The Words of Sun Myung Moon from 1983
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The Words of Sun Myung Moon from 1983 |
Christianity, Judaism, and all great religions had some connection to the mountains. Moses went to the mountains to pray for 40 days, Jesus prayed and fasted on the mountain, and Buddha spent six years in the mountains searching spiritually. The Unification Church has experienced those sorts of things, but we don't stop there. We move on and create "Ocean Church" for the first time in history.
When you look at the globe, two-thirds of the surface is water. So where, do you think, would there be the greater quantity of living things, in the ocean or on the land? In the water.
The population of the earth is estimated as 4 billion people, but how many hundreds of billions of living things are there in the sea! One more difference between the sea and the land is that all the oceans connect, so that you can go from one ocean into another. Land mass is also connected, but the oceans are all moving into each other as one harmonious whole.
The ocean is living and moving accordingly; it's not dead. Because the waters covering this planet earth are alive, we can see that the planet is alive.
So far the ocean has been used for transportation -- but people haven't begun digging in the ocean to find its hidden resources.
In recent years, some nations have claimed a 200-mile limit as "territorial waters." More and more, the competition for ocean resources is sharply dividing the nations. Will the 200-mile limit still have meaning if there are no more fish to catch?
When people begin to discover resources from the oceans, maybe they'll begin to claim 300 miles, or even 1000 miles, as their nation's territory, and then the question will rise, "Who is the true master of the ocean? Who will be the true host?"
Suppose all of a sudden a gigantic land mass emerged -- an island in the middle of the ocean. Who could claim that land? Volcanic eruptions can happen anywhere. Nature follows nature's laws.
While God is looking over His creation saying, "I created the ocean; who shall be the host?" what is He searching for?
He is looking for men of vision and courage.
Actually God is looking for a group of people who are organized and committed to meeting that challenge of the ocean. If such a committed group of ocean-loving people can be found, God will give the blessing to them.
Those people finally become candidates for lordship over the ocean. They must be thinking with the Creator's mind. As such courageous people from around the world come together and unite in one common goal, one ideal, that vision must transcend all national and racial boundaries. Once such an international group is set up, it will be very difficult for any single nation to challenge it, for it will truly have a global perspective.
What will Ocean Church do in the future? What is its purpose? It is to teach how to love the ocean, to utilize it under the concept of the Creator's ideal, and have dominion over it according to the Principle of Creation.
The dividing line between ocean and land is the coastline, so the coast represents the link to both worlds. Eventually the coastline will become most important. Coastline property will become most valuable of all.
The ocean encompasses an incredible variety of moods. The calm sea is like a beautiful woman, and the beach sand is like silk -- dazzling beauty and peace. But that is not all the ocean presents to you -- a little breeze and the water starts to dance -- just a little bit. No matter what kind of a ballerina or dancer you may find, they can never compare her/him to the dancing of the ocean! The dancer is on a small, limited stage, but the ocean dances without limit. There is no end to its stage.
The sea birds are flying around, coming and going, landing and taking off, all with different shapes, but all with harmony. Seagulls come, they sing and present beautiful harmony. When you see that this is so beautiful, then suddenly there's a whale coming out of the water -- almost like a volcanic explosion! The whale jumps out of the water and then the splashing water shines, reflecting the light -- just incredible beauty. So much variety and change!
When the ocean gets mad it definitely shows its dignity and power as if it's saying, "Anyone who comes at me -- I will swallow you!" And indeed, the ocean will swallow anything riding on it.
Normally, a high-speed boat runs beautifully on calm water just like on a silky highway, but once those waters get mad, splashing with high waves, that boat becomes helpless. When the waves go up, the boat answers, "Yes, sir, yes, sir!" When the waves suddenly drop down the boat can only obey because there nature is the most powerful and the ocean says, "You listen to me! Here I am!"
For that reason, men and women who love the sea cannot be boastful, cannot be arrogant. They must know how to humble themselves to the overpowering strength of nature.
On the land you see green. Sometimes you see butterflies or birds flying around, but everything is stationary. In the ocean, however, the varieties of fish are moving in all kinds of ways and from one place to another, demonstrating their own beauty. So is there greater beauty and incredible mystery on land or in the ocean? (Ocean)
When you put yourself in God's position and ask, "Why did God make the ocean?" we might say, "It's because God would be bored with the land in just a few days, but the ocean is never boring. The sea and the ocean represent the future vision, the future dream."
Therefore, anyone linked to a futuristic vision must be interested in the ocean. In this way, he is bound to become a visionary person.
What kind of people are found on the ocean? Courageous men following other courageous men. And what about women?
If the husband got very bad diarrhea, lying flat on his back, would his wife beg him to stay at home and postpone the journey, or would she stand up and say, "Well, come on. I'll take over! I'll continue the mission."
If she has that much determination then even the boat's steering wheel will wake up and be happy to find a woman's soft hands on the wheel after being handled by so many men's rough hands.
When you women take charge of the mission, then even the ocean waters will feel sorry for you. They don't want to be rough on such beautiful women; they want to be nice to you. Even the ocean spray raining down is smiling, and saying, "I want to cling onto your skirt!" (Great laughter)
It's so poetic, isn't it? That's the way great literature and great poetry were born.
When I start speaking about the ocean, there are many stories, legends, and myths to be told. Sometimes I speak to the birds and sometimes it's as if the birds are obeying whatever I am thinking, flying this way, or landing over there. And when I think, "Now go away," the birds will suddenly depart!
Literature is written in that form, expressing such communication with nature. Creation says to man, "If you leave me yet still love me, I will go away from you." Man and the creation are just longing for each other, like the love between man and woman.
If a man and a woman have a date on top of the Empire State Building, 102 stories above the ground, it's very romantic. But why is such a date considered romantic? Because such a tall building is unique, and the two people are getting together at one of the highest points on the land mass. And even though no one notices, they feel they're coming together as a king and queen, meeting on the top of the world.
Say a man and a woman meet at the South Pole. There's no one around. It's all ice and snow. That's being where only penguins are kissing each other. Even just imagining it is a romantic moment!
In order to have some incredible stimulating experiences, you have to go through what some normal people would not do -- something unique, challenging, something special. Without it, you cannot derive that kind of intoxication and beauty of stimulation.
Recently I have traveled to Alaska two times. Alaska is a mysterious virgin land with hardly any people living there. It's a land of bears and wild animals. Most people think of it as snow-covered, with glaciers, rugged coast, and white whales, sea lions, and seals.
One day I went to a small island and encountered some sea lions. As soon as they saw me, they began giving their welcoming rally, "Arrh, arrh, arrh, arrh, arrh!" They started all at once, sounding, sounding incredibly unique! But there were two kinds of sound to distinguish: one was a male sound and the other a female sound. United in harmony, they built a resounding chorus.
There were also whales, and halibut, which are flat, 300-pound fish, like a giant flounder. Maybe there are many people who don't know about the halibut, and God is thinking, "You poor people. I created such an incredible creature, and gave it to you. All you have to do is come and claim it and use it for your benefit, but you never even bother to come! You never even look at my creation and try to enjoy it. You poor people!"
God is interested in courageous people. God Himself is adventurous, and He also made us that way.
Having all these special experiences, I was thinking about how American women should be!
In Alaska, I met a certain couple. The man lived there all his life, and I was interested in why this couple lived there. "Why do you live here?" I asked.
"Because we love the freedom -- total freedom."
They explained that in New York and other places, even if you're just trying to walk in order to get somewhere you're always bumping into someone. Or else you're always stepping onto somebody's territory and they're telling you, "No, no, don't touch it." But in Alaska, they said, you keep running year after year, and you bother no one! "We are totally free!" they said. Doesn't it sound good? So even though Alaska legally belongs to the United States, men and women living like this couple in Alaska virtually have no nationality.
But then I looked at the woman. This particular American woman was so tiny and skinny, but that woman had guts! She had vision! And she had a universal mind! She had confidence and conviction, so that even if she went bear hunting, she could knock down the bear! (Laughter)!
So I thought, "That's the kind of woman's spirit that impelled the westward-bound Americans toward their new horizon. This was the Frontier Spirit!"
So how come she met and married a man like that?
She revealed that she'd traveled all around the world. So she'd met all kinds of men, including civilized and educated men. Then she came to Alaska and met simple and unassuming men. The ones who went to the ocean were fishermen, and to the mountains were hunters. Here was the hunter- fisherman combination.
Then there was this one man, who completely captured her attention by his rugged simplicity and his very natural and unassuming nature. She married him and remained living in that environment where whatever they were doing, they were just as they are -- very real, very truthful. So when they met their neighbors, or even a stranger, they gave everything, and they loved these people much more than they'd love even their own brothers and sisters.
The man told his wife that he would show her the most beautiful places and he took her to where there was an abundance of wealth from the ocean, and when they went to the mountain they saw the hunting grounds with an abundance of wild game.
Normally when a fisherman has a good fishing ground, he keeps the secret for himself, but this man said, "This is the fishing heaven -- you can catch even bigger ones." This man was really trying to be helpful and serve others, preparing bait and so forth for others, and when I was there he tried to have my party catch a big fish. He really wanted me to catch the big ones.
On that day, a lot of fish were caught, and I was truly appreciative, so at the end of the day, I wanted to give him a little token of appreciation, some gift. But the man said, "No, not at all. It's my privilege, it's my honor. If you give that to me, you are taking away my honor!"
I sent a representative trying to persuade him to please receive this gift but the man was adamant in refusing.
Finally, though, that humble man gave in and said he would accept a gift, since he saw the Rev. Moon's beautiful heart.
So I thought, "After many long years, I met the True American!"
Upon examination, I decided that the salmon shall be the fish of the Moonies -- salmon symbolize the Moon Spirit.
The male and female salmon go swimming together side by side up the streams to the spawning grounds. The purpose for going all the way on such a journey is to lay eggs. The couple starts digging in the sandy bottom for a place to lay eggs, with the male swimming protectively around the female. Their skin color and their muscles change and after their egg-laying mission is accomplished they give up their lives and die. Their bodies decompose and become fertilizer for their babies.
This is their destiny of death, but it is for love, and in order to succeed in reproduction by the laying of eggs. Without fear, they go toward that destiny side by side. It's a beautiful thing to behold. I saw the image of the ideal couple in those salmon.
When all mankind is living like salmon, surely the dwelling of God will be with men, and God will be happy among men. Why did God create salmon? To educate men, to present the example to people in order that they can follow.
Let me draw a conclusion. Ocean Church has been created in order to teach the true ideal of God. His creation of the ocean, so that we gain true love for, and true dominion over, the ocean. Each person can become a co-creator with God, anticipating and participating in God's great task of creation, and understanding it as a friend.