The Way of Happiness

Sang Ik Choi
January 1971

What is the true meaning of salvation? What is the true meaning of happiness? Universal salvation means happiness of all people centered in God. Jesus spoke about Heavenly Kingdom on earth. This means everybody finds happiness centered in God. In Buddhism when Buddha spoke about Paradise, this means everybody is happy centered in Buddha. Many philosophers spoke about human happiness when they spoke about Utopia or ideal world. Everybody seeks happiness because this is the way of life.

Happiness is very simple. It means full of joy: stimulation of truth, beauty and love, centered in God. The eternal supreme joy must be joy centered in God, not just a trust in your conscience or in heartistic feeling. Paradise to Buddha was the peak of the joy. But Buddha said that also the human way of life is suffering. Salvation is happiness, the peak of life.

Today many hippies seek the goal of joy in human life. No matter what background we all want joy. So certain young men take LSD, for stimulation of joy. This is a great mistake, for joy must come from stimulation of love, beauty and truth based in God, not just chemical stimulation or feeling. This is illusion. True joy does not come without true human character. This is why Jesus said for joy we must be born again by spirit. Jesus wanted to speak many things but the people were not prepared. God's words of truth never change, but the interpretation of truth changes according to the times.

The age of childish stages of truth has passed away. Today is the age of science and reason. Mysterious stories and concepts of God have no place in today's world. Today we must explain God scientifically.

2.000 years ago, the high Priests sought truth. They read the Bible day and night. Yet they just stuck to their own established concepts and rejected the teaching of Jesus. Like Nicodemus, they could not understand what it means to be born again with the truth. So Jesus had to turn to humbles, simple men who were willing to follow him.

Truth is like the wind -- you cannot see it but it changes your spirit. Just like the wind blowing through the grass -- you cannot see the wind but you can see how it moves the grass. Likewise, you can judge truth by the result, by the consequence. You cannot see the truth, but if you accept truth, you will see it. Your character will change like a truthful man: like the wind which you can only see as it shakes the tree' and grain.

Without accepting truth and changing your character, there will be no happiness, no true salvation. In order to save ourselves, and save others, there is no other way. At the core of basic philosophy and religion is the teaching: you must be born again with the truth. Change yourself.

Today's Christianity is far from the original teaching of Jesus. Today the original words of Jesus make sense, we see the beauty in the Sermon on the Mountain, but the original teachings of Jesus, distorted by Christianity, do not make sense. Who can believe today's Christian leaders who theologize and academies their own concepts? Man has a rational mind, and if you force people to believe what does make sense sooner or later this kind of religion will be abolished.

Without good human character we will never have a good society. The basic condition of happiness is to meet someone who has a good character, a conscientious, your ideal mate -- marry and produce a family. Today many people marry to obtain happiness, but they select only by external characteristics. We must marry based on truth, based on the heartistic, conscientious, higher character standard centered God.

What was the fall of man? The fall of man was decline of the conscientious standard, decline of the public mind centered in God. If you lack a public mind you can never expect a good human relationship. I must save myself but at the same time I must save others. I must promote the character of others with love and truth. It is not easy to evangelize, spread truth to others, for in this world people are very stubborn and shallow. But if you fully realize you must save others, then you must speak truth to others with love. How can I love other people? This is the big question. I do not care how much they have a Christian or a Buddhist standard, but how much they have a universal standard.

Jesus really loved others, he fed the spirit by truth. Man is man because of the character, because of the spirit!

When Jesus was only 12 years old, he forgot everything, and felt he had to save the people. He went to the temple and tried to teach to the high priests. He was truly a fanatic for the truth. He continued his teaching at the expense of his physical family who did not understand. The high priests, everybody, finally rejected his truth, even in the final moment the 12 Disciples ran away. Nevertheless the faith of Jesus never changed.

Even in the last minute as he was dying on the cross, he asked Heavenly Father to forgive the people because they did not know what they were doing. Jesus' love for people was so great -- He was a man who entirely manifested God's love and truth.

Any people who reject righteous men, and reject truth must pay the indemnity. God has sent great prophets to save His children throughout human history. Yet most people remain stubborn. Like spoiled children, they expect their Parent to say many good things, only they are not willing to listen. Many emphasize their uniqueness, their freedom to judge for themselves. Take care. This is all right provided you use your uniqueness to promote everyone's happiness rather than just for your own sake. For example, maybe you can type, so you seek a typist's job. But you will not be able to keep the job unless you type for the sake of your employer; that is why he hired you. Your uniqueness contributes for family, society, and the world. In order to save the world and yourself, there is no other way.

Some people think that war is caused by over population, so maybe birth control ca: 1 stop the wars and high crime rate. This is a great mistake. In the beginning of human history, Cain killed Abel when there were only 4 people. Disarmament and birth control will help a little, but we must change ourselves, change the human character, this is the only way to stop war! Unless we change the hearts of man, there is no hope.

Many people think they are contributing to society through their work, but mainly they are just living for themselves. There can be no solution if everyone stays selfish -- no matter what, everyone has a mission. Unless we become conscientious people and promote the happiness of all, we have no hope for a better world.