The Words of the Huish Family
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The Words of the Huish Family |
The last two months of my life have been rather challenging – in good ways – but a consequence of my efforts to adapt to my ever-increasing responsibilities has been that I've (inexcusably) neglected to keep this blog updated. So I'll post a couple of blogs in one go, and hope resume where I last stopped reporting about my experiences in Korea at the end of January this year:
The main thing I'd like to share in this post was the grace I experienced in the Chung Pyung Heaven and Earth Training Center after the formalities of the Cheon Il Guk Leaders' Assembly.
Prior to my journey to Korea all the members of the Huish family decided that we'd like to complete our duty to our ancestors and get them all liberated and blessed as quickly as possible. (Think of point #5 on the Lisbon Resolution.) The first grace was recognizing that my parents had already offered most of the conditions necessary to liberate and bless practically half of the ancestors so far. The next grace was recognizing that it was possible for all the couples to pitch in (parents' couple, 3 sons' couples and a daughter's couple) so that we could offer the pecuniary portions needed to complete previously incomplete donations and liberate all the remaining ancestors up to the 210th generation.
More grace was experienced at the International Office (which serves everyone except Koreans and Japanese, so an awful lot of peoples, languages, currencies and logistical issues for an office of only 2 or 3 people): When I enquired about the many thousands of full-bows required over a course of several 21-day periods of devotional offering, I was told that due to the providential urgency to liberate and bless our ancestors by Foundation Day next year international members are given the extraordinary blessing of being asked to offer only a single 21-day period of devotional offering (50 full bows a day, or equivalent alternative). This means that instead of spending the next year offering around 200 bows a day, it is acceptable to offer only 50 bows a day for a single period of 21 days. For me, that was amazing grace.
The workshop was pretty good in Chung Pyung. I still don't feel entirely comfortable in Chung Pyung, as it's a place that challenges me in many ways. Perhaps that's part of the condition required to shake off all the spirits and ancestors. But I must admit I felt a lot of love during that wintry weekend as temperatures dipped below -10° C. The singing and clapping session during which Dae Mo Nim was present to liberate our ancestors was an emotional experience, and as we all sang "Amazing Grace" at the end of the session, I truly felt as if an incredible grace from heaven had indeed been shown on me, my family and my lineage.
Another grace worth mentioning was that I was able to liberate the blessed husband of a member of the Bromley community while I was in Chung Pyung, ensuring that as little time as possible passed between his passing and his liberation.
