Cheon Seong Gyeong – Sun Myung Moon
|
|
Cheon Seong Gyeong – Sun Myung Moon |
The families who recite the Family Pledge should achieve mind and body unity. In principle, you could not recite it unless you are united in mind and body. You need to eliminate everything that falls short of its standard and increase everything that coincides with it by reciting the Pledge and praying every day. In this way, you can achieve complete mind–body unity. In the original sense, you would only recite the Family Pledge after reaching such a state. (261-143, 1994.6.9)
The Completed Testament Age must unfold in accordance with the Family Pledge. The most important phrase is "Our family… centering on true love." This tells us that we have crossed over the fallen realm. It signifies that everything that had been divided through the false love, false life and false lineage of the false parents has now been united.
When you are reciting, "…centering on true love," you need to do so in a state of complete mind-body unity. You must also be in a state where the mind and body, the husband and wife, and the sons and daughters are united as one. Through your children, you need to resolve the historic deadlock caused by the shedding of Abel's blood by Cain's hands. The Family Pledge needs to be recited on the foundation of the unity of mind and body, husband and wife, and of the children, so that everyone has achieved oneness with each other. (264-192, 1994.10.9)
Who can recite the Family Pledge? People who have inherited the false love and false life through the false parents of the satanic world are not qualified to recite it. Only those who have returned to the originally intended world, become one with God and the True Parents, and who stand on the basis of having achieved, through true love, oneness of mind and body, unity between husband and wife and unity among sons and daughters may recite the Family Pledge. (264-213, 1994.11.3)
Who can enter heaven? It is not a place where just anyone can enter. It is a place for only those who have achieved oneness of mind and body, husband and wife, and sons and daughters, and have established the family four-position foundation over three generations. That is why to enter heaven, the whole family, which is the primary base, needs to be completely united. The Family Pledge is only for those who can achieve this.
That is why you need to reflect at every mealtime -- breakfast, lunch and dinner -- and also when you wake up in the morning and go to bed at night, on whether you have fallen into a position of having induced a relationship with Satan once again, through disunity of your mind and body.
Conflict between husband and wife should not exist. It causes nothing but problems. Until now you have lived as you pleased, but in the future a time will come when family feuds are subject to the heavenly law. These laws will be severe; there will be no forgiveness. The women in particular must beware. Fallen women need to learn to control their tongues. They need to watch what they say. Women have important responsibilities to shoulder, because all responsibility will lie with them. (264-214, 1994.11.3)
The Family Pledge is not for the general public. It is not intended for just anyone to recite. The beginning of the eight verses of the Family Pledge are set forth as a premise in the phrase, "Our family … centering on true love." This phrase can only be recited on a foundation that has no relation to the satanic world. (263-195, 1994.10.4)
The first pledge is, "Our family, the owner of Cheon Il Guk, pledges to seek our original homeland and build the Kingdom of God on earth and in heaven, the original ideal of creation, by centering on true love." In simple terms, these words mean that we are the ones who will build God's Kingdom on earth and in heaven. It means that we need to form God-centered families, since the family was lost.
It means our family will, through true love and our original homeland, build God's Kingdom on earth and in heaven, which is the original ideal of creation. The original homeland is based on the family, not the nation. That is why you need to return to your hometowns. Your family needs to return to your hometown in order to establish God's Kingdom on earth and in heaven. Once you have restored the hometown, the nation and the whole world will automatically be united. There is nothing to worry about. God's Kingdom on earth and in heaven will automatically come into existence. It all begins from within the family. (260-157, 1994.5.2)
What is pledge number one? It contains the words, "…to seek our original homeland…centering on true love," so we need to seek that homeland. We are pledging to complete "the Kingdom of God on earth and in heaven," God's ideal of creation. We need to build it, with our own hands. We need to reclaim it from the world of the devil. We need to completely transform the satanic world. Do you understand? That is why we are not talking about completing, but building. (261-88, 1994.5.22)
Pledge number one refers to seeking our original homeland and building the Kingdom of God on earth and in heaven, the original ideal of creation. Since the kingdom was lost, it needs to be restored. God will not establish it for us. We need to do it ourselves. (263-148, 1994.8.21)
Pledge number two of the Family Pledge also contains the phrase, "Our family… by centering on true love." This signifies that nothing can be accomplished without true love. The next phrase is, "Our family… pledges to represent and become central to heaven and earth by attending God and True Parents; we pledge to perfect the dutiful family way of filial sons and daughters in our family." This means that the father needs to practice the way of filial piety, as do the children. In fact, every member of the family needs to do the same. They need to inherit the tradition of filial piety. Pledge number two goes on to say, "We pledge to perfect the dutiful family way of … patriots in our nation, saints in the world, and divine sons and daughters in heaven and earth."
So the whole of pledge number two states, "Our family, the owner of Cheon Il Guk, pledges to represent and become central to heaven and earth by attending God and True Parents; we pledge to perfect the dutiful family way of filial sons and daughters in our family, patriots in our nation, saints in the world, and divine sons and daughters in heaven and earth, by centering on true love." That means that you need to become parents and raise your children well. The words "divine sons and daughters" refer to the children that abide by the law of God's Kingdom and His Palace, both in the spiritual and physical worlds.
In both these worlds, the sovereignty and the citizens of His Kingdom need to abide by His law. The sovereignty is the subject partner and the citizens are the object partners which exist in the two worlds. (260-157, 1994.5.2)
Pledge number two signifies that our family pledges to represent and become central to heaven and earth by serving God and the True Parents, to fulfill the way of filial piety in our family, patriotism in our nation, saints in the world, and a family of divine sons and daughters in heaven and earth. This means that we will complete everything desired by God in our family. Through it, we are making a vow that as parents, we will educate the children in our family, the citizens in our nation, and the people living in the world, and in heaven and earth, so that they may become eligible to become the family members of God's Kingdom. (260-190, 1994.5.8)
What is the content of pledge number two? It speaks about a representative family. Therefore, you need to pledge, "To represent and become central to heaven and earth by attending God and True Parents, and to perfect the dutiful way of filial piety in our family, patriotism in our nation, saints in the world, and a family of divine sons and daughters in heaven and earth."
We need to rid the world of everything and everyone that was disloyal, impious and treacherous to God throughout history. There were many like that in past families, nations, world, and even in the spirit world. Numerous though they may be, as their representative you need to become as one with the True Parents and perfect such a family as depicted in the Pledge. (261-88, 1994.5.22)
You need to fulfill the paths of filial sons and daughters, patriots, saints, and divine sons and daughters based on love. Your family represents Adam and Eve, the pinnacle family. Since you were blessed from such a high position, you can then settle down on earth. Once you settle down centering on heavenly love, you become a central family. Such a family will be one of divine sons and daughters, saints, patriots, and children of filial piety. Such a family will forever be the seed for future generations. The same is also true of its fruit. By becoming people who base their lives on this principle over countless generations to come, you will undoubtedly become the citizens of God's Kingdom. (263-149, 1994.8.21)
Pledge number three states, "Our family, the owner of Cheon Il Guk, pledges to perfect the Four Great Realms of Heart, the Three Great Kingships and the Realm of the Royal Family, by centering on true love." You know about the Four Great Realms of Heart and the Three Great Kingships. If Adam and Eve had not Fallen, but perfected themselves, they would have become God's royal family. Therefore, this part of the Pledge signifies that entering God's Kingdom requires becoming a restored royal family. The Blessed Families need to achieve this.
In order for a man and a woman to receive love from each other, they need to stand in such a position; otherwise, they cannot love each other. Conjugal love should only take place where the Four Great Realms of Heart and the Three Great Kingships have been realized. These realms and kingships cannot be realized without love. That is why man is absolutely necessary for woman, and vice versa. Blessed families should strive every day in order to achieve this goal. This is a practical matter, and it is set right before your very eyes. (260-190, 1994.5.8)
Pledge number three says, "Our family… pledges to perfect the Four Great Realms of Heart, the Three Great Kingships and the Realm of the Royal Family, by centering on true love." Since Adam and Eve failed to accomplish them through their first love, we have to fulfill them as originally intended. Terms such as "divine sons and daughters" in pledge number two carry the implicit meaning of restoration. We therefore we need to achieve pledge number three on the basis of first fulfilling the content of number two.
This pledge clearly requires us "…to perfect the Four Great Realms of Heart, the Three Great Kingships, and the Realm of the Royal Family." The realm of the royal family signifies that the direct descendants of the Lord at his Second Advent have no conditions of indemnity to fulfill. The direct descendants are not affected by them. Such conditions still apply to the woman and son in the realm of Cain, but not to the direct descendants. That is exactly what took place with True Mother, Sung-jin's mother, and Sung-jin himself.
To put it more clearly, to be included in the realm of God's royal family is acknowledging the realm of Cain. By putting them in the position of the restored younger brother, and treating them as the royal family, Satan would have no grounds on which to accuse. Satan would have to acknowledge them, because he would have no conditions on which he can claim them as his children. If the realm of Cain were not included, it would mean that within the satanic realm would be those who are not part of the royal family, and so Satan would still maintain his fallen existence. However, by recognizing the realm of Cain as part of the royal family, Satan would have to retreat. This is crucially important. (260-158, 1994.5.2)
The Four Great Realms of Heart and the Three Great Kingships need to be perfected. The grandfather stands in the place of God. The father is the center of the second generations, and so he would be the king of families in the world. Therefore, you need to serve your father and mother as the king and queen, and your grandfather as God. By receiving the two loves of mother and father on behalf of God, we can enter the era of the grandchildren and subsequently progress to the universe that will be the manifestation of God's Kingdom on earth and in heaven. (264-195, 1994.10.9)
By practicing a life based on pledge number three you would finally perfect the ideal model as originally intended by God, the original model of Adam who had not fallen, that is, the Four Great Realms of Heart and the Three Great Kingships. "Our family…pledges to perfect the Four Great Realms of Heart, the Three Great Kingships and the Realm of the Royal Family, by centering on true love."! Only the families that have accomplished this can advance to the place of perfection. By serving God and the True Parents you must stand as representatives of the world, in a perfected position similar to Jesus. The moment you begin to serve God from such a position, your connection to Satan would be completely severed.
Until this time people in the world have stood in the position of the firstborn son and acted as our enemies, killing Abel on God's side; however, they can no longer do so. When the truth of the matter became clear, it turned out that the younger brother was actually the "elder brother." Their positions were switched, but they were still brothers. That is why people living in the world should be treated as part of the royal family.
The Unification Church is the Abel-type royal family and the satanic world is the Cain-type royal family. Members of our church cannot enter heaven unless they have brought these members of the Cain-type royal family into oneness. You need to carry out this work in line with True Parents. In uniting with them there would be no opposition in doing this, and the world would follow automatically. (261-88, 1994.5.22)
Pledge number four says, "Our family… pledges to build the universal family encompassing heaven and earth, which is God's ideal of creation, and perfect the world of freedom, peace, unity and happiness, by centering on true love." The phrase "our family … by centering on true love" signifies the same in every part of the Pledge. This is followed by the phrase, "to build the universal family encompassing heaven and earth, which is God's ideal of creation." No matter how large a family is, it is still one family. When you pass on to the spirit world you will find yourself part of an extended family. The last part of this pledge is, "perfect the world of freedom, peace, unity and happiness." It means that by building the universal extended family, we will realize a world in which universal freedom, universal peace, and universal happiness are present. (260-158, 1994.5.2)
The phrase, "Our family … pledges to build the universal family encompassing heaven and earth, which is God's ideal of creation… by centering on true love" indicates that God's ideal is to have the whole world become one extended family, one big household. Since it is the place for those who have perfected the Four Great Realms of Heart and the Three Great Kingships, everyone belongs to one global family -- not two -- which is centered on God. By building the universal family encompassing heaven and earth, which is God's ideal of creation, we would have transformed the whole world into one extended family. (260-191, 1994.5.8)
Let's consider the part, "Our family … pledges to build the universal family encompassing heaven and earth and perfect the world of freedom, peace, unity and happiness…" The freedom referred to here is not that of an individual, but that of the people belonging to the one global extended family. This is the same for the peace and happiness. This means that the whole of humanity will find happiness. (260-192, 1994.5.8)
What is pledge number four about? What should you do, centering on God's true love? "To build the universal family encompassing heaven and earth, which is God's ideal of creation, and perfect the world of freedom, peace, unity and happiness…" God's ideal of creation is to create one extended family on such a foundation, as He desires. The Cain and Abel worlds are meant to be a single extended family. At the place where the original ideal, that is, the Four Great Realms of Heart and the Three Great Kingships, has been established, the ideal of the one global family would be perfected. We pledge to perfect a world of freedom, peace and happiness by standing in such a position. Everything should be fulfilled in a particular order. (261-89, 1994.5.22)
Pledge number five says, "Our family … pledges to strive every day to advance the unification of the spirit world and physical world as subject and object partners, by centering on true love." The advancement mentioned in this part of the Pledge refers to progressive development taking place daily. It should not stop. If it were to stop, everything would become related to hell. Therefore, a progressive development must take place. We must strive for this.
Every day of our religious lives is concerned with God and the spirit world. Members of the Unification Church were supposed to live every day aligned with the spirit world; however, the problem is that not many are doing so. They tend to think about the physical world before they concern themselves with spiritual matters. It should be the other way round.
Blessed families should unite as one centering on true love, to strive every day to advance the unification of the spiritual and physical worlds as subject and object partners. There must be no stopping along the way; only continuous progressive development. Whatever is alive continues to advance, and only that which is dead stops advancing. In addition, we must accelerate this process. Whatever stops, leads to hell, and whatever continues to grow leads to prosperity and God's Kingdom. We have no need for the word "stop."
When you first joined the church, you were overcome with joy; however now that a decade or two has passed, how do you feel? If you stop, you will only descend. Stopping leads to hell whereas growth leads to heaven. Stopping is what is most desired by Satan. Therefore, every day you need to add something to yourselves. These are important words. People in the world strive to save more money, but we strive to save more lives every day. (260-159, 1994.5.2)
The Blessed Families should realize that there is a vast spirit world, which is the subject partner to the physical world. The spirit world is the plus. It is the same as the mind being the plus. The body represents the physical world whereas the mind represents the spirit world. The mind is like the plus and the body is like the minus. Consequently, if you fail to recognize the world of mind as subject in your everyday lives, you will end up in hell. The body denied the mind, delivering a blow and becoming the subject; but it should be the other way round.
As it says in the fifth pledge, we need "to strive every day to advance the unification of the spirit world and physical world as subject and object partners." The two worlds must be united. In the phrase "strive every day to advance the unification", the advancement is an ever-progressive one. "Our family … pledges to strive every day to advance the unification…" We must strive to accelerate the process, that is, we must try to bring about the advancement as quickly as possible. There can be no stopping. If we stop, we will only fall behind. Stopping leads to hell and death. Stopping puts you on the path to hell, but striving forward leads to development. Striving on, we need to speed up the process. Sleeping and lazing around, eating and enjoying yourself do not contribute to the providence. You must lead a busy life. Life is short. Though the universe may be vast, it still has only one central axis and if that were to revolve once, the whole universe would also revolve once. It needs to follow suit. Therefore, you need to align to the central axis.
That is why this part of the Pledge states, "Our family … pledges to strive every day to advance the unification of the spirit world and physical world as subject and object partners, by centering on true love." You need to run without pause, just like Father. You need to move forward without even sleeping. If you do that, wouldn't you be able to build the world you have been thinking of? You will not be able to make a world you have never thought of. Therefore, you have to think about the two worlds as reciprocal partners. (260-194, 1994.5.8)
The Family Pledge states, "Our family … pledges to strive every day to advance the unification of the spirit world and physical world as subject and object partners, by centering on true love." This means that the whole world is one extended family. The spiritual and physical worlds need to unite into one as the object partner of the subject partner that is God's Kingdom. We need to do more than just unite; we need to rid this world of hell on earth, the satanic realm, striving to hasten unification. We have no time to lose. (264-202, 1994.10.9)
Pledge number six states, "Our family, the owner of Cheon Il Guk, pledges to become a family that moves heavenly fortune by embodying God and True Parents, and to perfect a family that conveys Heaven's blessing to our community, by centering on true love." In short, you should not try to live well by yourself. The clause "Our family…by embodying God and True Parents….centering on true love" shows that heavenly fortune lies with God and the True Parents. Therefore, this part of the pledge signifies that you will try to perfect a family that goes the heavenly way, attracts heavenly fortune, and conveys Heaven's blessings to your community. That means that wherever they go, our Blessed Families will become central families that distribute blessings to others. (260-160, 1994.5.2)
Pledge number six begins with "Our family pledges … centering on true love." You know what true love is, don't you? You must bear it in mind all the time. The phrase "embodying God and True Parents" signifies that Blessed Families are the delegates of God and the True Parents. Your family represents God and True Parents, and as such, moves heavenly fortune and conveys God's blessing to your community. "Our family…pledges to become a family that conveys Heaven's blessing to our community…." Blessed families should not just try to receive blessings for themselves and live affluently. They have to become part of the royal family and help to restore all people in the world to become citizens of God's Kingdom.
The Blessed Family pledges to embody God and True Parents and as such becomes a family that moves heavenly fortune, by centering on true love. What this means is that the family that embodies God and True Parents can move heavenly fortune. This part of the Pledge says, "Our family…pledges to become a family that conveys Heaven's blessing to our community…" Through these words you are making a vow to become a channel of blessing, distributing all blessings from God equally to all the people of the world. God and the True Parents' family are as one. Though there are only one set of True Parents, there are many Blessed Families standing in their stead that can spread out across the world and become channels that distribute blessings on their behalf. You should strive to become such a family. (260-195, 1994.5.8)
Pledge number six mentions moving heavenly fortune, doesn't it? Here, you are making the pledge to "become a family that moves heavenly fortune by embodying God and True Parents…by centering on true love." The hardships endured by the True Parents were not for their own benefit. Everything was for the liberation of all humanity and in order to convey and distribute heavenly fortune amongst them. The heavenly fortune that comes with the True Parents needs to be handed out. In short, you need to become channels of blessing. Do you understand? No matter how advanced you are and how united you are, you should not try to receive blessings for your own benefit while you are on earth. By performing meritorious deeds on earth you should receive the great benefits of heavenly fortune. These should not be kept for you but conveyed to others so that all may be satisfied.
Until now, I have walked the path of opposition in order to connect all peoples to the heavenly fortune, and to establish the Will of the Parent in an environment of happiness and freedom. As such, everyone would be able to move heaven and earth and receive blessings from God. As representatives of the True Parents' family, the blessed couples should also become families that distribute heavenly fortune to others, because only then can they attain the right to follow the footsteps of the True Parents into God's Kingdom, and live there together with them. (261-91, 1994.5.22)
"Our family… pledges to become a family that moves heavenly fortune by embodying God and True Parents, and to perfect a family that conveys Heaven's blessing to our community, by centering on true love." These words simply mean that you should become institutions of blessings. Only then can you become channels that can distribute blessings from God as the families who can unify heaven and earth. Do you understand? You need to become a fountain of blessings. (264-202, 1994.10.9)
Pledge number seven of the Family Pledge reads, "7. Our family… pledges… to perfect the world based on the culture of heart, which is rooted in the original lineage, by centering on true love." The clause "Our family... rooted in the original lineage… centering on true love" emphasizes the words "original lineage." Lineage is very important. It should be neither changed nor defiled. This part of the Pledge tells us to create a world based on the culture of heart. The culture of heart means living everyday life as an expression of the principle of living for the sake of others with true love. The world based on the culture of heart refers to the one great enclosure embracing everything -- that is, the tribe of the realm of the heart. (260-160, 1994.5.2)
Can you understand what is meant by "the world based on the culture of heart"? In simple terms, it means that the worlds of God's heart and the True Parents' heart, the spiritual and physical worlds are all as one. That is why we say that our family pledges to build a world based on the culture of heart. This is our ideal. There can be only one culture and not two. The fallen world is overflowing with many cultures. Only when we have united them into one can we welcome the Kingdom of Heaven at the level of the individual, family, tribe, people, nation, world and cosmos. Without such a heart, the individual, family and tribe cannot be connected. Without the world based on the culture of heart, unity can never come on all levels from the individual right through to the cosmos. (260-196, 1994.5.8)
God's world is one based on the culture of heart. It is one unified extended family centered upon the one love of God. As such, the five races should live as one big family, with no one above or below others. Such a time is coming. If the people living in the world were united in the desire to create a lifestyle of equality for all, then how could we do that? On what nation should that lifestyle be based? In order to make that choice, we should base our decision on the poorest nation in the world. For instance, if North Korea were the poorest, we should base our decision upon it, not Africa or Japan. Centering on the Adam nation, we should set the poorest nation as the standard. (261-93, 1994.5.22)
The world based on the culture of heart is the world of God's original culture and one that is based on the culture of perfected Adam who has not fallen. There cannot be two cultures but only one. Therefore in the future, the world will be unified and there will be only one language and one set of customs and traditions. Only in such a circumstance can God dwell with individuals and families. (261-95, 1994.5.22)
"Our family… pledges… to perfect the world based on the culture of heart, which is rooted in the original lineage, by centering on true love." This part of the Pledge speaks about the world of heart, the world where true love has been manifested. The world should become such a place that, wherever you go, you will find families waiting to welcome you as guests. Families would invite guests whenever they had something good to eat, with the heart of sharing it with other brothers and sisters from around the world. We will enter an era in which every family will want to serve other families in the world as their own brothers and sisters, sharing food and whatever else they have.
By welcoming the era where we will manifest and globalize the realm of heart, we will consequently establish a world based on the unified culture of heart, a world of a single unified culture. The world will be without war or conflict, and God's Kingdom on earth and in heaven will be realized. Once the world of the culture of heart is established, God's providence of restoration will come to an end. (264-202, 1994.10.9)
What are the contents of pledge number eight? "Our family, the owner of Cheon Il Guk, pledges, having entered the Completed Testament Age, to achieve the ideal of God and human beings united in love through absolute faith, absolute love and absolute obedience, and to perfect the realm of liberation and complete freedom in the Kingdom of God on earth and in heaven, by centering on true love." This pledge depicts the time of creation when God made the Garden of Eden.
Having entered the Completed Testament Age, through absolute faith, absolute love and absolute what? -- obedience. You need to achieve the ideal oneness of God and humankind in love, and unity between God's Kingdom on earth and in heaven. Then you are able to be freely active in all corners of the world, with the rights of God's children. Only then can you presume to liberate Him and perfect the realm of liberation in God's Kingdom on earth and in heaven. (301-85, 1999.4.16)
At the time of creation, God stood in the position of having exercised absolute faith, love, and obedience, but because human beings failed to form families that could stand as object partners to Him, they consequently fell into hell. We are now living in the time when everything that was lost in Adam's family can be restored worldwide through absolute faith, love and obedience on the unified foundation of True Parents' realm of victory. Unification Church members must therefore inherit and practice absolute faith, love and obedience centering on the True Parents. True Parents inherited these absolute traditions from God, and so you should inherit these traditions in turn. Do you understand? Then God's blessing will be with you. (1996.11.3)
It is our destined and inevitable task to create a relationship of unity between father and child, but what should that unity be based on? From the bone marrow and the seed, it should be centered upon true love. Only when a baby is born in such a way can it come to mature enough in heart and body to embrace the whole world and to unite with its father and mother. Children should follow their parents with absolute faith, love and obedience, just as the son and father should follow the grandfather with absolute faith, love and obedience. These qualities will be handed down as an eternal tradition. Our preordained task is to perform liberation! Only then can we fulfill pledge number eight of the Pledge, which is to achieve the ideal of God and human beings united in love through absolute faith, absolute love and absolute obedience, as we have entered the Completed Testament Age. Only when this state of oneness has been achieved can we perfect the realm of liberation in the Kingdom of God on earth and in heaven. (295-167, 1998.8.28)