, it really kind of boggles your mind if you actually think about, "How the hell do I change that guy?" Every guy, every head you turn—where do you start?

It might be easy if you just came out of jail. You are walking where you want to walk. You don't walk where other people tell you to walk. You want to walk the line that you want to, and so does everybody else in the free world. How do you achieve a tradition?