The Words of the Masaichi Family
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The Words of the Masaichi Family |
For ten days, from March 24 to April 2, at the request of True Parents, Hyung-jin nim made an official visit to Japan. In March, at Cheon Jeong Peace Palace, on the day before Father departed for Hawaii, he said to Hyung-jin nim, "I would like to go to Japan and encourage the members but because I cannot go there now, it would be good if you could go as my representative." He asked Hyung-jin nim to express his heart toward Japanese members. We can say that Hyung-jin nim, who is directly attending True Father at the Peace Palace, and sees how deeply Father loves and worries about Japan, is precisely the person for such a mission.
Responding to Father, Hyung-jin nim suggested, "I will visit the smaller regions or the small churches that you cannot visit." Father agreed with this idea. Hyung-jin nim visited the districts in regions four and five during the course of his tour. In order to attend Hyo-jin nim's concert, Hyung-jin nim spent one night in Fukuoka, then took the Shinkansen bullet train to Kyoto. From there he traveled on to Mie, Morivama and other places, then back to Fukuoka, and on to Fukui, Toyama, Kanazawa and so on, holding meetings as he went, before returning to Korea. Hyung-jin nim not only spoke in nine locations, but in order to convey the heart of a parent, as a representative of True Parents, he met the Japanese members individually, comforted and encouraged them, investing his best without reserve.
Rather than prepare a written speech, Hyung-jin nim's way was always to approach the members directly, speak to them and comfort and encourage them. He would begin by talking about the history of the Unification Movement:
"In the East and West, past and present, the founders of religions have been persecuted throughout their lives, but looking at the Unification Movement objectively, it has developed significantly in the founder's own lifetime and is entering the mainstream of society. In that sense, the Unification Church has had miraculous success, such as could not he found in any other religion. In creating this foundation, the sacrificial offering of the Japanese members has been enormous. Members around the world acknowledge this. The True Family also knows this. I respect members who have filial piety toward True Parents."
Next, Hyung-jin nim spoke on the providence of the era after the coming of heaven and the way forward:
"In the 1970s, we were a church for young people. If we compare that time with the present, we have become a church of families with three generations living together. The circumstances surrounding us have changed. In the past, young people were witnessing by explaining the concept of the ideal family. Now for the first time in history, the ideal God held at the time of the Creation, the four great realms of heart and three great kingships, can be realized in our families. We can demonstrate this substantially and witness to that. Father is unchanging, remains on the front line of the providence after proclaiming the new era. Whenever time allows, Father invests in his children. From this time on, it is not a choice between "God's will" or "my family" Rather, the era has come when we must accomplish both these providential task, at the same time.
Next, Hyung-jin nim led us in the way to create a beautiful, shining heavenly environment by clearly going through the eight stages from the individual all the way up to God.
At each meeting, what he taught was focused on a series of steps. These included creating mind-body unity, which he explained by having us visualize a circular shape, creating a sincere marital relationship, creating sincere parent-child relationships and creating genuine happiness. He explained:
"Father draws the eight horizontal stages -- individual, family, tribe, people, nation, world, cosmos and God -- not as a linear diagram but using the image of concentric circles, as an expanding or developmental model.
Let's imagine a circle with a three-meter diameter, with you at the center. To keep that area clean and clear is your portion of responsibility. The state of your circle can influence your environment, making it dirtier or cleaner. When you go home, your circle can influence your family. In trying to understand True Father, it is not enough to rely purely on what he says. Words comprise only about ten percent of communication. We have to learn from True Father, who is the incarnation of true love, how he loves True Mother from observing him in real life. We must not merely experience one aspect of the heart but, through true love, experience our heart, emotion, intellect and righteousness. Then conjugal love can blossom naturally. Training is necessary in order to express true love.
Educating a child is most effective when done one-on-one. Usually, though, aren't the opportunities we have for one-on-one time with our children spent scolding them? We should not compare our child with others; we should help our child feel his or her value. Please lake the opportunity to invest true love in your child, even if it is only for a short time.
Many people think that they will be grateful after they feel happy, but that is the wrong mental approach. If we initiate having a grateful mind toward God within ourselves, we can find grace we didn't realize was there.
Hyung-jin nim rises at the same time as True Father, at 2:30 in the morning, to begin his daily schedule.
Not wanting to give a financial burden to our church, as a matter of principle he slept in the church in a sleeping bag. In Fukuoka, he even put away a mattress the members had prepared and slept in his sleeping bag on the floor with his staff members. When there wasn't a bathroom in the church, he used a basin to wash himself.
No matter what time he went to sleep, he would always emerge from his room with a smile at 3:00 AM sharp. He has kept that challenging standard for seven years. When I met Hyung-jin nim, I was very surprised by this. Father has lived that way his whole life. It defies imagination. Ordinary people cannot conceive of Father's lifestyle.
Hyung-jin asked the members who came to the churches at three o'clock in the morning, "Ladies and gentlemen, how did you get up so early?" He creates a warm and gentle atmosphere and leads them in the exercise regimen that Father practices. Hyung-jin nim has been doing it for seven years. When we did the same exercises, even for a short time, sweat covered our bodies. Every morning, Father goes outside and follows this exercise routine.
After completing the exercises, Hyung-jin nim began meditation. He says, "Inhaling with a feeling of gratitude is the simplest of prayers." Within twenty minutes, everyone present could feel through his or her body how difficult achieving mind-body unity is. Following meditation, Hyung-jin mm went for a walk to awaken his mind and body and to absorb the spiritual energy of nature. He says that through this process, he can participate in Hoon Dok Hae feeling spiritually clear and he can teach good standards for daily life. Although he spoke after Hoon Dok Hae, he also often listened to testimonies, from a senior member or an international couple. He wanted to hear not only about their activities but also about the growth of their love and happiness between husband and wife.
After breakfast, I often saw Hyung-jin nim in the kitchen, speaking with the wives who had volunteered to serve. When he was a young boy at East Garden, he liked to share his heart with the sisters preparing food. I thought of this as having been an expression of taking care of people who have little chance to receive such love.
In Korea, he takes care of the Japanese wives; in Japan, he related warmly with the Korean wives, encouraging them and saying, "Find happiness." After Hoon Dok Hae, he would move on to the next church on his itinerary. This may have been two hours away by road. He normally stopped at McDonald's along the way.
Hyung-jin nim told me, "Since I have come to Japan, the mother nation, it would be frustrating if I did not learn Japanese well." He studied Japanese with me. He certainly has a foundation in the structure of the Japanese language. Just by repeating something two or three times, he remembers it. I was surprised by his sense for the language.
As soon as he arrived at a church, the meeting would begin. After speaking, he would take a photograph with all participants together, and then family by family. For each person, for each family, he invested his unconditional love and related with them as important people. Even so, there is no doubt that it was very tiring for him to pose a hundred times a day in front of flashing cameras. After lunch, he would visit well-known sites. As someone who is a graduate in religious studies, he is more aware of the value of the Japanese cultural legacy than are many Japanese. He visited famous temples in Kyoto, Todaiji, and Aeiheiji.
At dinnertime, he would visit a member's home. At dinner, he served Chinese tea from his own tea set. He has small Chinese style teacups. He would make tea and they would drink it together, enjoying the scent and flavor, while talking for an hour or so. Lots were drawn to decide which families he would visit. In this way, he could observe different members' lives. He conveyed his love to them in various ways.
With such a busy schedule, he pushed his tired body and made the effort to give one more thing to the members and to the Japanese church. In every region, he wrote a wonderful calligraphic message, saying that he thought of it as writing with his own blood.
As one of those traveling with him, one thing that impressed me is that a love of nature seems a common trait among members of the True Family. Hyung-jin nim drove up to the top of a hill overlooking the town of Gifu and surveyed the local scenery.
He said, joyfully, "In Japan I have been staying in towns, and inside buildings. “This is my first chance to come out into nature. This is the best place to be!" Sometimes in the morning, during the testimony time, there would be a sister grieving for someone in her family who had passed on. After listening attentively, Hyung-jin nim would say, "All members need to hear such stories. Paradoxically, we learn about life when we are confronted with death." I thought about how, when Hyung-jin nim's brother Young-jin nim ascended, Hyung-jin nim himself had experienced a turning point in his life.
As an interpreter, the most difficult thing for me was when we visited the families. When I would interpret what a family member was saying about life, or faith, or other matters, Hyung-jin nim stared at me with an ineffably serious expression, near to tears. When I saw his face and realized how deeply he shared his heart with members, more than translating at the venue of any event, it seemed as though my heart would burst. With my mind so stricken, not knowing what to do, I interpreted.
If God's heart is joyful at the return of a prodigal son, we can say that a shepherd who is looking for a lost sheep is a son of filial piety who understands his parents' heart. Hyung-jin nim toured the country areas where it is difficult for the members to meet True Family members. He personally demonstrated unconditional love for Japan. In the future, I believe he will continue to visit churches. The providential era may have changed, but the aspect of our culture that calls us to attend the True Family has not. As brothers and sisters who care for True Parents, we felt as if we were members of the family of their True Son during his visit to Japan.
Let's create a church that embraces the True Family's culture and way of life.