Speeches of Hyo Jin Moon 2006-2008
Delivered Sunday at Belvedere Estate in Tarrytown, New York
Hyo Jin Moon Speaks on Role Model, Page 268

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

Role Model

February 18, 2007

Good morning!

(Hyo Jin nim pauses to survey the audience. He smiles.)

There are too many young people here. Okay.

Whether you like it or not, one of these days you are going to become a "Role Model."

When we talk about the reality of how society is, we're always looking for somebody to blame or someone to glorify.

Why? Because it's important whether people in general understand the concept, it starts from individual to family, and that family extension gets larger and larger. Eventually it expands to the society as we know it and to the nation and ultimately to the world. This vision on a worldwide scale happens because of a kind of individuality that can exist even within a family, that idiosyncratic dominance or preference. That's why you draw borders and that's what we see as a result in the ultimate thing.

Even if you're in a certain race framework it doesn't matter. Somehow it's going to be divided, but I don't think that is the intent of God. Every religion fails to describe God in the ideal way as that kind of being or entity who won't stand division. However, we're mystified by the reality. We are lacking in terms of true knowledge, the bottom line is that God does represent the ideal, but many times a conflict arises even among religions. They believe in a lot of these things, but they don't know the true nature of the ideal. There is a disparity somewhere. That's why it creates conflict.

So, having said that, what is the nature of the idealism of God? According to what we believe God cannot achieve the end result, He cannot manifest His will, or achieve True Love without the presence of mankind. If God represents the ideal, then man represents something else. The individual man that we start to create, and that humanity starts to become, is something important in the whole process of ultimately realizing the will of God.

When you put God as a representation, that individuality is humanity, because God is the representation of the ideal whether you like it or not. That's why we have religion. And we want to describe things better than the other guy. That's the competitive factor in religion even when it pursues one God—who in the end is more persuasive, who can prove it better.

The Fall occurred in the Garden of Eden, and because of the Fall all this chaos and conflict arose from that initial act. In order to restore that which is so crucial to the fulfillment of that ideal, somebody has to be the true testimony of what blessing is. Because, as the objects to God, so far as we're concerned, the whole creation process is a blessing. We have to restore that blessing, that act of blessing. How do we bless somebody?

Unless you can bring that back into humanity, and allow humanity to understand that, and then on their own free will learn religion and manifest it to each other and to God, then restoration is just a thought. It is not tangible—it is not substantial.

If we are competing with other people to proclaim and give a testimony, a living testimony, and to bear the responsibility to rebuild the ideal world, then ultimately that blessing factor has to be brought back through our efforts into the realm of humanity. In other words, in the end, we have to be blessed by humanity. Otherwise, it's not complete. It might be directional, if you give it to people, and try to educate people as to how you plan to go about achieving it.

In the general setting of Christian thinking you have seven virtues, four cardinal and three theoretical: justice, temperance, fortitude, prudence, faith, hope and charity. We have the basic kind of direction as to how we are going to represent that aspect of what God is. In terms of creating the ideal, we basically have a way in which we can try to live up to that standard as a basic guideline.

There has to be something beyond that. There has to be more than that. So, when you talk about being a role model sometimes, even on a personal level, even when you have a family, it's a daunting task if you're just pushed into it. Some people might have been longing for that kind of opportunity but sometimes it can be shocking to the system. 

How do you go about achieving the ultimate end of trying to represent something that is very serious because many times the importance is lost? When you try to do anything that doesn't come from the heart it is a meaningless quest. It is a meaningless task.

That is the difficult part, trying to understand the importance of each individual thing, especially when we look at it from the viewpoint of God's idealism and God's representation. We are individuals to God, and God and humanity have to become one. It's crucial to achieve that important relationship, and to find the value in that—it takes a lifetime to learn.

When you're old, how often do you think about something, think about your potential? Many times you want to show off and practice that basic virtue stuff, self restraint. All that little stuff that's important to practice and understand. The ultimate value is what we must understand in relation to God.

It's difficult. It's very difficult when you have to think about dying, because when you talk about value that is forever and everlasting and has to do with a relationship with God, it doesn't really matter what others think while you're breathing. The value as we know it in the secular realm can't go with you after death. Valuable things that we believe as we try to idealize ourselves is part of knowing what God's ideal is all about. I want to make that relationship work out and know God better. I don't know how much I know now but it has to be more than this. I need to know more. It has to be greater than this.

As you push yourself in the end the answer is very simple: There are only some values that you can take. There are not many out there. There are not many here. You really don't see it. Things that are going to last—you really don't see. It might be easier if money exchanged between hands and stuff and back and forth, but it's not like that.

It's about something that is of love and the effort to try to describe love. How do you love your children? Pretty much that's the basic standard. God loves you right? God loves His children. In what way? How do you love your children?

Can you take that and put it into someone that you don't know? That's difficult, but it can be done. That's the trial in fact. That's what we try to accomplish ultimately in the end. And how is that going to happen? I can't give you that answer. It's on a one-to-one basis.

You can try to simplify it, but it's also possible to over-simplify things if you're not careful. You have to know who you are. If you have to over-simplify something it's got to be in a sort of extreme circumstance, and yet you have to ask yourself, why do I want to oversimplify this? What am I getting? What am I looking for? What am I trying to get out of this stuff? In what way?

Because unless it's war, oversimplification is not always ideal. Why? Because I don't know you, and I don't know you (pointing to different audience members) and I can't say that you and you are identical. That's the problem.

That is the problem of dealing with people in developed nations. The level of expectation and self value, of course, varies, but it's very, very different in a developed nation. That's the problem. But that's not un­-ideal. Everybody wants that kind of special attention, right?

I can't fault you guys for having that kind of desire. That's why it takes commitment. You have to realize what's right and what's wrong and it takes time. It takes time for us to figure that out even as we swim through this confusion made up of all these variations, differences, and all sorts of separate existence.

It takes time. And it will take a lifetime for some people. And it will take a lifetime for the next generation too, until that is realized. It's not going to happen overnight. That's the reality and accepting it is a big step. You asked for it and you're going to get it. There is no exception to that rule.

I question myself sometimes. How far can I go along this path? There are many separate ways I could get off. I've figured that out. How far am I going to stay on this path? It's up to you. You can't force somebody to do that.

I guess to have that desire to achieve what is of true value to me, I must ask that and answer that to myself. That's the only way I'm going to be a role model to my children. One way, good or bad, they're going to use me as an excuse. Right?

So, how far? I don't know.

What is my highest or what is my greatest? I don't know. How far can I go? I don't know.

Do I want to get there? Do I want to win? I guess so. 

Something like that. That's all I can say sometimes, most of the time.

It's better than you having all the answers on that day. Then you should go to sleep, because you're no good when you're awake. (Laughter.)

Anyway, take care of yourselves? Okay? I'll see you soon. I'll miss you a little bit.